-
Alan Turing presents the notion of a universal machine, later called the Turing machine, capable of computing anything that is computable. The central concept of the modern computer was based on Alan Turing's ideas.
-
In 1973 a man named J.V. Atanasoff, a professor of physics and mathematics, attempts to build the first computer without gears, cams, belts or shafts.
-
J.V. Atanasoff and his graduate student, Clifford Berry had designed a computer that can solve 29 equations simultaneously. This year marks the first time a computer is able to store information on its main memory.
-
Two University professors of Pennsylvania, John Mauchly and J.Presper Eckert had built the Electronic Numerical Integrator and Calculator or the ENIAC for short. This creation is considered as the grandfather of digital computers which fills a 20-foot by 40-foot room and has 18,000 vacuum tubes.
-
Mauchly and Presper leave the University of Pennsylvania and receive funding from the Census Bureau to build the UNIVAC, the first commercial computer for business and government applications.
-
William Shockley, John Bardeen and Walter Brattain of Bell Laboratories invent the transistor. They discovered how to make an electric switch with solid materials and no need for a vacuum.
-
Grace Hopper develops the the first computer language, which eventually becomes known as COBOL. Thomas Johnson Watson Jr., son of IBM CEO, conceives the IBM 701 EDPM to help the United Nations keep tabs on Korea during the war.
-
The FORTRAN programming language is born
-
Jack Kilby and Robert Noyce unveil the integrated circuit, known as the computer chip. Kilby was awarded the Nobel Prize in Physics in 2000 for his work.
-
Douglas Engelbart shows a prototype of the modern computer, with a mouse and a graphical user interface (GUI). This marks the evolution of the computer from a specialised machine for scientists and mathematicians to technology that is more accessible to the general public.
-
The newly formed Intel unveils the Intel 1103, the first Dynamic Access Memory (DRAM) chip.
-
Alan Shugart leads a team of IBM engineers who invent the “floppy disk,” allowing data to be shared among computers.
-
Robert Metcalfe, a member of the research staff for Xerox, develops Ethernet for connecting multiple computers and other hardware.
-
A number of personal computers hit the market, including Scelbi & Mark-8 Altair, IBM 5100, RadioShack’s TRS-80 —affectionately known as the “Trash 80” — and the Commodore PET.
-
The January issue of Popular Electronics magazine features the Altair 8080, described as the "world's first minicomputer kit to rival commercial models. Paul Allen and Bill Gates, offer to write the software for the Altair, using the BASIC programming language. After their success, the two form their own software company, Microsoft.
-
Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak start Apple Computers on April Fool's Day. The two release the Apple I, the first computer with a single-circuit board.
-
Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak incorporate Apple and present the Apple II at the first West Coast Computer Faire. The Apple II offers colour graphics and incorporates an audio cassette drive for storage.
-
The first IBM personal computer is introduced. It uses Microsoft's MS-DOS operating system. It has an intel chip, two floppy disks and an optional colour monitor. This new computer popularises the term PC.
-
Apple's Lisa is the first personal computer with a GUI. This PC features a drop-down menu and icons. The Lisa flops and eventually evolves into the name we know now as Macintosh.
-
The first dot-com domain name is registered. A small company in Massachusetts named Symbolics Computer Company, registers Symbolics.com. Since then, two years later, only 100 dot-coms had been registered
-
After Apple's release of the Lisa, Microsoft responds with announcing Windows. Commodore unveils the Amiga 1000, a computer which features advanced audio and video capabilities.
-
Tim Berners-Lee, a researcher gives rise to the World Wide Web after the developing HyperText Markup Language, also well known as HTML.
-
"Command & Conquer", "Alone in the Dark 2", "Theme Park", "Magic Carpet", "Descent" and "Little Big Adventure". Naming a few are among the top games to hit the market during this time.
-
Sergey Brin and Larry Page develop the Google search engine at Stanford University.
-
During this time, Apple had been struggling. This investment ended Apple's court case against Microsoft who had been alleged to copying the "look and feel" of its operating system.
-
The term Wi-Fi becomes part of the computing language, as users begin to connect to the Internet without the use of wires.
-
This apple development of the operating system provides protected memory architecture and pre-emptive multi-tasking. As this release shakes the world, Microsoft rolls out with Windows XP which has a significant redesigned GUI.
-
The first 64-bit processor, AMD's Athlon 64 becomes available to the consumer market.
-
Mozilla Firefox challenges Microsoft's Internet Explorer, as the dominant Web browsers. Also, a social networking site, Facebook is launched.
-
Youtube, a video sharing service, is founded. Google acquires Android, a Linux-based mobile phone operating system.
-
The first Intel-based, dual-core mobile computer known as the Macbook Pro is introduced by Apple. Nintendo's Wii game console also hits the market.
-
The iPhone release by Apple brings many computer functions to the smartphone
-
Microsoft launches Windows 7. This new operating system offers the ability to pin applications to the taskbar and advances in touch and handwriting recognition. Other features are also introduced.
