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1990's Computer History

By tlotz

  • 1990 First Web Browser and Editor

    1990 First Web Browser and Editor
    In March of 1989, physicist and programmer Tim Berners-Lee submits two proposals at CERN in Switzerland, for what will become the World Wide Web, and was disapproved. He continues anyway and prototypes the World Wide Web by Christmas of 1990, which features a server, html, url’s, and the first web browser. The idea that the web would become a source of useful information as people created and added resources has come to fruition today.

  • 1992 DEC Alpha Chip

    1992 DEC Alpha Chip
    DEC announced the 64-bit Alpha chip architecture designed to replace the 32-bit VAX. The RISC (reduced instruction set computer) microprocessor was utilized widely in DEC’s servers and workstations and in the Chinese Sunway Blue Light system and Swiss Gigabooster supercomputers. Compaq and Intel acquired the Alpha processor designs and developed and influenced the chip technology of today.

  • 1994 SanDisk CompactFlash

    1994 SanDisk CompactFlash
    The SanDisk CompactFlash was speedily adopted as an option for memory storage in many consumer and professional electronic devices. Its high capacity and sturdiness made it extremely popular for use in digital still and video cameras. Its further development influenced the smaller and smaller memory cards of today.

  • 1995 Introduction of Java 1.0

    1995 Introduction of Java 1.0
    Sun Microsystems introduced Java 1.0, enabling programs to run on any system, and offered consumers independence from Microsoft or Apple software. The Java platform project succeeded James Gosling’s 1991 Oak programming language. Java programming continues to be utilized in today’s computer software.

  • 1997 CD-RW Introduced

    1997 CD-RW Introduced
    Philips and Sony jointly worked on the CD-RW (Compact Disc-ReWritable) project. This less robust optical disc was used in data storage, back up, and transfer on multiple devices, and it had a 1,000 times limit on rewriting data. Due to its sensitivity of being read on CD drives, DVD’s soon became more dominant. CD-RW’s are still in use today.

  • 1999 Nvidia GeForce

    1999 Nvidia GeForce
    Nvidia released the GeForce 256 GPU (Graphics Processing Unit) upon the high demand for increased graphical performance in video applications for personal computers. It is designed to handle the graphics calculations, thus relieving pressure from the CPU (central processing unit). Video graphics cards continue their development and are still in use today, especially in the computer gaming world.

  • 1999 IBM Microdrive

    1999 IBM Microdrive
    In 1999, IBM released the smallest hard drives in the world at that time. The Microdrives came in 170 MB and 340 MB capacities. The Microdrive mechanisms, comprising of small spinning platter disks, were prone to physical damage from changes in temperature and shock. At the time, many handheld mobile devices were designed with Microdrive data storage, a precursor to today’s data storage technology.