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The Invention of the Loom
In France, Joseph Marie Jacquard invents a loom that uses punched wooden cards to automatically weave fabric designs. Early computers would use similar punch cards. -
The invention of the calculating machine
English mathematician Charles Babbage conceives of a steam-driven calculating machine that would be able to compute tables of numbers. The project, funded by the English government, is a failure. More than a century later, however, the world’s first computer was actually built. -
The invention of the punch card system
Herman Hollerith designs a punch card system to calculate the 1880 census, accomplishing the task in just three years and saving the government $5 million. He establishes a company that would ultimately become IBM. -
The Turing Machine
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 his ideas. -
The first computer with storage
Atanasoff and his graduate student, Clifford Berry, design a computer that can solve 29 equations simultaneously. This marks the first time a computer is able to store information on its main memory. -
Invention of the electric switch
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. -
First computer with a single circuit board
Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak start Apple Computers on April Fool’s Day and roll out the Apple I, the first computer with a single-circuit board. -
Color graphics and audio
Jobs and Wozniak incorporate Apple and show the Apple II at the first West Coast Computer Faire. It offers color graphics and incorporates an audio cassette drive for storage. -
Advanced video and audio
Microsoft announces Windows, its response to Apple’s GUI. Commodore unveils the Amiga 1000, which features advanced audio and video capabilities. -
Advanced graphics and Music
The Pentium microprocessor advances the use of graphics and music on PCs. -
No more Wires to connect to the internet
The term Wi-Fi becomes part of the computing language and users begin connecting to the Internet without wires. -
First 64 Bit Processor
The first 64-bit processor, AMD’s Athlon 64, becomes available to the consumer market. -
The IPhone
The iPhone brings many computer functions to the smartphone. -
The IPad
Apple unveils the iPad, changing the way consumers view media and jumpstarting the dormant tablet computer segment. -
The ChromeBook
Google releases the Chromebook, a laptop that runs the Google Chrome OS.
