History of Computers

Complex Number Calculator (CNC)

Sep 2, 1939

SourceIn 1939, Bell Telephone Laboratories completed this calculator, designed by researcher George Stibitz. In 1940, Stibitz demonstrated the CNC at an American Mathematical Society conference held at Dartmouth College. Stibitz stunned the group by performing calculations remotely on the CNC (located in New York City) using a Teletype connected via special telephone lines.

ENIAC Invented

Feb 14, 1946

Source The ENIAC was the first electronic computer invented by the U.S. Army during WWII. The ENIAC cost $500,000 to build and was 1800 square feet.

SEAC (Standards Eastern Automatic Computer)

Sep 2, 1950

Sourcein Washington as a laboratory for testing components and systems for setting computer standards. The SEAC was the first computer to use all-diode logic, a technology more reliable than vacuum tubes, and the first stored-program computer completed in the United States. Magnetic tape in the external storage units stored programming information, coded subroutines, numerical data, and output.

DataPhones

Sep 2, 1960

Source the first commercial modem, specifically for converting digital computer data to analog signals for transmission across its long distance network. The digital data sets into commercial products.

Advanced Research Projects Agency Network (ARPANET)

Sep 2, 1969

Source
one of the world's first operational packet switching networks, the first network to implement TCP/IP, and the progenitor of what was to become the global Internet. The network was initially funded by the Advanced Research Projects Agency (ARPA, later DARPA) within the U.S. Department of Defense for use by its projects at universities and research laboratories in the US.

Palo Alto Research Center (PARC)

Sep 2, 1970

SourceXerox Corporation hired Dr. George Pake to lead a new research center in Palo Alto, California. PARC attracted some of the United States’ top computer scientists, and produced many groundbreaking inventions that transformed computing—most notably the personal computer graphical user interface, Ethernet, the laser printer, and object-oriented programming. Xerox was unable to market the inventions from PARC but others did, including Steve Jobs (Apple).

Ethernet

Sep 2, 1980

a family of computer networking technologies for local area (LAN) and larger networks. It was commercially introduced in 1980 while it was first standardized in 1983 as IEEE 802.3,[1] and has since been refined to support higher bit rates and longer link distances. Over time, Ethernet has largely replaced competing wired LAN technologies such as token ring, FDDI, and ARCNET. The primary alternative for contemporary LANs is not a wi

Video Toaster

Sep 2, 1990

SourceThe Video Toaster was a video editing and production system for the Amiga line of computers and included custom hardware and special software. Much more affordable than any other computer-based video editing system.

Wireless network

Jan 1, 1991

any type of computer network that uses wireless data connections for connecting network nodes

Yahoo

Sep 2, 1994

Founded by Stanford graduate students Jerry Yang and David Filo, Yahoo started out as "Jerry's Guide to the World Wide Web" before being renamed.

Bluetooth

Sep 2, 1994

a wireless technology standard for exchanging data over short distances from fixed and mobile devices, and building personal area networks (PANs). it was originally conceived as a wireless alternative to RS-232 data cables. It can connect several devices, overcoming problems of synchronization.

xbox

Nov 15, 2001

a video gaming brand created by Microsoft. It includes a series of video game consoles developed by Microsoft, with consoles in the sixth to eighth generations, as well as applications (games), streaming services, and the online service, Xbox Live.

iPad

Apr 3, 2010

is a line of tablet computers designed and marketed by Apple Inc., which runs Apple's iOS.An iPad can shoot video, take photos, play music, and perform Internet functions such as web-browsing and emailing. Other functions—games, reference, GPS navigation, social networking, etc.—can be enabled by downloading and installing apps. As of October 2013, the App Store has more than 475,000 native apps by Apple and third parties.

iPod

Sep 12, 2012

is a line of portable media players designed and marketed by Apple Inc. There are four current versions of the iPod: the ultra-compact iPod Shuffle, the compact iPod Nano, the touchscreen iPod Touch, and the hard drive-based iPod Classic.