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1900 - The creation of the Phonograph
1900: Phonographs would play sound recorded on cardboard cylinders coated with wax. Invented in 1885, they would replace foil-wrapped metal cylinders created by Thomas Edison. -
The birth of the personal computer and apple computing.
1977: A revolution in computing begins in 1977 when the first fully assembled personal computer, the Apple II, is made available to the public. Schools throughout WV would teach many of us the basics of math and reading through these apple IIs in the late 80s. I can personally remember my love of computers coming from the free computer time we received in 3rd grade. Image location: https://c1.iggcdn.com/indiegogo-media-prod-cld/image/upload/c_limit,w_695/v1512609770/fakyyp4ommedik15296o.jpg -
The creation of the walkman
1980: The Sony Walkman appears in homes and on hips across the country. While I am more into the CD players of the 90s, I was a major user of tapes and created many "mix tapes" over the years. One of the reasons that I got into music was being able to record music I loved and listen to it over and over. -
1983 - CD's becoming mainstream
CDs (Compact Discs), developed in the 1970s, but would become mainstream in the 80s. Music is stored on the CD as digital information and is "read" by CD players with the help of a laser. This was the form of media that I am the most used to as a child of the late 80s and 90s. I grew up with CD players and to this day still have my full rack with record player set up in my house. -
The microwave becomes popular
1980s: The sale of microwave ovens take off throughout the 1980s. These ovens offer digital readouts, push button controls, and turntables to help cook food evenly. I relied on this item throughout my college life as do so many others. I don't think people my age understand how life was before the microwave was created. I have never been without one in my life. -
The internet is released to the masses.
1994: Spurred by the introduction of Mosaic, interest in the World Wide Web rapidly takes off starting in 1994. During my 6th grade year, our library was full of IBM educational machines that could run Netscape. Many people my age first surfed the net through AOL or Netscape. I was able to write my first research paper using Netscape in 1995. Image link: https://netscape-navigator.soft32.com/screenshots/
