Important Computer Innovations of the '90s

Photoshop Released

Feb 19, 1990

Photoshop was created by brothers John and Thomas Knoll. An early version was created in '87 by Thomas, and after seeing its potential, Adobe Systems acquired it and released it in 1990. It has gone on to become perhaps the most popular image editing software of all time.

PGP is Introduced

1991

PGP (or Pretty Good Privacy) encryption was created by Paul Zimmermann as a way to communicate securely online. It is meant to protect users from intrusive governments and institutions. It is a very important innovation as it makes online communication more secure and private for its users.

Jpeg Format is Standardized

1992

The Joint Photographic Experts Group created the standard of the Jpeg format in 1992. It has gone on to become the most widely used and recognized digital image format in the world. It was also responsible for the rapid spread of digital photos across the internet.

DVD Format is Introduced

1995

The Digital Video Disc format came about as a compromise between a few different tech companies, brokered by IBM, in order to avoid a format war. The DVD's higher audio and visual quality made the VHS obsolete. All the advantages of the DVD format helped it to catch on and become a main stay in home entertainment up until recently.

Wi-Fi Makes Its Way Into The Household

1999

Wi-Fi originated years priors as the IEEE 802.11 protocol that was meant for wireless communication between systems and was rebranded as "Wi-Fi" by the Wi-Fi Alliance. It was a very important technology to make it into the home as the world is heavily reliant on it nowadays. We use it for everything nearly everyday.