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Period: to
Timeline
The progress humankind has made in technology in the past 200 years to date. -
Manchester Mark I Williams-Kilburn tube - Freddie Williams and Tom Kilburn
Why was it so popular: The first random-access digital storage device that was successfully used in many early computers.
Why did it become obsolete: Mark 1 was used as the prototype for the world’s first commercially available computer intended for general purpose use, the Ferranti Mark 1.
Unrelated Historical Event: The Cold War begins -
UNISERVO - Univac
Why was it so popular: The first tape storage device for a commercially sold computer that was relatively cheap, portable, and offered unlimited offline storage of magnetic tape.
Why did it become obsolete: In 1956, the magnetic tape was replaced by the first hard disk drive due to its ability to randomly access data.
Unrelated Historical Event: The Korean War: Third Battle of Seoul -
IBM 726 Magnetic Tape
Why was it so popular: IBM's first magnetic tape unit that allowed the tape drive to start and stop the tape in a split-second due to its unique ‘vacuum channel’ method of keeping a loop of tape circulating between two points.
Why did it become obsolete: Similar to UNISERVO, IBM in 1956 announced the first hard disk drive, which eventually came to replace magnetic tape units due to its ability to randomly access data.
Historical Event: Elizabeth II is proclaimed Queen of the United Kingdom -
Whirlwind core memory - Jay Forrester
Popular: Primary way in which early computers read, wrote, and stored data as it made use of tiny magnetic material ‘donuts’ strung on wires into a grid, where each core stored a bit. The state of a bit could be detected and changed by the wires.
Obsolete: The introduction of the Intel 1103 DRAM integrated circuit in 1971 saw the end of magnetic core memory in computers.
Unrelated Historical Event: The first nuclear test of Operation Upshot-Knothole is conducted in Nevada -
RAMAC Disk Drive
Popular: Was capable of not only storing 5 million characters of data but also allowed for real-time random access to these large amounts of data (something a magnetic tape could not do).
Obsolete: Hard disk drives are still being used today; however, they are expected to be taken over by SSDs (solid-state drives) as they are considered far more durable than HDDs due to a lack of mechanical parts.
Unrelated Historical Event: Morocco declares its independence from France. -
Ferranti Sirius magnetostrictive delay line
Popular: Main memory for the Ferranti Sirius (low-cost computer) that used a simple programming language. Despite the magnetostrictive delay lines being slow, its low cost is what made it popular.
Obsolete: Was in sequential access and could not compete with random access memory.
Unrelated Historical Event: John F. Kennedy is sworn in as the 35th President of the United States. -
Atlas Computer - Virtual Memory
Why was it so popular: The Atlas computer was the first to introduce virtual memory, which allowed it to use its storage capacity to switch quickly between multiple users or programs.
Why did it become obsolete: Virtual memory is still in use today; however, the Atlas computer became obsolete due to the emergence of the CDC 6600 in 1964 that bested it.
Unrelated Historical Event: Algeria becomes independent from France. -
Thin Film Memory - Sperry Rand
Popular: High-speed alternative to core memory and was used in the UNIVAC 1107.
Obsolete: It became obsolete in terms of the commercial market as it proved to be too expensive for general use. However, it did find a larger market in higher-end projects and military computers where speed was a premium and cost was less of a concern.
Unrelated Historical Event: President Lyndon Johnson signs the Civil Rights Act of 1964 into law, officially abolishing racial segregation in the United States. -
Intel 1103 memory chip
Popular: The start of the semiconductor dynamic random-access memory (DRAM) integrated circuit memory that sold at a price of 1¢ per bit with speed compatible with existing logic circuits. Sales, despite initially starting slow, started to skyrocket.
Obsolete: The Intel 1103 memory chip was discontinued in 1979 after Intel started making more progress in the field (the 16 bit CPU 8086 in 1878).
Unrelated Historical Event: Vietnam War: South Vietnamese troops invade Laos. -
USB Flash Drive
Popular: Flash memory encased in a small portable form factor. A lot of data capacity, is re-writable, holds data in memory, backs up information, and transfers data between various devices.
Obsolete: USB flash drives aren’t obsolete at all; however, cloud technology does give it a good run for its money.
Unrelated Historical Event: Second Chechen War: Battle of Grozny (1999–2000)
