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1960
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The first standardized business programming language,
the Common Basic Oriented Language (COBOL) is created by an industry-wide
team, based on previous work done by Grace Hopper.
The second mathematical language, ALGOL 60, is also created by
committee.
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1961
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The first commercial integrated chips are marketed by
Fairchild Corporation.
Fernando Corbato of MIT produces the Compatible Time
Sharing System (CTSS) operating system for the IBM 7090/94, the first time
sharing operating system, and also the first system that allowed remote
connection to a computer since the Stibitz demonstration in 1940.
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1962
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The Atlas computer at the University of Manchester
goes operational. It features
virtual memory and paging, pipelined instruction execution, and separate
fixed and floating point arithmetic units.
It achieves a speed of 200 kFLOPS.
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1963
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The first standardized data format is developed, the
American Standard Code for Information Interchange (ASCII).
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1964
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Douglas Engelbart, working at the SRI Augmentation
Research Center, continues research on human-computer interface using the
On Line System (NLS). Among
other areas, Engelbart and SRI developed the mouse, the concept of
windows, hypertext, video conferencing, uniform command syntax, and
structured file systems.
IBM delivers the first on-line, real time reservation
system for American Airlines, called SABRE.
IBM introduces the IBM/360 family of computers.
This is the first time the concept of a common operating system and
upward compatibility is addressed.
The Dartmouth Time Sharing System becomes
operational. It uses a
language developed for student program development called BASIC.
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1965
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Digital Equipment Corporation introduces the first
minicomputer, the PDP-8.
The CTSS at MIT gains the notice of J.C.R. Licklider,
director of the Advanced Research Projects Agency (ARPA), who arranges
Project MAC, consisting of teams from MIT, GE and Bell Telephone
Laboratories to build a general purpose, time sharing, multiprocessing
system called MULTICS.
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1967
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The first computer systems using integrated chip
technology become available.
The NSF Pierce Report examines the state of computer
education in U.S. colleges, and starts the development of formal computer
curricula.
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1968
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Edsger Dijkstra writes a letter to the Association of
Computing Machinery (ACM) entitled, "GOTO Statement Considered
Harmful," igniting the debate on reliable software development.
Arthur C. Clarke introduces HAL in the movie
"2001: A Space
Odyssey." HAL is based
on AI concepts developed by I.J. Good of Bletchley Park.
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1969
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Work on the ARPAnet begins.
Disillusioned by problems with MULTICS, Bell
Telephone Laboratories withdraws from Project MAC.
Two Bell employees, Ritchie and Thompson, begin work on their own
operating system aimed at single users rather than multiple users.
In a play on the name MULTICS, they name their system UNIX.
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1971
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Intel Corporation builds the first microprocessor,
the Intel 4004.
Alan Shugart at IBM develops the first 8"
magnetic floppy disk.
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1972
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The first digital microcomputer available for
personal use is developed, the Micro Instrumentation and Telemetry System
(MITS) 816. It does not have
either a display or a keyboard.
ARPAnet is demonstrated at an ACM conference.
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1973
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Don Knuth delivers the first three volumes of what he
envisions as a dozen volumes on "The Art of Programming."
His work forms the basis of modern data structures, algorithms and
programming techniques, and these three volumes are quickly hailed as the
bibles of software development.
Robert Metcalfe develops Ethernet at Xerox Parc.
The U.S. District Court in Minneapolis invalidates
the patent for the computer issued to Mauchly and Eckert, ruling that
Mauchly had derived his ideas for the computer from John Vincent Atanasoff
and the ABC. Neither Mauchly
nor Eckert ever stopped opposing this verdict, insisting their invention
was original.
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1974
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The March 1974 issue of QST Magazine contains the
first ad for a personal computer, the Scelbi (SCientific, ELectronic, and
BIological).
Jonathon Titus produces a widely available personal
computer kit, the Mark 8.
Intel produces the 8080 microprocessor for the
purpose of controlling traffic lights.
Gary Kildall introduces the CP/M operating system.
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1975
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The first mass produced personal computer marketed to
customers other than electrical engineers appears, the MITS Altair 8800
(named after a planet on an episode of Star Trek), which used an Intel
8080 microprocessor running at 2 MHz.
The Altair had 256 bytes of memory, no keyboard, no display, no
secondary storage, and cost $375. Bill
Gates and Paul Allen later write their first product for the Altair, a
BASIC compiler.
IBM introduces its first personal computer, the 5100.
Due to the high price of both hardware and software, it does not
catch on with the Altair crowd.
CDC builds the first modern supercomputer, the Cray
I, designed by Seymour Cray.
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1976
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Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak release the Apple II, a
completely assembled computer that came with a keyboard, display, and is
affordable enough for the enthusiast.
It is an immediate success, and is adopted throughout educational
systems for use in fledgling computer courses.
Apple and Microsoft Corporations are both founded.
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1977
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Commodore introduces the Commodore PET, and Radio
Shack releases the TRS-80 (affectionately known as the "Trash-80".
The first Computershack opens in Morristown, N.J.
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1978
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Daniel Bricklin and Bob Frankston release Visicalc, a
spreadsheet program that set the standard for both the look and feel as
well as the ease of use of future application programs.
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1979
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Micropro International releases Wordstar, which sets
the standard for word processing programs.
The business community begins to realize personal computers can be
used for work, and are not the exclusive realm of the hobbyist.
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1980
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Alan Shugart uses his own company, Shugart
Associates, to introduce the Winchester hard drive, bringing mainframe
style storage into the realm of the personal computer.
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1981
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IBM releases the IBM PC, supported by the Microsoft
DOS operating system and the Intel 8086/8088 chips, working at an initial
clock speed of 5 MHz. IBM
successfully markets the PC to users who see it as a tool for getting work
done, rather than hobbyists who want to tinker.
Osborne Computer Corporation markets the first
portable computer, the Osborne 1.
Commodore introduces the VIC-20 for the computer
hobbyist community, and quickly sells over 1 million units.
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1982
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Intel releases the 80286, the first processor
backwards compatible with software written for the previous Intel
architecture. The 80286 clock
speeds ran from 6 MHz to 12.5 MHz.
Time Magazine names the computer as Time's Man of the
Year, the only time the title was awarded to an inanimate object.
Disney Studios releases the first movie that makes
extensive use of computer special effects, Tron.
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1983
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Application programs and computer games proliferate.
Mitch Kapor releases Lotus 1-2-3, which supplants Visicalc as the
spreadsheet of choice.
After five years of development, the U.S.
Department of Defense announces its new programming language, named Ada in
honor of Ada, Countess of Lovelace. The
Ada language introduced many new innovations, but was widely criticized
for its complexity.
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1984
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In the famous Orwell inspired commercial, Apple
Computer announces the Macintosh. According
to Steve Jobs, the Macintosh was the result of his having viewed the Alto
system at Xerox Parc. The
mouse and icon soon become familiar tools for computer interaction.
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1985
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Government agencies and universities become aware
that computer users, most of them young, are deliberately breaking into
computer systems. The press
comes to label these intruders as "hackers."
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1986
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Intel releases the 386 processor.
The 386 featured a 32 bit chip, and ran at speeds of 16 MHz to 33
MHz.
The Cray X-MP is released. This is the first multiprocessing supercomputer, using four
processors, and achieves a processing speed of 713 MFLOPS.
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1989
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Intel releases the 486 processor.
The 486 was the first processor with a built-in math coprocessor,
and ran at speeds of 25 to 50 MHz.
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1993
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Intel releases the Pentium processor.
Clock speeds were 60 and 66 MHz.
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1995
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Intel releases the Pentium Pro processor, designed
primarily for server and workstation applications.
Clock speeds were 150 to 200 MHz.
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1997
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Intel releases the Pentium II processor.
Clock speeds were 200 to 300 MHz.
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1999
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Intel releases the Celeron processor for the lower
end consumer market. The
Celeron runs around 300 MHz. The
Pentium III is released for the higher end of the market, and runs between
500 and 650 MHz.
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2000
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Intel releases the Pentium 4 processor.
It's initial clock speed is 1.5 GHz.
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2002
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Clock speed for the Pentium 4
is 2.2 GHz.
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