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Joseph Marie Jacquard
In France, Joseph Marie Jacquard invents a loom that uses punched wooden cards to automatically weave fabric designs. Early computers would use similar punch cards. -
The Concept of Computers: Alan Turing
Alan Turing presents the notion of a universal machine, later called the Turing machine, capable of computing anything that is computable. The central concept of the modern computer was based on his ideas. -
The First Computers
Two University of Pennsylvania professors, John Mauchly and J. Presper Eckert, build the Electronic Numerical Integrator and Calculator (ENIAC). Considered the grandfather of digital computers, it fills a 20-foot by 40-foot room and has 18,000 vacuum tubes. -
The First Mouse
Douglas Engelbart shows a prototype of the modern computer, with a mouse and a graphical user interface (GUI). This marks the evolution of the computer from a specialized machine for scientists and mathematicians to technology that is more accessible to the general public. -
Floppy Disks
Alan Shugart leads a team of IBM engineers who invent the “floppy disk,” allowing data to be shared among computers. -
The First (Modern) Computer
Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak start Apple Computers on April Fool’s Day and roll out the Apple I, the first computer with a single-circuit board. -
Acorn
The first IBM personal computer, code-named “Acorn,” is introduced. It uses Microsoft’s MS-DOS operating system. It has an Intel chip, two floppy disks and an optional color monitor. Sears & Roebuck and Computerland sell the machines, marking the first time a computer is available through outside distributors. It also popularizes the term PC. -
Microsoft, Commodore, and Apple
Microsoft announces Windows, its response to Apple’s GUI. Commodore unveils the Amiga 1000, which features advanced audio and video capabilities. -
Dot-Com
The first dot-com domain name is registered on March 15, years before the World Wide Web would mark the formal beginning of Internet history. The Symbolics Computer Company, a small Massachusetts computer manufacturer, registers Symbolics.com. More than two years later, only 100 dot-coms had been registered. -
World Wide Web
Tim Berners-Lee, a researcher at CERN, the high-energy physics laboratory in Geneva, develops HyperText Markup Language (HTML), giving rise to the World Wide Web. -
Google Search
Sergey Brin and Larry Page develop the Google search engine at Stanford University. -
Wi-Fi
The term Wi-Fi becomes part of the computing language and users begin connecting to the Internet without wires. -
Youtube
YouTube, a video sharing service, is founded. Google acquires Android, a Linux-based mobile phone operating system. -
Smartphones
The iPhone brings many computer functions to the smartphone. -
Apple Watch
Apple releases the Apple Watch. Microsoft releases Windows 10.
