Timeline of computing 1950–1979 84946 225379594 2008-07-13T11:05:29Z SmackBot 433328 Date the maintenance tags or general fixes {{History of computing}} This article presents a [[timeline]] of events in the history of [[computing]] from 1950 to 1979. For a narrative explaining the overall developments, see the related [[history of computers]] and [[history of computer science]]. [[Computing timeline]]s: [[Timeline of computing 2400 BC-1949|2400 BC-1949]], '''1950-1979''', [[Computing timeline 1980-1989|1980-1989]], [[Computing timeline 1990-forward|1990-present]] ==1950s== {| class="wikitable sortable" ! Date ! Place ! class="unsortable" | Event |- valign="top" | [[1950]]<br/>Sept | [[Germany|GER]] | [[Konrad Zuse]] sells his [[Z4 (computer)|Z4]] machine to [[ETH Zurich]]. |- valign="top" | [[1950]] | [[UK]] | The British mathematician and computer pioneer [[Alan Turing]] published a paper describing what would come to be called the [[Turing Test]]. The paper explored the nature and potential development of human and computer intelligence and communication. |- valign="top" | [[1950]] | [[UK]] | The [[Pilot ACE]] computer, with 800 vacuum tubes, and mercury delay lines for its main memory, became operational on May 10, 1950 at the [[National Physical Laboratory, UK|National_Physical_Laboratory]] near London. It was a preliminary version of the full [[ACE (computer)|ACE]], which had been designed by [[Alan Turing]]. |- valign="top" | [[1950]] | [[USA]] | [[TIME]] magazine cover story on the Harvard "[[Harvard Mark III|Mark III]]: Can man build a superman?" includes a quote from [[Howard Aiken]], commenting on "calculators" (computers) then under construction: "We'll have to think up bigger problems if we want to keep them busy." |- valign="top" | [[1951]] | [[USA]] | [[EDVAC]] becomes operational. |- valign="top" | [[30 March]], [[1951]] | [[USA]] | The first commercially successful electronic computer, [[UNIVAC I|UNIVAC]], was also the first general purpose computer - designed to handle both numeric and textual information. Designed by [[J. Presper Eckert]] and [[John Mauchly]], whose corporation subsequently passed to [[Remington Rand]]. The implementation of this machine marked the real beginning of the computer era. Remington Rand delivered the first UNIVAC machine to the U.S. Bureau of Census. This machine used magnetic tape for input. |- valign="top" | [[21 April]], [[1951]] | [[USA]] | [[MIT Whirlwind|Whirlwind]], the first real-time computer was built at [[MIT]] by the team of Jay Forrester for the US Air Defense System, became operational. This ''computer'' is the first to allow ''interactive computing'', allowing users to interact with it using a keyboard and a cathode-ray tube. The Whirlwind design was later developed into [[Semi Automatic Ground Environment|SAGE]], a comprehensive system of real-time computers used for early warning of air attacks. |- valign="top" | [[17 November]], [[1951]] | [[UK]] | J Lyons, a [[United Kingdom]] food company, famous for its tea, made history by running the first business application on an electronic computer. A payroll system was run on [[LEO I|Lyons Electronic Office]] (LEO) a computer system designed by [[Maurice Wilkes]] who had previously worked on [[EDSAC]]. |- valign="top" | [[Autumn]], [[1951]] | [[UK]] | The oldest known recordings of [[Computer music|computer generated music]] were played by the [[Ferranti Mark I]] computer, a commercial version of the [[Manchester Small-Scale Experimental Machine|Baby]] Machine from the [[Victoria University of Manchester|University of Manchester]]. The music program was written by [[Christopher Strachey]]. |- valign="top" | [[1951]] | [[USA]] | [[EDVAC]] (electronic discrete variable computer) - First computer to use Magnetic Tape. EDVAC could have new programs loaded from the tape. Proposed by John von Neumann, it was installed at the Institute for Advance Study, Princeton, USA. |- valign="top" | [[1951]] | [[Australia|AUS]] | [[CSIRAC]] used to play music - the first time a computer was used as a musical instrument. |- valign="top" | [[1951]] | [[USA]] | The [[A-0 programming language|A-0]] high level compiler is invented by [[Grace Hopper|Grace Murray Hopper]]. |- valign="top" | [[1952]] | [[USA]] | [[IAS machine]] completed at the [[Institute for Advanced Study]], Princeton, USA (by Von Neumann and others). |- valign="top" | [[1953]] | [[UK]] | The [[University of Manchester]] team complete the first transistorised computer. |- valign="top" | [[1953]] | [[USA]] | [[Arthur Andersen]] was hired to program the payroll for [[General Electric]] ([[GE]])'s Appliance Park manufacturing facility near Louisville, Kentucky. As a result, GE purchased [[UNIVAC I]] which became the first-ever commercial computer in the United States. Joe Glickauf was [[Arthur Andersen]]'s project leader for the GE engagement. |- valign="top" | [[1953]] | [[WORLD]] | Estimate that there are 100 computers in the world. |- valign="top" | [[1953]] | [[USA]] | [[Magnetic core memory]] developed. |- valign="top" | [[1954]] | [[USA]] | [[FORTRAN]] (FORmula TRANslation) development started by [[John Backus]] and his team at IBM - continuing until 1957. FORTRAN was the first high-level programming language, still in use for scientific programming. Before being run, a FORTRAN program needs to be converted into a machine program by a [[compiler]], itself a program. |- valign="top" | [[1954]] | [[USA]] | The [[IBM NORC|NORC]] was built by IBM for the [[US Navy]]. |- valign="top" | [[1956]] | [[USA]] | First conference on [[Artificial Intelligence]] held at Dartmouth College in New Hampshire. |- valign="top" | [[1956]] | [[USA]] | The [[Bendix G-15]] computer was introduced by the [[Bendix Corporation]] |- valign="top" | [[1956]] | [[Netherlands|NED]] | [[Edsger Dijkstra]] invented an efficient algorithm for shortest paths in graphs as a demonstration of the abilities of the [[ARMAC]] computer. The example used was the Dutch railway system. The problem was chosen because it could be explained quickly and the result checked. Although this is the main thing many people will remember Dijkstra for, he also made important contributions to many areas of computing - in particular he should be remembered for his work on problems relating to concurrency, such as the invention of the ''[[semaphore (programming)|semaphore]]''. |- valign="top" | [[1957]] | [[USA]] | First [[dot-matrix printer|dot matrix printer]] marketed by IBM. |- valign="top" | [[1957]] | [[USA]] | FORTRAN development finished. See [[1954]]. |- valign="top" | [[1957]] | [[USA]] | {{quote|I have travelled the length and breadth of this country and talked with the best people, and I can assure you that data processing is a fad that won't last out the year.|Editor in charge of business books for [[Prentice Hall]].}} |- valign="top" | [[1958]] | [[USA]] | [[Lisp programming language|LISP]] (interpreted language) developed, Finished in 1960. LISP stands for 'LISt Processing'. Used in A.I. development. Developed by [[John McCarthy (computer scientist)|John McCarthy]] at [[Massachusetts Institute of Technology]]. |- valign="top" | [[1958]]<br>Sep&nbsp;12&nbsp; | [[USA]] | The [[integrated circuit]] invented by [[Jack Kilby]] at [[Texas Instruments]]. [[Robert Noyce]], who later set up [[Intel]], also worked separately on the invention. Intel later went on to perfect the microprocessor. The patent was applied for in 1959 and granted in 1964. This patent wasn't accepted by Japan so Japanese businesses could avoid paying any fees, but in 1989 - after a 30 year legal battle - Japan granted the patent; so all Japanese companies paid fees up until the year 2001 - long after the patent became obsolete in the rest of the World. |- valign="top" | [[1959]] | [[USA]] | Computers built between 1959 and 1964 are often regarded as 'Second Generation' computers, based on transistors and printed circuits - resulting in much smaller computers. More powerful, the second generation of computers could handle [[compiler]]s for languages such as FORTRAN (for science) or [[COBOL]] (for business), that accepting English-like commands, and so were much more flexible in their applications. |- valign="top" | [[1959]] | [[USA]] | [[COBOL]] (COmmon Business-Oriented Language) developed by Grace Murray Hopper as the successor to [[FLOW-MATIC]], finished in 1961. |- valign="top" | [[1959]] | [[USSR]] | [[Minsk family of computers|Minsk]] [[mainframe computer]] development and production started in the [[Soviet Union|USSR]]. Stopped in [[1975]]. |} ==1960s== {| class="wikitable sortable" ! Date ! Place ! class="unsortable" | Event |- valign="top" | [[1960]] | [[USA]]<br />[[Europe|EUR]] | [[Algol programming language|Algol]] - first structured, procedural, programming language to be released. |- valign="top" | [[1960]] | [[UK]] | [[Compiler compiler]] - The first compiler compiler is released. |- valign="top" | [[1960]] | [[Serbia|SRB]] | [[CER-10]] - [[vacuum tube]]-based computer created by [[Mihajlo Pupin Institute]] of [[Serbia]], first computer in [[SFRY]]. |- valign="top" | [[1961]] | [[USA]] | [[APL programming language]] released by [[Kenneth Iverson]] at IBM. |- valign="top" | [[1962]] | [[UK]] | [[Atlas Computer|ATLAS]] is completed by the University of Manchester team. This machine introduced many modern architectural concepts: spooling, interrupts, pipelining, interleaved memory, virtual memory and paging. It was the most powerful machine in the world at the time of release. |- valign="top" | [[1962]] | [[USA]] | Work started on the Linc, the brainchild of the M.I.T. physicist [[Wesley A. Clark]] in May 1961. It was the first functional prototype of a computer scaled down to be optimized and priced for the individual user. Used for the first time at the National Institutes of Mental Health in Bethesda, Md. in 1963, many consider it to be the first personal computer. |- valign="top" | [[1962]] | [[USA]] | [[Spacewar!]], the first computer game is written by [[MIT]] student [[Steve Russell]]. The game ran on a [[Digital Equipment Corporation|DEC]] [[PDP-1]], competing players fired at each others space ships using an early version of [[joystick]]. |- valign="top" | [[1962]]<!-- "(1961-1963)" --> | ? | The AN/UYK-1 computer was designed with rounded edges to fit through the hatch of [[Ballistic missile submarine]]s, as part of the first [[Satellite navigation system]], [[Transit (satellite)|Transit]]. |- valign="top" | [[1963]] | [[USA]] | [[Mouse (computing)|Mouse]] conceived by [[Douglas Engelbart]], not to become popular until 1983 with [[Apple Computer]]'s Macintosh and not adopted by IBM until [[1987]] - although compatible computers such as the [[Amstrad]] PC 1512 were fitted with mice before this date. |- valign="top" | [[1964]] | [[USA]] | Computers built between [[1964]] and [[1972]] are often regarded as 'Third Generation' computers, they are based on the first integrated circuits - creating even smaller machines. Typical of such machines was the IBM [[System/360]] series mainframe, while smaller [[minicomputer]]s began to open up computing to smaller businesses. |- valign="top" | [[1964]] | [[USA]] | Programming language [[PLI|PL/I]] released by IBM. |- valign="top" | [[1964]] | [[USA]] | Launch of IBM System/360 - the first series of compatible computers. Over 14,000 were shipped by [[1968]]. |- valign="top" | [[1964]] | [[USA]] | [[Digital Equipment Corporation|DEC]] [[PDP-8]] Mini Computer. The first minicomputer, built by Digital Equipment (DEC). It cost $16,000. |- valign="top" | [[1964]] | [[USA]] | [[Project MAC]] is started at [[MIT]] by [[Joseph Licklider|J.C.R. Licklider]]: several terminals all across campus will be connected to a central computer, using a timesharing mechanism. [[Bulletin board]]s and [[email]] are popular applications. |- valign="top" | [[1964]] | [[Serbia|SRB]] | [[CER-20]] released by [[Mihajlo Pupin Institute]] of [[Serbia]] as "electronic bookkeeping machine". |- valign="top" | [[1965]] | [[USA]] | [[Moore's law]] published by [[Gordon Moore]] in the 35th Anniversary edition of [[Electronics (magazine)|Electronics magazine]]. Originally suggesting processor complexity doubled every year, the law was revised in [[1975]] to suggest a doubling in complexity every two years. |- valign="top" | [[1965]] | [[USA]] | [[Fuzzy logic]] designed by [[Lofti Zadeh]] ([[University of California, Berkeley]]), it is used to process approximate data - such as 'about 100'. |- valign="top" | [[1965]] | [[USSR]] | [[BESM|BESM-6]] mainframe computer was designed in the [[Soviet Union|USSR]]. |- valign="top" | [[1965]] | [[USA]] | [[BASIC programming language]] (Beginners All Purpose Symbolic Instruction Code) developed at [[Dartmouth College]], USA, by [[Thomas E. Kurtz]] and [[John Kemeny]]. Not implemented on microcomputers until [[1975]]. This was the first language designed to be used in a time-sharing environment, such as DTSS (Dartmouth Time-Sharing System), or [[GCOS (operating system)|GCOS]]. |- valign="top" | [[1965]] | [[USA]] | [[Packet switching]], funded by ARPA was developed. This makes reliable computer networking possible. The first computer-to-computer login does not occur until [[November 21]],[[1969]], between Stanford and UCLA. |- valign="top" | [[1965]] | [[USA]] | The first [[supercomputer]], the Control Data [[CDC 6600]], was developed. |- valign="top" | [[1966]] | [[USA]] | [[Hewlett-Packard]] entered the general purpose computer business with its [[HP-2115]] for computation, offering a computational power formerly found only in much larger computers. It supported a wide variety of languages, among them [[BASIC programming language|BASIC]], [[Algol programming language|Algol]], and [[FORTRAN]]. |- valign="top" | [[1966]] | [[Serbia|SRB]] | [[CER-200]] released by [[Mihajlo Pupin Institute]] of [[Serbia]] |- valign="top" | [[1967]] | [[USA]] | Development on the programming language [[Pascal programming language|Pascal]] started, to be finished in 1971. Based on Algol. Developed by [[Niklaus Wirth]] as a pedagogical tool. It was not widely used until 1984 when [[Borland]] introduced [[Turbo Pascal]]. |- valign="top" | [[1967]] | [[USA]] | The [[floppy disk]] is invented at [[IBM]] by David Noble, under the direction of [[Alan Shugart]], for use with the [[System/370]]. License royalties are paid to Doctor [[Yoshiro Nakamatsu]] in Tokyo, who claimed he got the idea for the floppy disk in [[1950]]. |- valign="top" | [[1967]] | [[Serbia|SRB]] | [[CER-22]] - first [[transistor]]-based computer created by [[Mihajlo Pupin Institute]] of [[Serbia]], [[SFRY]]. |- valign="top" | [[1968]] | [[USA]] | [[Intel]] founded by [[Robert Noyce]] and a few friends. |- valign="top" | [[1968]] | [[USA]] | [[Logo programming language|LOGO]] programming language developed by [[Seymour Papert]] and team at MIT. |- valign="top" | [[1968]] | [[USA]] | {{Rquote|left|But what ... is it good for?|Engineer at the Advanced Computing Systems Division of IBM commenting on the microchip.}} |- valign="top" | [[1968]] | [[USA]] | [[Douglas Engelbart]] demonstrates interactive computing at the Fall Joint Computer Conference in San Francisco: [[computer mouse|mouse]], on-screen windows, [[hypertext]] and full-screen [[word processing]]. |- valign="top" | [[1969]] | [[USA]] | [[ARPANET]] started by the [[United States Department of Defense]] for research into networking. It is the original basis for what now forms the [[Internet]]. It was opened to non-military users later in the 1970s and many universities and large businesses went on-line. |- valign="top" | [[1969]]<br>Apr&nbsp;&nbsp;7&nbsp;&nbsp; | [[USA]] | The first [[Request for Comments]], RFC 1 published. The RFCs (network [[working group]], Request For Comment) are a series of papers which are used to develop and define protocols for networking; originally the basis for ARPANET, there are now thousands of them applying to all aspects of the Internet. Collectively they document everything about the way the Internet and computers on it should behave, whether it's [[Internet protocol suite|TCP/IP]] networking or how email headers should be written there will be a set of RFCs describing it. |- valign="top" | [[1969]] | ? | Introduction of [[RS-232]] (serial interface) standard by EIA ([[Electronic Industries Association]]). |- valign="top" | [[1969]] | [[USA]] | [[Data General]] shipped a total of 50,000 Novas at $8000 each. The [[Data General Nova|Nova]] was one of the first 16-bit minicomputers and led the way toward word lengths that were multiples of the 8-bit byte. It was first to employ medium-scale integration (MSI) circuits from [[Fairchild Semiconductor]], with subsequent models using large-scale integrated (LSI) circuits. Also notable was that the entire central processor was contained on one 15-inch [[printed circuit board]]. |} ==1970s== {| class="wikitable sortable" ! Date ! Place ! class="unsortable" | Event |- valign="top" | 1970<br>Oct | [[USA]] | First dynamic{{Fact|date=October 2007}} [[Random Access Memory|RAM]] chip introduced by [[Intel]]. It was called the 1103 and had a capacity of 1 K-bit, 1024 bits. |- valign="top" | 1970 | [[USA]] | Development of [[Unix|UNIX]] operating system started. It was later released as [[C (programming language)|C]] source code to aid portability, and subsequently versions are obtainable for many different computers, including the [[IBM PC]]. It and its clones (such as [[Linux|GNU/Linux]]) are still widely used on network servers and scientific workstations. Originally developed by [[Ken Thompson (computer programmer)|Ken Thompson]] and [[Dennis Ritchie]]. |- valign="top" | 1970 | [[USA]] | [[Forth (programming language)|Forth programming language]] developed. A simple, clean, stackbased design, which later inspired [[PostScript]] and the [[Java (programming language)|Java]] virtual machine. |- valign="top" | 1970<br>Jun | [[USA]] | Steve Geller, Ray Holt and a team from [[AiResearch]] and [[American Microsystems]] completed development of a flight data processor for the [[US Navy]]'s [[F-14 Tomcat|F-14A Tomcat]] fighter jet. The processor used [[Integrated circuit#LSI|LSI]] chips to produce a fast, powerful, and rugged programmable computer that fitted into the very tight space restrictions of the aircraft. |- valign="top" | 1970<br>Jun | [[USA]] | [[Datapoint|CTC]] creates the [[Datapoint 2200]], a mass-produced programmable terminal. Its multi-chip CPU provided the basis for the [[Intel 8008]]; a monitor and tape drives were built-in, and the entire system fit the approximate footprint of an [[IBM]] [[Selectric]] [[typewriter]]. Users quickly began to use the system as a standalone computer; the unit is the earliest known which strongly resembles the [[personal computer]]s of the 1980s and beyond. |- valign="top" | 1971 | [[USA]] | Development of [[Pascal programming language|Pascal]] finished - see 1967. |- valign="top" | 1971 | [[USA]] | [[Ray Tomlinson]] develops the first program that can send [[email]] messages from one computer to another. |- valign="top" | 1971<br>Nov&nbsp;15 | [[USA]] | First [[microprocessor]], the [[Intel 4004|4004]], developed by [[Marcian Hoff|Marcian E. Hoff]] for [[Intel]], was released. It contains the equivalent of 2300 transistors and was a 4 bit processor. It is capable of around 60,000 instructions per second (0.06 MIPS), running at a maximum clock speed of 740 [[Hertz|kHz]]. |- valign="top" | [[1971]] | [[USA]] | [[Texas Instruments]] releases the first easily portable electronic calculator. |- valign="top" | 1971 | [[Serbia|SRB]] | [[HRS-100]], a hybrid computer system, released by [[Mihajlo Pupin Institute]] of [[Serbia]] |- valign="top" | 1972 | [[USA]] | [[Atari]] founded by [[Nolan Bushnell]] and [[Ted Dabney]], (see also 1972). |- valign="top" | 1972 | [[USA]] | [[Pong]] released - widely recognised as the first popular arcade video game. It was invented by [[Allan Alcorn]]. |- valign="top" | 1972 | ? | Computers built after 1972 are often called 'fourth generation' computers, based on LSI (Large Scale Integration) of circuits (such as microprocessors) - typically 500 or more components on a chip. Later developments include [[VLSI]] (Very Large Scale Integration) of integrated circuits 5 years later - typically 10,000 components. The fourth generation is generally viewed as running right up until the present, since although computing power has increased the basic technology has remained virtually the same. |- valign="top" | 1972 | [[USA]] | [[C (programming language)|C programming language]] developed at The [[Bell Laboratories]] in the USA by Dennis Ritchie (one of the inventors of the [[Unix]] operating system), its predecessor was the B programming language - also from Bell. It is a very popular language, especially for systems programming - as it is flexible and fast. C was considered a refreshing change in the computing industry because it helped introduce [[structured programming]]. The successor to C, [[C++]], was introduced in the 1980s, and in turn helped usher in the era of [[Object oriented programming]]. |- valign="top" | 1972 | [[USA]] | First handheld scientific calculator released by Hewlett-Packard, the engineer's [[slide rule]] is at last obsolete. |- valign="top" | 1972<br>Apr 1 | [[USA]] | [[Intel 8008|8008]] [[microprocessor]] released by Intel. |- valign="top" | 1972 | [[USA]] | The first international connections to [[ARPANET]] are established. ARPANET later became the basis for what we now call the [[Internet]]. |- valign="top" | 1972 | [[Norway|NOR]] | [[Norsk Data]] launches the Nord-5, the first 32-bit [[supermini]] computer. |- valign="top" | 1973 | [[USA]] | Development of the [[Internet protocol suite|TCP/IP]] protocol suite by a group headed by [[Vinton Cerf]] and [[Robert E. Kahn]]. These are the protocols used on the internet. |- valign="top" | 1973 | [[France|FRA]] | [[Prolog programming language|Prolog]] developed at the [[University of Luminy-Marseilles]] in France by [[Alain Colmerauer]]. It introduced the new paradigm of logical programming and is often used for expert systems and AI programming. |- valign="top" | 1973 | [[USA]] | The [[TV Typewriter]], designed by [[Don Lancaster]], provided the first display of alphanumeric information on an ordinary television set. It used $120 worth of electronics components. The original design included two memory boards and could generate and store 512 characters as 16 lines of 32 characters. A 90-minute cassette tape provided supplementary storage for about 100 pages of text. |- valign="top" | 1973 | [[USA]] | [[Ethernet]] developed, this became a popular way of connecting PCs and other computers together - to enable them to share data, and devices such as printers. A group of machines connected together in this way is known as a [[local area network|LAN]]. |- valign="top" | 1974 | ? | [[CLIP-4]], the first computer with a parallel architecture. |- valign="top" | 1974<br> | [[Canada|CAN]] | [[MCM/70]], the first personal computer to be commercially released, by Micro Computer Machines in Canada. Although it incorporated a plasma display, was programmable in the high level language APL, and weighed just 20 pounds, it failed commercially. |- valign="top" | 1974<br>Apr 1 | [[USA]] | Introduction of the [[Intel 8080|8080]]. An 8 Bit Microprocessor from [[Intel]]. Arguably this microprocessor started the microprocessor revolution. First in the line of processors that lead to the currently most used processor architecture, the 80X86 (and pentium) series. It ran at a clock frequency of 2 [[Megahertz|MHz]] and did 0.64 [[million instructions per second|MIPS]]. |- valign="top" | 1974 | [[USA]] | [[Motorola]] announces the MC[[6800]] 8 Bit Microprocessor. It is more easy to implement than the 8080 because it only needs a single power supply to operate and does not need support chips. Unlike the 8080 it is sold not as much as a general purpose "number cruncher / computer" CPU core but more as a control processor for industrial control and as a peripheral processor. |- valign="top" | 1974 | [[USA]] | [[Motorola]] engineers [[Chuck Peddle]] and [[Bill Mensch]] leave after completing work on the [[Motorola]] [[6800]] [[Central processing unit|CPU]] and join [[MOS Technology|MOS Technology, Inc.]] |- valign="top" | 1974<br>Dec | [[USA]] | The [[Micro Instrumentation and Telemetry Systems|MITS]] [[Altair 8800]], the third commercially available personal computer, is released. In December 1974, an article in ''Popular Electronics'' invited people to order kits for the computer. Despite the limited memory (256 bytes) and limited processing power, around 200 were ordered on the first day. 10,000 were shipped at a kit price of $397 each. The Altair bus later developed into an industry standard, the [[S-100 bus]]. |- valign="top" | 1975 | [[USA]] | First microcomputer implementation of [[BASIC programming language|BASIC]] by [[Bill Gates]] and [[Paul Allen]], it was written for the MITS Altair - the first personal computer - this led to the formation of [[Microsoft]] later in the year. |- valign="top" | 1975 | [[USA]] | [[Unix]] marketed (see 1970). |- valign="top" | 1975 | [[Norway|NOR]] | [[Norway|Norwegian]] company [[Mycron]] releases its [[MYCRO-1]], the first [[single-board computer]]. |- valign="top" | 1975 | [[USA]] | Formation of [[Microsoft]] by [[Bill Gates]] and [[Paul Allen]]. |- valign="top" | 1975 | [[USA]] | [[MOS Technology|MOS Technology, Inc.]] releases their [[MOS Technology 6501|6501]] CPU. It is pin compatible with the [[6800|Motorola 6800]], which soon starts a lawsuit against MOS Technology. The 6501 is withdrawn from sale soon after and replaced with the [[MOS Technology 6502|6502]] which is now 6800 pin-incompatible. The 6502 becomes one of the most popular CPUs for the next 10 years. |- valign="top" | 1975 | [[USA]] | [[IBM 5100]] computer released; with integrated keybaord, display, and mass storage on tape, it resembles the [[personal computer]]s of a few years later, although it does not use a [[microprocessor]]. |- valign="top" | 1975<br>Nov | [[USA]] | [[Zilog]] is founded by ex-Intel employees. |- valign="top" | 1976<br>Apr 1 | [[USA]] | [[Apple Computer]], Inc. founded, to market the [[Apple I]] single-board computer designed by [[Steve Wozniak]] and [[Steve Jobs]]. It uses the [[MOS Technology 6502]] microprocessor. |- valign="top" | 1976 | [[USA]] | First [[laser printer]] introduced by IBM - the IBM 3800. The first colour versions came onto the market in 1988. |- valign="top" | 1976? | [[USA]] | Introduction of the Intel [[8085]] chip. An improved version of the 8080, with a superset of the 8080s instruction set (only a couple of extra instructions). Single 5V power supply (while the 8080 needed several different voltages). |- valign="top" | 1976 | [[USA]] | [[Zilog Z80|Z80]] chip released by Zilog. It was a superset of the 8080 chip with additional registers and instructions, and using only one power supply voltage. CP/M was originally written for the 8080, but many implementations used the Z80. The Z80 was the processor for home computers like the [[Tandy]] [[TRS-80]] of 1977, the Sinclair [[ZX Spectrum]] of 1982 and many others. |- valign="top" | 1976 | [[USA]] | [[MOS Technology|MOS Technology, Inc]] introduces the [[KIM-1]] microcoputer system as a demonstrator for its [[MOS Technology 6502|6502]] CPU. |- valign="top" | 1976 | [[USA]] | [[Cray-1]] supercomputer was invented by [[Seymour Cray]], who left [[Control Data]] in 1972 to form his own company. This machine was known as much for its horseshoe-shaped design as it was for being the first super to make [[vector processing]] practical. 85 were shipped at a cost of $5 million each. |- valign="top" | 1976 | [[USA]] | [[Commodore International|Commodore]] buys [[MOS Technology|MOS Technology, Inc]] in a stock trade. MOS is valued at $12 million. [[Chuck Peddle]] joins Commodore as chief engineer. With the purchase of MOS, Commodore begins work on the [[Commodore PET]]. |- valign="top" | 1977 | [[USA]] | [[Commodore International|Commodore]] introduces the[[Commodore PET]]. It has 4KB RAM, integrated cassette deck and 9" monochrome monitor. |- valign="top" | 1977 | [[USA]] | {{Rquote|left|There is no reason anyone would want a computer in their home.|[[Ken Olsen]], president, chairman and founder of [[Digital Equipment Corporation]].}} |- valign="top" | 1977<br>June 5 | [[USA]] | [[Apple II]] computer introduced. It had an open architecture, used color graphics, and had an elegantly designed interface to a floppy disk drive. It also had the first "[[killer app]]" of the business world -- the [[VisiCalc]] spreadsheet program. |- valign="top" | 1977<br>Aug | [[USA]] | [[Tandy Corporation|Tandy]] brought out the [[TRS-80]] with "Level I BASIC". Although the TRS-80 had a primitive 4K BASIC (a stripped down version of the public domain "[[Li-Chen Wang]] Basic") and abysmal graphics it still became a bestseller quickly. |- valign="top" | 1977<br>Sept | [[USA]] | [[Heathkit]] made the [[H8]] Home computer kit available. It was based on an Intel 8080a processor and shipped with HDOS a Heathkit Disk Operating System and Benton Harbor BASIC. It was a kit. |- valign="top" | 1978 | [[USA]] | Tandy upgraded the TRS-80 with a much improved [[Microsoft]] 8K "Level II BASIC", and an "expansion interface" which added 32KB RAM, A floppy disk and a printer interface. With these extras the TRS-80 became a viable small business computer. |- valign="top" | 1978<br>Jun 8 | [[USA]] | Introduction of 8086 by [[Intel]], a 16 bit microprocessor. The available clock frequencies were 5, 8 and 10 MHz. It has an instruction set of about 300 operations. At introduction the fastest processor was the 8 MHz version which achieved 0.8 MIPS and contained 29,000 transistors. |- valign="top" | 1978 | [[JAP]] | Arcade Video game '[[Space Invaders]]' released, starting a video game craze. In 1979 Atari's Asteroids proved incredibly popular. |- valign="top" | 1979 | [[USA]] | [[Ada programming language]] introduced by [[Jean Ichbiah]] and team at [[Honeywell]] for the US Department of Defense. |- valign="top" | 1979<br>Jun 1 | [[USA]] | Introduction of the Intel 8088, compatible with the 8086 with an 8-bit data bus - but this makes it cheaper to implement in computers. Chosen for the [[IBM PC]], Intel processors were found in millions of [[IBM-PC compatible]] computers. |- valign="top" | 1979 | [[UK]] | [[Commodore PET]] released in the United Kingdom. Based on a 1 MHz 6502 processor it displayed monochrome text and had just 8 KB of RAM. Priced £569. For £776 you could purchase a version with 16 KB of RAM, while for £914 you could get a 32 KB of RAM. |- valign="top" | 1979 | [[NED]]<br />[[JAP]] | [[Compact disc]] was invented. |- valign="top" | 1979 | [[USA]] | The [[68000]] Microprocessor launched by [[Motorola]], the first of the [[68k]] family. 5+ years later it was used in machines such as the [[Apple Macintosh]], the [[Atari ST]] and the [[Commodore Amiga]]. |- valign="top" | 1979 | [[USA]] | Shortly after the release of V7 Unix, which included [[UUCP]], a protocol for communication over standard telephone lines, Tom Truscott and Jim Ellis created [[Usenet]], a global discussion group system. Nowadays, it uses [[Internet]] protocols and is still popular. |- valign="top" | 1979 | [[USA]] | Four disgruntled [[Atari]] programmers leave and form [[Activision]], the first third-party video game software publisher. Activision promotes both the game and the programmer, changing the way software is marketed. |- valign="top" | 1979 | [[USA]] | IBM saw its computer market dominance being eaten into by the new personal computers, such as the [[Apple II]] and the [[Commodore PET]]. IBM therefore started work on their own personal computer. When finished, this computer was released as the [[IBM PC]] on [[12 August]] [[1981]] |- valign="top" | 1979 | [[USA]] | Texas Instruments releases the [[TI-99/4|TI-99/4 microcomputer]]. This system generally used [[Compact Cassette|audio cassettes]] to store information, along with ROM modules, similar to gaming units, to hold commercial software. Additionally, TI made available a speech synthesizer, based around their own [[TMS5220|chip]], for the TI-99/4 and it's successor, the 4A. |} [[Computing timeline]]s: [[Computing timeline 500 BC-1949|500 BC-1949]], '''1950-1979''', [[Computing timeline 1980-1989|1980-1989]], [[Computing timeline 1990-forward|1990-present]] ==See also== *[[Informational Revolution]] *[[Programming language timeline]] *[[Operating systems timeline]] *[[Commercial computer apps timeline]] *[[Computer science timeline]] *[[History of the graphical user interface]] *[[History of the Internet]] ==External links== *[http://ox.compsoc.net/~swhite/history.html ''A Brief History of Computing,''] by Stephen White. An excellent computer history site; the present article is a modified version of his timeline, used with [[History of computing/Permission|permission]]. [[Category:Computing timelines|Computing 1950]] [[de:Digitale Revolution]] [[es:Tercera revolución industrial]] [[fr:Révolution industrielle#La_troisi.C3.A8me_R.C3.A9volution_industrielle]] [[hu:Digitális forradalom]] [[ru:Компьютеризация]] [[zh:數字化革命]]