The Evolution of Computers & Computer Timeline

How Did Computers Change the History?

• ‍1937: George Stibitz, a Bell Laboratories scientist, originated the use of relays as a demonstration adder. Stibitz called this circuit a "Model K" adder because he created it at home on a kitchen table.

• 1939: Bill Hewlett and Dave Packard founded Hewlett-Packard in a rented garage in Palo Alto, California. The garage was the location of research, development, and manufacturing for the first products produced by the new company.
• 1941: Konrad Zuse, a German engineer, designed the Z3 computer. This computer was capable of performing floating point binary math.
• 1944: An Austrian engineer named Curt Herzstark spent his time at the Buchenwald concentration camp working on preliminary designs of a four-function calculator. After his release, he moved forward with building the calculator.
• 1948: Researchers with the University of Manchester developed the "Manchester Baby," which was a machine designed to test memory technology. The researchers wrote and ran the first computer program on the Manchester Baby.
• 1950: Remington-Rand built the ERA 1101, one of the world's first commercially produced computers. This system held 1 million bits on an internal magnetic drum.
• 1951: The UNIVAC 1 began attracting the attention of the public. This computer weighed 29,000 pounds, and it contained 5,200 vacuum tubes.
• 1957: MIT researchers succeeded in building a programmable computer containing transistors. This computer was designed for general purposes.
• 1958: The SAGE system connected 23 separate computer sites throughout the United States and Canada. The purpose of SAGE was to detect incoming Soviet missiles.
• 1961: Transistorized computers were designed that were capable of ongoing calculations of flight positioning. These Minuteman I missile guidance systems were highly advanced for the time.
• 1964: IBM released five different System/360 models with varying performance capabilities. IBM targeted scientific and business customers with these computers.
• 1965: The Olivetti Programma 101 went on the market. This calculator could perform basic mathematical processes as well as the calculation of square roots.
• 1968: Experts in the MIT Instrumentation Laboratory designed the Apollo Guidance Computer. This new system was significantly smaller, only weighing 70 pounds.
• 1971: Intel's 4004 microprocessor was the first invention of its kind. The 4004 retailed for $200.
• 1976: The Cray-1 was the speediest computer of its time. Manufacturing these computers was anything but fast, though: Assembly of every computer took a whole year.
• 1976: Steve Wozniak was instrumental in the design and release of the Apple-1 single-board computer. Only about 200 machines were sold.
• 1977: The Apple-II was released to the public. Between the years 1977 and 1993, Apple sold millions of these computers.
• 1977: Tandy produced the very first desktop computer. Radio Shack sold 10,000 of these systems that appealed to novice users.
• 1979: Atari released two gaming microcomputers, the Model 400 and the Model 800. These computers were in direct competition with the Apple-II computer.
• 1981: IBM released the very first IBM PC to the public. These computers utilized the Microsoft MS-DOS operating system.
• 1982: Commodore released its C64 computer to the public. This computer system featured 64 KB of RAM and graphics that featured cutting-edge technology.
• 1984: Apple used a 1984 Super Bowl commercial to unveil the Macintosh computer. The Macintosh was the first computer to utilize a mouse.
• 1986: Compaq was the first to launch a computer with an Intel 80386 chip in it. The Deskpro 386 had a 32-bit microprocessor.
• 1988: Steve Jobs releases the NeXT Cube. This computer had 8 MB of RAM and a magneto-optical disk drive.
• 1993: Hand-held computers took a step forward with the release of Apple's Newton. This device was called a personal data assistant, or PDA.
• 1996: The Palm Pilot entered the scene as a new PDA with innovative abilities. Consumers were able to connect the Palm Pilot to a computer to synchronize the separate systems.
• 1996: Sony's Vaio was a new line of computers that offered a new three-dimensional interface. Sony discontinued the Vaio in 2014.
• 2000: A Japanese company introduced the first camera phone. This camera's resolution was 0.11 megapixels.
• 2002: The Japanese government created the Earth Simulator, which was a supercomputer. This computer reigned as the world's fastest computer between 2002 and 2004.
• 2005: The Chinese company Lenovo acquired IBM's PC business. The main reason for the purchase was to get access to the ThinkPad computer line.
• 2007: Amazon released the Kindle, a new electronic reading system. The design featured an SD card slot for storage expansion.
• 2007: Apple introduced the iPhone to the world. This cell phone offered multiple features, such as Internet browsing, music, and a phone.
• 2008: The MacBook Air hit stores, featuring many new capabilities. Apple succeeded in reducing the overall size of the unit by making the hard drive smaller.
• 2010: Apple released the first iPad. This mobile device offered a larger screen without phone capabilities.
• 2012: Raspberry Pi launched a computer the size of a credit card. This tiny computer weighed in at 45 grams.
• 2015: Apple reduced its computer size even further with the launch of the Apple Watch. This device is compatible with both iPhones and MacBooks.