Dr T. Matthew Ciolek,
Research School of Pacific and Asian Studies,
Australian National University, Canberra ACT 0200, Australia
tmciolek@coombs.anu.edu.au
http://www.ciolek.com/PEOPLE/ciolek-tm.html
Document created: 9 Jan 1999. Last updated: 9 Jun 2008
This document, intended as a reliable electronic reference tool,
provides a timeline for three types of developments and milestones:
(1) advances in long distance person-to-person communication;
(2) advances in storage, replication, cataloguing, finding, and retrieval of data;
(3) standardisation of concepts and tools for long distance interaction.
The advancements may have a:
T echnical (hardware),
C onceptual (software),
or an O rganisational aspect,
or represent an important M ilestone in the history of a given invention,
and are annotated as such in the timeline.
This document is only as good as the collated information itself. Please email any additional
data and corrections to tmciolek@coombs.anu.edu.au. Your
collaboration and input is warmly appreciated.
work in progress - tmc
1960s
- [C] Edward Djikstra suggests that software and data should
be created in standard, structured forms, so that people could
build on each others' work (Grolier 1993).
1960
- [M] 6,000 computers in operation in US (Ketupa.net 2002).
1961
- [M] An estimated 9,300 computers now exist world wide (Carlson 1998).
1962
- [T] The modern 'fibre tip' pen, invented by Yukio Horie of the Tokyo Stationery Company, Japan
(Sanford Berol nd.a).
1963
- [T] Digital Equipment delivers its first minicomputer, to Atomic Energy of Canada (Polsson 1998).
1963
- [T] Douglas C. Engelbart receives a patent on the mouse pointing device for computers (Polsson 1998).
1964
- [M] The Xerox Corporation introduces Long Distance Xerography (LDX) (Vaunt Design Group 2002).
1964
- [T] Sabre database system, brought online.
It solves the American Airlines' problem of coordinating information about hundreds
of flight reservations across the continent every day (Grolier 1993).
1964
- [T] Philips makes public the compact cassette (SoundSite 1998).
1965
- [C] Theodor Nelson proposes the hypertext Xanadu system (Nielsen 1995,
Gilster 1997:267).
1965
- [M] A transatlantic telephone cable can carry 130 simultaneous
conversations (Swerdlow 1995:14).
1966
- [M] The Xerox Corporation introduces the Magnafax Telecopier. It a small, 46-pound (17 kg) facsimile machine that is easier to
use than the earlier models and which can be connected to any telephone line. The Magnafax Telecopier takes about
six minutes to transmit a letter-sized document (Vaunt Design Group 2002).
1966 Sep
- [T]
IBM introduces the first disk storage system, the IBM RAMAC 305. It
holds 5 MB of data on 50 2-foot wide
platters (Polsson 1998).
1966 Dec 07
- [T] ATS 1 (Applications Technology Satellite) launched from
Cape Canaveral, USA. The geosynchronous solar powered spacecraft, in
adddition to testing new concepts in spacecraft design, propulsion,
and stabilization, and collection of high-quality cloudcover pictures,
has served as a communications satellite for a number of US state,
federal, and public organizations up to Sep 1983 (NSSDC 1996).
[This data-point was suggested by Curtis Emerson]
1967 -
[M] Approx. 200 mln watches and clocks are produced annually world-wide (PWN 1969:686)
1967
- [C] ISBN started in Britain (Knops 1998).
1967
- [T] IBM builds the first floppy disk (Polsson 1998).
1968 fall
- [T] Douglas C. Engelbart, of the Stanford Research Institute, demonstrates his system of keyboard, keypad,
mouse, and windows at the Joint Computer Conference in San Francisco's Civic Center. He demonstrates use of a
word processor, a hypertext system, and remote collaborative work with colleagues (Polsson 1998).
1968 Dec 23
- [C] Frank Borman, Jim Lovell and Bill Anders, astronauts
aboard Apollo 8 spacecraft,
photograph Earth as a whole globe (Shepard and
Slayton 1995:259).
1968 Dec 24
- [M] The Apollo
8 crew communicate by radio over a distance of some 239,000
mi (approx 394,000 km) with their control center in Houston,
Texas, while orbiting the Moon (Shepard and Slayton 1995:259).
1969
- [T]
Intel announces a 1 KB RAM chip, which has a significantly larger capacity than any previously produced memory
chip (Polsson 1998).
1969
- [T] Unix operating system, characterised by
multitasking (also called time-sharing), virtual memory, multi-user design and security,
designed by Ken Thompson and Dennis Ritchie
at AT&T Bell Laboratories, USA (Hauben and Hauben 1995, Patterson 1996).
1969
- [T]
Gary Starkweather, at Xerox's research facility in Webster, New York, demonstrates using a laser beam with the
xerography process to create a laser printer (Polsson 1998).
1969 Oct 29
- [T] ARPANET (future Internet) links first two computers at
UCLA and Stanford Research Institute, USA. Dr. Leonard Kleinrock, a
UCLA-based pioneer of Internet technology, and his
assistant Charley Kline manage to send succesfully, after solving an
initial problem with an inadequate memory buffer, a command "login"
to a Stanford machine which was set-up and tuned by Bill Duvall (New York Times 1999).
1969 Dec
- [M] 4 computer hosts are connected by the Net (Zakon 1998).
1970 Jan 21 - [M] The Boeing 747 "Jumbo" made its first
regularly scheduled commercial flight from New York to London for Pan American. (Boeing nd.; The
Sydney Morning Herald, 22 Jan 2001).
[This data-point was corrected, and enhanced by Dr. Bernhard Debatin]
1971
- [T]Intel markets the
first microprocessor. Its speed is 60,000 'additions' per second
(Swerdlow 1995:15). The 4-bit Intel 4004 ran at a clock speed of 108
kHz and contained 2300 transistors (Patterson 1996).
1971 Apr
- [M] 23 computer hosts are connected by the Net (Zakon 1998).
1971 Dec
- [T] Ray Tomlinson, a computer scientist at Bolt, Beranek & Newman, an engineering firm in Cambridge, MA, USA., writes a computer program
that enables email messages to travel from one computer to another over a network (Hafner 2001).
1973
- [T] IBM develops the first true
sealed hard disk drive. The drive was called the "Winchester" after
the rifle of the same name. It used two 30 Mb platters (Patterson 1996).
1973
- [M] 30,000 fax machines in the United States (Vaunt Design Group 2002).
1973
- [M] There are 2000 estimated ARPANET users (Zakon 1998).
1973
- [M] email composes 75% of all ARPANET traffic (Zakon 1998).
1973 Jan
- [M] 35 computer hosts are connected by the Net (Zakon 1998).
1974
- [M] Microprocessor (first marketed 1971) speed reaches 290,000
'additions' per second (Swerdlow 1995:15).
1974
- [M]
Unix begins to become popular. A high-end Unix system would cost about
$40,000. It would run on a PDP-11 with 768 Kb of core memory, two 200
Mb hard disks, a reel to reel tape drive for backup purposes, a
dot-matrix line printer and a bunch of [dumb] terminals. By the end of
1974 around 600 such systems are installed, mostly at universities
(Patterson 1996).
1974 Jun
- [M] 65 computer hosts are connected by the Net (Zakon 1998).
1974 Dec
- [T] Sony introduces the Betamax format videorecorder (VCR). It is capable
of recording 1 hr of video material (Moulding 1996).
[This data-point was suggested by Kathy Gill]
1975 Jan
- [T]
MITS introduces the first personal computer - Altair 8800 in form of a
kit, initially to be assembled by a buyer. It was based on Intel's
8-bit 8080 processor and included 256 bytes of memory (expandable to a
12 Kb), a set of toggle switches and an LED panel. Keyboard, screen or
storage device could be added using extension cards (Patterson 1996). Price: $439 (Carlson 1998).
1976
- [T] Ink-jet printing announced by IBM (Knops 1998).
1976
- [T] Wayne Ratliff from the NASA Ames Research Center,
designs a "construction kit" program for building databases on
personal computers. The kit includes the "dBase"
procedural language, based in part on DB2, a mainframe database
programming language. The dBase soon becames one of the best-selling PC software (Grolier 1993).
1976
- [M] JVC introduces the VHS format to the videorecorders
(VCR) (SoundSite 1998). It is capable of recording over 2 hrs of
video material, and that advantage over Beta technology proves
crucial. In January 1977, JVC is joined by four more Japanese
electronics manufacturers to build and market VHS format VCRs. By
January 1987 VHS format commands 95% of the VCR market (Moulding
1996).
1976 Apr 1
- [M] Apple Computer (founded by Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak) introduces the Apple I personal computer. Cost: $666.66 (Carlson 1998).
1977 Apr
- [T] Dennis C. Hayes introduces the PC modem, a device that converts between analog and digital signals. This critical technology prompts the growth of online activities and industries (USA Today 2002).
1977
- [C] Wang Laboratories introduce first computerized word processor. The software costs $30,000 (Carlson 1998).
1977
- [T] UUCP Unix messaging and file-transfer tool is introduced (Rheingold 1994:116).
1977
- [T] The first digital audio disc prototypes are shown by
Mitsubishi,Sony, and Hitachi at the Tokyo Audio fair (Alpeda 1998).
1977
- [M] There are 420 mln telephones in existence (Thomas 1995:391).
1977 Apr
- [T]Apple Computer Inc.,
Cupertino, California, introduces the Apple II at the West Coast
Computer Faire. It is the first personal computer with color graphics.
It has a 6502 CPU, 4KB RAM, 16KB ROM, keyboard, 8-slot motherboard,
game paddles, and built-in BASIC. Personalized computing brings a
burst of innovation (Silicon Spirits 1998). Cost: $1,298 (Carlson 1998).
1978 Feb16
- [T/C] Bulletin Board System (BBS), created by Ward Christensen
(also creator of XModem file transfer protocol) and Randy Suess, in Chicago,
USA (Carlson 1998, Christensen 2002).
1978 Sep
- [C] Xmodem program released into public domain by
Ward Christensen via CP/M Users Group Software disk #
6 [originally called modem.asm, later named Xmodem by
Keith Petersen] (Christensen 2003).
1978
- [O] CompuServe begins offering dialup services to the public (Carlson 1998).
1979
- [C] Two of the most popular early PC software programs,
WordStar (a wordprocessor utilising markup tags) and dBase II (a database) are released (Carlson 1998).
1979
- [T] Usenet (the decentralized news group network) is created at the U. of North Carolina (Zakon 1998). Text-based information is generated by user communities for
user communities.
1979
- [M] 100 mln emails are sent each year, versus 135 bln pieces of first-class mail
(Young 1999:152).
1979
- [M] Microprocessor (first marketed 1971) speed reaches 330,000
'additions' per second (Swerdlow 1995:15).
1979
- [T] The first cellular telephone network is built in Tokyo, Japan (Carlson 1998).
1979 Oct
- [C] The third most popular of the early PC software programs, VisiCalc (a spreadsheet) is released (Carlson 1998).
1980s
- [C] The Structured Query Language (SQL), developed originally by
researchers at the IBM Research Laboratory at San Jose, Calif.,
becomes widely used (Grolier 1993).
1980
- [M] One mln personal computers in U.S. (Knight 1999).
1980 Jun
- [C] Telnet software introduced. Remote log-in and long-distance work (telecommuting) are now possible (Postel 1980).
1981
- [T] The first digital version of the "Encyclopaedia Britannica" is created for the Lexis-Nexis service (Encyclopaedia Britannica 2003).
1981
- [C] Listserv mailing list software (Zakon 1998). Online knowledge-groups and virtual seminars
are formed.
1981
- [M] Osborne introduces first portable computer (Knight 1999).
1981
- [C] MS-DOS introduced (Knight 1999).
1981
- [T] Teletel project, the precursor of Minitel, starts in France (Gillies and Cailliau 2000:317).
1982
- [M] Microprocessor (first marketed 1971) speed reaches 900,000
'additions' per second (Swerdlow 1995:15).
1982
- [T] CD disk (12 cm, 74 mins of playing time) and player released by Sony and Philips
Europe and Japan. A year later the CD technolgy is introduced to the USA (Alpeda 1998).
1983 Jan
- [T] Lisa, the first personal computer with a graphic user interface
launched by Apple Computer Inc., Cupertino,
California. The computer has 5MHz 68000 CPU, 860KB 5.25"
floppy, 12" B&W screen, detached keyboard, and mouse (Knight 1999).
[This data-point was suggested by Doug Pearson]
1983
- [T] FidoNet, a direct mail exchange program to automatically transfer files between designated BBSs systems is created (Dodd 1992).
1983
- [M] Ten mln personal computers in U.S. (Knight 1999).
1983
- [M] 300,000 fax machines in the United States (Vaunt Design Group 2002).
1984 Jan 24
- [T] Macintosh personal computer, launched by Apple Computer Inc. The first
computer has 128KB of memory and a 3.5" 400KB floppy disk-drive.
The OS with astounding graphic interface is bundled with MacWrite
(wordprocessor) and MacPaint (free-hand, B&W drawing)
software.
1984 Jan 24
- [M] Apple introduces 3.5" floppy (Knight 1999).
1984
- [M] Over 10,000 FidoNet (souped-up BBS) nodes are in existence world-wide(Dodd 1992).
1984
- [T] Unix OS supports Internet connectivity (Severance
nd). Unix becomes a catalyst for the growth of the Net.
1984
- [T] The domain name system
is established. At that time the Net comprised 1,000 host computers.
The new convention lets the future (Jul 1995) Amazon.com be known as Amazon.com and not
merely as a 208.216.182.15 (New York Times 1999).
1985
- [M] Microprocessor (first marketed 1971) speed reaches 5,500,000
'additions' per second (Swerdlow 1995:15).
1985
- [T] CD-ROM technology (disk and drive) for computers developed by Sony and Philips (Alpeda 1998).
1985 Oct
- [C] File Transfer Protocol (FTP) (Barnes 1997). Files can be moved quickly. Archives of
documents and software can be created.
1986 spring
- [C] Bill Atkinson and Dan Winkler of Apple Computer Inc., Cupertino, California develop
Hypercard (Macintosh) software (Goodman 1987). The software is
bundled free of charge with MacOS. It enables amateur users of
Mac to write object-oriented scripts, build relational databases
and graphic-interfaces for other Macintosh programs.
1986
- [M] Over 3 million CD players and over 53 millions CD's are sold in the USA (Alpeda 1998).
1986
- [T] CD-I (interactive) standard is created (Alpeda 1998).
1987
- [C] NNTP (Network News Transfer Protocol) links Usenet and the Internet (Laursen 1997).
1987 Aug 11
- [M] Microsoft ships Windows 1.01 (Knight 1999).
[This data-point was suggested by Doug Pearson]
1987
- [T] First fax boards for PCs (Knight 1999).
1988
- [T] Internet Relay Chat (IRC) (Zakon 1998). Real-time typed one-to-one and
many-to-many 'conversations'.
1988
- [M] Over 30,000,000 MS-DOS users world-wide (Knight 1999).
1989
- [T] Britannica creates the first multimedia CD-ROM encyclopedia, "Compton's MultiMedia Encyclopedia" (Encyclopaedia Britannica 2003).
1989
- [M] Four mln fax machines in the United States (Vaunt Design Group 2002).
1989
- [M] Microprocessor (first marketed 1971) speed reaches 20,000,000
'additions' per second (Swerdlow 1995:15).
1989
- [M] 44 mln personal computers in U.S. (Knight 1999).
1989
- [M] 5 mln Minitel sets in operation. France is the world's most wired country (Gillies and Cailliau 2000:319).
1989
- [M] PTAT-1, the first privately financed transatlanic
fiber-optic cable is completed. It connects New York City with London
via spurs to Bermuda and Ireland. Its 1.26GBps represents two-thirds
of the total capacity of all lines across Atlantic at the time. The
new link leads to the breakup of the international telecom monopoly and
brings cheaper international phone calls (Hughes 1999).
Maintainer: Dr T. Matthew Ciolek (tmciolek@ciolek.com)
Copyright (c) 1999-2006 by T. Matthew Ciolek. All rights reserved.
Permission is granted for use of this document in whole or in part for
non-commercial purposes as long as this Copyright notice and a link to
this document, at the archive listed at the end, is included. A copy
of the material the "Milestones" appear in is requested. For commercial
uses, please contact the author first.
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