1950s
By CIOinsight | Posted 11-01-2001The First Fifty Years of Business Computing Timeline
1950s
1950s
In Technology: Data Processing
In Business: Post-War GrowthMSOPS* $58.00
DOW† 201.80
|
1951 |
The LEO computer runs the world's first regular routine office computer job UNIVAC, the first commercial computer system in the U.S., is introduced |
|
1952 |
Norman Woodland and Bernard Silver awarded patent for the bar code IBM introduces the 701, its first electronic stored-program computer |
|
1955 |
Bank of America and SRI complete a prototype of ERMA |
|
1956 |
John McCarthy coins the term "artificial intelligence" |
|
1957 |
Ken Olsen establishes Digital Equipment Corp. |
|
1958 |
Seymour Cray builds the first fully transistorized supercomputer |
|
1958 |
Jack Kilby at Texas Instruments makes the first integrated circuit |
|
1959 |
Computer Science Corp. sells the first packaged program IBM introduces its 1401 model |
* Total cost of computing in 1998 dollars per MSOPS (Millions of Standardized Operations Per Second). This metric was devised by Dr. William D. Nordhaus, Sterling Professor of Economics at Yale University, to correct for deficiencies in MIPS, a common measure of computing power. A MSOPS machine can add 20 million 32-bit integer numbers in one second. The number for each decade is an average of representative computer systems around the beginning of the decade.
† The Dow Jones Industrial average for the first day of each decade.
1960s
1960s
In Technology: Management Information Systems
In Business: Corporate DominanceMSOPS $2.60
DOW 622.60
|
1960 |
Benjamin Curley of Digital Equipment Corp. develops the first minicomputer, PDP-1 The first SABRE reservation system is installed |
|
1961 |
MIT demonstrates time sharing |
|
1963 |
CAD is introduced by General Motors and MIT Lincoln Laboratories |
|
1964 |
IBM announces its System 360 mainframe Douglas Engelbart and his team invent a graphical user interface using a mouse and windows |
|
1965 |
Gordon Moore's pronouncement is termed "Moore's Law" |
|
1966 |
Texas Instruments introduces the first solid-state hand-held calculator |
|
1968 |
Gordon Moore and Robert Noyce found Intel |
|
1969 |
Work begins on the ARPANet Dennis Ritchie et al at Bell Labs create Unix |
1970s
1970s
In Technology: The Minicomputer
In Business: Rise of the MultinationalMSOPS $.41
DOW 744.10
|
1971 |
Marcian E. Hoff and others at Intel announce the first microprocessor, the Intel 4004 Computer engineer Ray Tomlinson sends the first e-mail |
|
1972 |
Lloyd's Bank in the U.K. introduces the first online ATM |
|
1974 |
The first product with a bar code is scanned at a checkout counter Bill Gates and Paul Allen found Microsoft |
|
1975 |
First inter-industry EDI standard is released |
|
1976 |
Steve Wozniak and Steve Jobs found Apple Computer, introduce Apple II Robert Metcalfe of Xerox introduces the Ethernet concept to the National Computer Conference |
|
1977 |
Larry Ellison and others start System Develop Laboratories, later known as Oracle Corp. |
|
1978 |
Dan Bricklin and Bob Frankston release VisiCalc, the first spreadsheet |
|
1979 |
The Source and CompuServe Information Services go online |
1980s
1980s
In Technology: The Networked PC
In Business: Wall Street TriumphantMSOPS $.005
DOW 875.90
|
1980 |
Total computers worldwide exceed 5 million |
|
1981 |
IBM introduces the first PC |
|
1982 |
Microsoft licenses MS-DOS to manufacturers |
|
1984 |
Apple introduces the Macintosh William Gibson introduces the term "cyberspace" in his novel Neuromancer Michael Dell founds Dell Computer |
|
1985 |
Microsoft ships Windows 1.0 |
|
1986 |
Burroughs and Sperry merge to form Unisys Corp. Compaq introduces the first Intel 80386-based PC |
|
1988 |
Apollo, Ardent and Stellar announce the first graphics supercomputers |
|
1989 |
Intel announces the 80486 processor Ray Ozzie creates Lotus Notes Compaq releases the first battery-powered, fully functional notebook computer |
1990s
1990s
In Technology: The Internet
In Business: Dot-Com CrazeMSOPS $.00004
DOW 2590.50
|
1991 |
World Wide Web released for general use at CERN |
|
1991 |
Linux .01 released |
|
1993 |
Web goes graphic with Mosaic browser Private companies are given access to the Internet |
|
1994 |
Netscape Communications founded by Marc Andreessen and Jim Clark |
|
1995 |
NSFnet turned off and Internet traffic handed over to commercial firms Jeff Bezos founds Amazon.com eBay founded by Pierre Omidyan to trade Pez dispensers |
|
1996 |
First Palm Pilot released |
|
1998 |
U.S. and 20 states file antitrust suit against Microsoft |
|
1999 |
Corporations hunker down as they await Y2K Napster brings music to the masses over the Net |
2000s
2000s
In Technology: Security and Privacy
In Business: E-Business MainstreamMSOPS $.00000004
DOW 10,940.50
|
2000 |
Intel and AMD unveil microprocessors that break the 1000 MHz barrier The CERT Coordination Center reports 21,756 business security break-ins Covisint debuts; B2B exchanges mushroom to 1,500 B2B transactions over the Internet reach $433 billion U.S. online retail sales reach $34 billion |
|
2001 |
16.3 million estimated corporate telecommuters, up 42% in one year Demand for videoconferencing, disaster recovery services rise following Sept. 11 terrorist attacks 200 million users estimated to have signed up for instant messaging |
