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Category Archives: Computer history
Steve Jobs: Thank You, Bill Gates
Today in 1997, Steve Jobs was on the cover of Time Magazine, thanking Bill Gates for saving Apple.
Posted in Apple, Computer history, Microsoft, This day in information
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The PC Era Launched
Today in 1981, IBM announced the IBM Personal Computer, model 5150. The PC featured a 4.77MHz Intel 8088 CPU containing 29,000 transistors, 16KB RAM (64KB standard, expandable to 256KB), 40KB ROM, one or two Tandon brand 5.25-inch floppy drives (160KB capacity), a mono … Continue reading
Posted in Computer history, PCs, This day in information, Tipping points
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Len Kleinrock on Inventing the Theory of the Internet (Video)
See also Theory of the Internet Born and The Internet Goes Live
Posted in Computer history, Computer Networks, Internet
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Milestones in Computing History
Today in 1946, the Subcommittee on Large-Scale Computing Devices (LCD) of the American Institute of Electrical Engineers (AIEE) was formed, evolving in 1963 into the IEEE, and by 2010, serving more than 395,000 members in 160 countries. Also today, in … Continue reading
What Hath Tim Berners-Lee Wrought
Today in 1991, Tim Berners-Lee posted files to alt.hypertext, making the WorldWideWeb available to the Internet community. Berners-Lee message said, in part: “The WorldWideWeb (WWW) project aims to allow links to be made to any information anywhere… The WWW project … Continue reading
The Integrated Circuit: Bringing Mass Production to the Computer Industry
Today in 1958, Jack Kilby sketched a rough design of the first integrated circuit in his notebook. By the early 1960s, some computers had more than 200,000 individual electronic components–transistors, diodes, resistors, and capacitors–and connecting all of the components was becoming increasingly … Continue reading
The Day the NSA Started Using Computers
Today in 1950, Samuel S. Snyder, a cryptographer at the Armed Forces Security Agency (AFSA–the forerunner to the NSA), met with Dr. A. Sinkov, then Technical Director in Communications Security (COMSEC), and his deputy. In a 1973 declassified paper (PDF, … Continue reading
Posted in Computer history, NSA, This day in information
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First (?) Mention of Computer Programs
Today in 1836, Charles Babbage wrote in his notebook: “This day I had for the first time a general but very indistinct conception of the possibility of making an engine work out algebraic developments. I mean without any reference to the value of the letters. My … Continue reading
Posted in Analog, Computer history, Programming, Software
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Bipolar Junction Transistor Announced
Today in 1951, the bipolar junction transistor was announced by its inventor, William Shockley. It was an improvement over the bipolar point-contact transistor which was invented four years earlier by John Bardeen and Walter Brattain and became the device of … Continue reading
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