LCD

American chemist Glenn Brown sparks a resurgence in liquid crystal research in 1958. Ten years later, the first operational liquid crystal display (LCD) is introduced by a group headed by George Heilmeier at RCA laboratories in Princeton, New Jersey. Today, LCD devices are used in a wide range of electronic equipment from palm-sized mobile phones to large-size TV screens and computer monitors.
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Geographic Information Systems

Geographic Information Systems (GIS) is the combination of relational databases with digitized maps. This includes computer programs for capturing, storing, checking, integrating, analyzing and displaying data about the earth that is spatially referenced. GIS systems are used primarily by governments, research institutes or any other body to handle processing large amounts of geographical data.
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Atari 2600

The Atari 2600 game system is released in 1977. This is the first successful video game console to use plug-in cartridges instead of built-in games. It is bundled with two joystick controllers, a conjoined pair of paddle controllers, and a cartridge game. The Atari 2600 introduces the hobby called video gaming to a new segment of users.
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The Intel 4004 chip

Intel scientist Ted Hoff designs the "computer-on-a-chip microprocessor" in 1968. His idea of a universal processor instead of custom-designed circuits is developed while working with an Intel client on calculator chip designs. His new chip is called the Intel 4004 and released in 1971. This microprocessor invention is credited as the start of the microcomputer industry.
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Computer viruses

Computer virus predecessors began showing up in the 1960s, the first being a memory saturating program called Core Wars. A program called Elk Cloner, written for Apple II systems in 1982, is believed to be the first computer-spreading type of virus. The first IBM-PC virus called the Brain appears in 1986.
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Motorola

In September 1928, brothers Paul and Joseph Galvin purchase a battery business in Chicago and start the Galvin Manufacturing Corporation. In 1930, they create the brand name Motorola for the company's new car radio, linking "motor" with the suffix "ola" (sound). The company sells its first television in 1947 and also changes its name from Galvin Manufacturing to Motorola, Inc.
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George Boole

Mathematician George Boole develops the foundation for binary algebra and logic in the late 1830s. He proposes that logical propositions be expressed as equations, multiplication by the word "and" and addition by the word "or," providing the basis for logical validation of statements that may be either true or false. Years later, Boole's two valued logic becomes the basis for electronic circuits and computer design.
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The first commercial modem

The first commercial modem is manufactured in 1962. The Bell 103 by AT&T is the first modem with full-duplex transmission and frequency-shift keying. It has a speed of 300 bits per second. AT&T has the modem market all to itself up until 1968 when the Federal Communications Commission establishes competitive policies for modem use.
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Eliza

MIT scientist Joseph Weizenbaum creates one of the best known Artificial Intelligence programs in the world in 1966. The 200 line program called Eliza replicates the conversation between a psychoanalyst and a patient by applying pattern matching rules to dialog to figure out its replies. Weizenbaum is shocked that his program is taken seriously by many users, who open their hearts to it.
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Internet Explorer

In response to growing public interest in the Internet, Microsoft creates an add-on to the Windows 95 operating system called Internet Explorer in September 1995. The Internet Explorer 1.0 web browser is developed from a licensed copy of the Spyglass Mosaic browser. At the time of Internet Explorer's release, Microsoft's browser competitor Netscape has almost 80% of the entire web browser market.
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Prodigy

Sears and IBM launch a national online service called Prodigy on September 20, 1988. Prodigy is an online videotext service costing $9.95 per month. Prodigy becomes one of the three leading online services before it loses ground to the World Wide Web in the mid-1990s. The company is bought out by its management in 1996 and becomes an Internet service provider.
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WebTV

WebTV Networks, Inc introduces the first WebTV set-top boxes in September 1996. Web TV is described as a pioneering Internet appliance based on the premise that a consumer will enjoy email and web browsing without having to own or operate a PC. In August 1997, Microsoft buys WebTV Networks and begins offering television-based software products and associated network services.
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X-Windows

The X-Windows graphical user interface system is conceived at MIT in 1984. The X-Windows name is derived from the W-Windows system developed previously at Stanford University. X-Windows is designed as a true client-server system, one part on the client machine, the other on a network server. X-Windows subsequently becomes the standard toolkit for building graphical applications on UNIX platforms.
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Computer keypunch

The demand for computer keypunch operators reaches its historic peak during the 1950s and 1960s. Employing a staff of keypunch operators is essential for mainframe computer systems during this period. The job entails entering program instructions and data using a card keypunch machine, verifying and correcting results with card verifier machines, and operating a card sorting machine.
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Chief Technology Officer

The emergence of the Chief Technology Officer (CTO) takes place during the 1980s. The CTO is a business-focused extension of the R&D lab with the goal of increasing profits yielded from research projects. The CTO proliferates further during the mid 1990s to oversee the use of the multitude of emerging technologies coming from the growth of Internet and web-related technologies.
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Extreme Programming

Kent Beck introduces the concept of Extreme Programming in March 1996. Extreme Programming is a conceptual software engineering framework that attempts to meet perceived rapid changes in business. The concept is later formalized by Beck, Ward Cunningham and Ron Jeffries, and is the subject of several professional and technical publications during the late 1990s and early 2000s.
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WYSIWYG

In Fall of 1974, Charles Simonyi, a young Stanford Ph.D from Hungary, refines a program that allows a user to view a graphical display of how a document will appear exactly as printed out. The document is shown with underlining, bold face, italics, and fonts of various styles and sizes. This capability is dubbed as "What You See Is What You Get" - WYSIWYG.
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Artificial intelligence

Prominent computer scientist John McCarthy coins the phrase "artificial intelligence" in 1955 at a Dartmouth University conference devoted to the subject. Five years later, McCarthy invents the Lisp programming language, the preeminent computer language of Artificial Intelligence.
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The microchip

Texas Instruments scientist Jack Kilby demonstrates the first simple microchip on September 12, 1958. Working with borrowed and improvised equipment, he builds the first electronic circuit in which all of the components are fabricated on a single piece of semiconductor material half the size of a paper clip. Later, Kilby co-invents the hand-held calculator and the thermal printer.
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Isaac Asimov

"I do not fear computers. I fear the lack of them." - Isaac Asimov
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Control Data

The newly formed Control Data Corporation introduces the 1604 in 1957. The company becomes widely respected for its high-speed computers used in government and scientific installations. For the next 30 years, Control Data uses the CYBER trade name and produces a complete product line from workstations to mainframes. In 1999, Control Data is acquired by British Telecom's Syntegra subsidiary.
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EISA

Compaq and nine other PC competitors work together to develop the Enhanced Industry Standard Architecture (EISA) bus in September 1988. EISA is developed as an alternative to IBM's microchannel bus, and is more compatible with the earlier ISA bus. The primary reason for its development is to avoid paying a fee to IBM for its microchannel bus technology, which was introduced a year earlier.
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TCP/IP

Bob Kahn and Vint Cerf present a paper in 1973 that describes a new protocol they call the Transmission-Control Protocol. In 1978, the TCP protocol is split into two parts: One part for processing messages and detecting errors and the other part for routing and delivery of data. The protocol is renamed TCP/IP and subsequently becomes the standard for all Internet communication.
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Google

Stanford graduates Larry Page and Sergey Brin collaborate on an Internet search engine they call "BackRub," named for its unique ability to analyze the back links pointing to a given website. They rename the search engine and officially open up Google for business on September 7, 1998. The Google name is a play on the word googol, a term that represents the numeral 1 followed by 100 zeros.
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Wireless cameras

Eastman Kodak Co. begins shipping the world's first computer free, wireless camera in September 2005. Named the EasyShare One, the digital camera works within range of hotels, coffee shops, airport lounges, offices, homes and other wireless hot spots, and can send high-quality pictures directly onto the Internet and into e-mail boxes. The $599 camera has storage space for up to 1,500 photos.
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The TRS 80

Ten thousand TRS 80s are sold one month after the computer's September 1977 release, greatly exceeding all sales projections. The TRS 80, affectionately called the "Trash 80", is designed by Radio Shack to compete with the Apple II and Commodore PET. Priced at $599, the model ships with 4K of RAM, a keyboard, a modified black and white television display, and a cassette tape device.
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Spreadsheets

Harvard MBA student Dan Bricklin develops the first spreadsheet program to edit, delete, and recalculate numbers in a digital format. The result is a simple, elegant solution to an age-old problem. By the fall of 1979, Bricklin's VisiCalc spreadsheet program is available for Apple II, TRS-80, Commodore PET, and Atari 800 computers and sells for $100.
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The PET

Commodore delivers its first computer, the PET (Personal Electronic Transactor), in September 1977. The PET starts at $595 and comes with 8K of RAM, 14K of ROM loaded with BASIC, and an operating system. The machine is complete with a keyboard, a cassette recorder, and a nine-inch video monitor, all built into a single cabinet.
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BYTE Magazine

The first issue of BYTE Magazine is published in September 1975. BYTE magazine is the most influential microcomputer magazine in the 1970s and 1980s because of its wide-ranging editorial coverage. BYTE's articles cover emerging hardware and application software, publication of source code for various computer languages, and reports on microcomputer operating systems.
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