HyperCard

Apple introduces HyperCard in 1987. Created by Bill Atkinson, HyperCard allows programmers to store graphical and textual information in a series of cards. HyperCard is interactive and is geared toward the construction of user interfaces rather than the processing of data. Apple bundles the program free with Macintosh computers until 1992.
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AutoCAD

Autodesk is founded in April 1982 in California. The company's goal is to create a Computer Aided Design (CAD) program that runs on a PC and sells for $1,000. The initial product release is called AutoCAD and is a big commercial success. Through subsequent product releases, AutoCAD is established as the de-facto standard for computer aided design on PCs.
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ICQ

The first version of the interpersonal chat program ICQ is introduced by Israel-based Mirabilis in November 1996. The instant messaging application is enthusiastically received by hundreds of thousands of users. ICQ achieves one of the largest download rates for a start-up company in the history of the Internet. America Online acquired Mirabilis in June 1998.
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Apple

The Apple Computer Company is born on April 1, 1975. Steve Wozniak and Steve Jobs design the first Apple computer in Jobs' home. Jobs is able to convince a local electronic retailer to order 25 Apple I computers. In order to raise the money to make these machines, Jobs sells his Volkswagen microbus and Wozniak sells his HP scientific calculator, enabling them to raise $1,300.
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JavaScript

Netscape Communications programmer Brendan Eich invents LiveScript in 1995. After a partnership is established between Netscape and Sun, LiveScript is renamed JavaScript, to match Sun's Java language. The object-oriented scripting language becomes an international standard allowing web developers to produce dynamic HTML that works on almost all web browsers.
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Bob

A few months after its highly successful release of Windows 95, Microsoft releases Bob, a suite of user-friendly programs intended to work with Windows 95. Bob's cartoonish appearance and pseudo-friendliness become the worst flop in Microsoft's history. The company reportedly destroys all copies of the software and attempts to erase the entire episode from its public record.
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REXX

The first specification for the REXX programming language is published in March 1979. REXX is a powerful macro language developed by Mike Cowlishaw of IBM. It grows out of the basic scripting statements used with IBM’s Virtual Machine/370 operating system. The popularity of Cowlishaw's macro language compels IBM to begin shipping it as a commercial product in 1982.
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