Timeline of important IT milestones
Although this section could go as far back as 2400 BC with the production of the first known calculator (abacus) in Babylonia, it will focus on the information technology boom in recent centuries.
The first mechanical computer device was conceptualised and invented by English mechanical engineer and polymath Charles Babbage in the early 19thcentury. Called the ‘Difference Engine,’ it was originally created to aid in navigational calculations. Often referred to as the ‘Father of the Computer’, Babbage came up with the more general ‘Analytical Engine’ in 1833 which could be used in fields other than navigation. Funding constraints meant that Babbage died without seeing his machine completed, however his son Henry completed a much simpler version of the machine in 1888, which was successfully demonstrated to the public in 1906.
Early computers were not developed until the mid 1900s, when a more compact analogue electromechanical computer, that used trigonometry, was installed on a submarine to solve a problem with firing torpedoes at moving targets.
The Z2, the first electromechanical digital computer, invented by Engineer Konrad Zuse in 1939, used electric switches to drive, and relays to perform calculations. Devices like the Z2 had very low operating speeds and were eventually succeeded by faster all electric machines, such as the first fully automatic 1941 Z3, also created by Zuse.
Colossus, a set of computers created between 1943 – 1945, are widely recognised as the world’s first programmable electronic digital computers. Popularised by its use during World War II Colossus were used in intercepting and deciphering encrypted German communications from the Enigma machine. English computer scientist, mathematician, and theoretical biologist Alan Turing conceptualised modern computers in his 1936 seminal paper‘On Computable Numbers’, whereby programmable instructions are stored in the memory of a machine.
Another early programmable computer was the Manchester Mark 1 developed by the Victoria University of Manchester. Frederic C. Williams, Tom Kilburn, and Geoff Tootill began working on the machine in August of 1948, but the first operational version of the computer was not available for use until 1949. The Manchester Mark 1 caused controversy when British media outlets referred to it as an electronic brain, which provoked a long-running debate with the department of Neurosurgery at Manchester University. They asked whether an electronic computer could ever be truly creative.
It was not until 1951 when electrical engineering company Ferranti International plc created the Ferranti Mark 1; that the world’s first general-purpose computer was commercially available. Also called the Manchester Electronic Computer, the Ferranti Mark 1 was first utilised by the Victoria University of Manchester.
The first computer used in processing commercial business applications was developed by the Lyons Tea Corporation to increase business output in 1951 – Leo I.
A brief timeline of some other important events is listed below:
1835– Morse Code invented by Samuel Morse
1838– Electric Telegraph invented by Charles Wheatstone and Samuel Morse
1843– Typewriter invented by Charles Thurber
1877– Microphone invented by Emile Berliner
1888– Hertz produces radio waves
1893– Wireless communication invented by Nikola Tesla
1895– Radio signals invented by Guglielmo Marconi
1898– Remote control invented by Nikola Tesla
1907– Radio amplifier invented by Lee DeForest
1919– James Smathers develops the first electric typewriter
1923– Electronic Television invented by Philo Farnsworth
1933– FM radio is patented by inventor Edwin H. Armstrong
1937– Alan Turing conceptualises the computing machine
1948– One of the first programmable computers, the Manchester Mark 1 designed by Frederic C. Williams, Tom Kilburn, and Geoff Tootill
1951 – MIT’s Whirlwind becomes the first computer in the world to allow users to input commands with a keyboard
1956– Optical fibre invented by Basil Hirschowitz, C. Wilbur Peters, and Lawrence E. Curtis
– The hard disk drive invented byIBM
1958 – Silicon Chip: the first integrated circuit is produced by Jack Kilby and Robert Noyce
1959– The first photocopier, the Xerox Machine enters the consumer market
1961– Optical disc invented by David Paul Gregg
1963–Computer mouseinvented by Douglas Engelbart
– Cloud computing invented by Joseph Carl Robnett Licklider
1967– Hypertext software invented by Andries Van Dam and Ted Nelson
1971– E-mail invented by Ray Tomlinson
– Liquid Crystal Display (LCD) invented by James Fergason
– Floppy Disk invented by David Noble
– First commercially available microprocessor, the Intel 4004 is invented
1972 – The first video game console designed for use on TV’s is invented – the Magnavox Odyssey
1973– Ethernet invented by Bob Metcalfe and David Boggs
– Personal computer invented by Xerox
1976– The inkjet digital printer is invented by Hewlett-Packard
1982– WHOIS (pronounced who is) is released as one of the earliest domainsearch engines
1984– The first laptop computer enters the commercial market
1989– World Wide Web (the internet) invented by Sir Tim-Berners Lee
1990– A student at McGill University in Montreal develops the first search engine named Archie
1992 –Complete I.T. Founded
1993– Benny Landau unveils the E-Print 1000 as the world’s first digital colour printing press
– Xerox 914 is released as the first successful commercial plain paper copier
1996– The Nokia 9000 Communicator is released in Finland as the first internet enabled mobile device
1998–Googleestablished
– PayPal is launched, enabling large scale payment via the internet
2000–Microsoftdevelop the first tablet computer
2001– Digital Satellite Radio
–Applereleases the iPod
2003– WordPress, an open source websitecontent management systemis launched by Mike Little and Matt Mullenweg
– LinkedIn is established
2004– Emergence of Web 2.0 – Humans move away from consumers of internet material to active participation
– Facebook established by Mark Zuckerberg
2005– USB Flashdrives replace floppy disks
– Google Analytics established
– YouTube is launched as a video platform
2006– Twitter is launched to the public
2007– Apple Inc. debuts the iPhone
–Amazonreleases the Kindle, marking a new era in reading and book technology
2009 – Bitcoin is developed by unknown programmers under the name of Satoshi Nakamoto
2010– Apple debuts the iPad
– The beginning of responsive website design
2011– 22 nanometre computer chips enter mass production
2012– Quad-core smartphones and tablets are releases, offering faster processing power
2014– 14 nanometre computer chips are released
– The market for smart watches reaches 5 million
2015– Apple releases the Apple Watch
2016– Supercomputers reach 100 petaflops
– Mobile devices overtake wired devices as a means of using the internet
2017– 10 nanometre chips enter service
2018 – AI first publicly emerged alongside 5G technology
2019 – Google released Quantum Supremacy, a machine running on quantum mechanics that can answer questions that would confuse even the world’s top supercomputer
– Sharp acquires Complete I.T.
2020– Chatbot-technology and text-producing AI GPT-3 was released.
– The COVID-19 pandemic accelerates digital transformation, leading to remote work and online education
2021 – GitHub Copilot, a programmer assistant AI, was released
– Continued development of electric vehicles (EVs) with advancements in battery technology.
2022 – Chatbot and text-generating AI, ChatGPT is released, Expansion of Metaverse concepts
2023 – Microsoft released ChatGPT-powered Bing
– Sharp launches first-to-market Virtual Showroom – an immersive and interactive experience
The Virtual Showroom is an award-winning 3D virtual environment that allows users to view Sharp’s products and services in a ‘real-life’ setting with interactive elements such as video and the ability to engage with different hotspots and touchpoints to view and learn more about the product/solution.
