2400 BC
The abacus (first calculator) invented in Babylon; a precursor to the modern day technology
1775 BC
Greeks use a phonetic alphabet written from left to right
776 BC
First recorded use of homing pigeons to send a message
500 BC - 170 BC Papyrus rolls & parchment were first portable & light writing surfaces
200 BC - 100 BC Foot & horseback messengers common n Egypt & China
1041
Movable type printing press invented in China by Bi Sheng
1439
Alphabetic movable type printing press invented by Johann Gutenberg
1567
Graphite “lead” pencil [holder] invented by Conrad Gesner
1639
Richard Fairbank’s tavern in Boston first post office in America
1642
Blaise Pascal invents the adding machine
1765
Erasers put on pencils by Eberhard Company
1788
The first steamboat patent was issued to Isaac Briggs and William Longstreet
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1793
Long distance semaphore telegraph line invented by Claude Chappe
1794
Graphite pencil “lead” was patented by Nicolas Jacques Conte
1800
Electric pile (battery) demonstrated by Alessandro Volta
Richard Trevithick granted a patent for the steam locomotive
1802
Commercial electric motor invented by Thomas Davenport
1803
The steel ink pen is said to have been developed in Birmingham, England
1804
Locomotive invented by Richard Trevithick ran for the first time
1806
Carbon paper was patented by Ralph Wedgewood
1809
A steel pen was patented by Peregrine Williamson
1822
First mechanical computer invented by Charles Babbage
1825
The element Aluminum was discovered by Hans Christian Oersted
1826
First internal combustion engine was patented by Samuel Mory
1829
Typographer patented by William Austin Burt
1830
The fountain pen was patented by H.D. Hyde
1834
Braille invented by Louis Braille
1835
Morse code invented by Samuel F.B. Morse
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1837
First practical telegraph invented by Samuel F.B. Morse
1838
Electric telegraph invented by Charles Wheatstone & Samuel F.B. Morse
Typewriter invented by Charles Thurber
1843
Phonographic Correspondence Society formed in England
1844
First telegraphic message sent by Samuel F.B. Morse
1846
Rotary printing press invented by Richard M. Hoe
1850
English Channel telegraph cable was laid
Book & newspaper folding machine patented by Cyrus Chambers, Jr.
1856
Property of magneto-resistance was discovered by William Thomson
1859
First lead-acid rechargeable battery invented by Gaston Plante
1860
Pony Express between Missouri & California
1865
First successful placement of transatlantic cable by Daniel Gooch
The electric voice machine was patented by Thomas Edison
1868
Trichrome color photo process patented by Louis Ducos du Hauron
1872
The wireless radio (wireless telegraph) was patented by Mahlon Loomis
1873
Remington typewriter invented by Christopher Sholes
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1875
First complex sound transmission by Alexander Graham Bell
1876
Telephone invented and demonstrated by Alexander Graham Bell
Microphone invented by Emile Berliner
Process for hard drawn copper wire developed by Thomas Doolittle
1877
First tape recorded voice by Thomas Edison
Phonograph invented by Thomas Edison
Household use of electricity made available by Thomas Edison
Incandescent light invented and demonstrated by Thomas Edison
1879
Ready-to-use dry plate for photography invented by George Eastman
1880
Ball point pen patented by Alonzo T. Cross
1881
Roll film for cameras was patented by David Henderson Houston
1882
A power grid installed by Edison Electric interfered with telephone reception
1883
Long distance telephone service began between Chicago and New York
Linotype (line of type) machine invented by Ottmar Mergenthaler
1884
Data processing machine and punch cards invented by Herman Hollerith
1885
Motion picture film manufactured by The Eastman Film Company
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1887
Box camera created by Frank Brownell
1888
Radio waves produced by Heinrich Hertz
1893
Wireless communication invented by Nikola Tesla
Radio signals invented by Guglielmo Marconi
1895
Cinematograph developed by Auguste and Louis Lumiere
1898
Remote control invented by Nikola Tesla that he demonstrated with a remote controlled boat, a telautomaton
1903
Powered airplane invented by Wilbur and Orville Wright
Color photography invented by Auguste and Louis Lumiere
1907
Radio Amplifier invented by Lee DeForest
1919
James Smathers develops the first electric typewriter
1920s
176 radio stations constructed on educational campuses
Sound film invented by Lee DeForest
1923
Television invented by Philo Farnsworth
1924
Electromechanical television system invented by John Logie Baird
1930s
First experimental teaching programs produced
1937
Electronic digital computer built by Dr. John Atanasoff and Clifford Berry
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1945
Dr. John Von Neumann writes groundbreaking paper on stored program concept
1946
Work completed on the first large-scale general purpose digital computer (ENIAC)
1947
Transistor invented by W. Shockley, J. Bardeen, and W. Brattain
1950s
College credit courses offered via broadcast television
1951
First commercial digital computer (UNIVAC) released by Remington Rand
Optical fibers invented by B. Hirschowitz, C. W. Peters, and L. Curtiss
1956
Videocassette recorder invented by Charles Paulson Ginsburg with Ampex
First integrated circuit produced in the U.S. by Jack Kilby and Robert Noyce
1958
Computers built with transistors mark beginning of second generation computers
More than 200 programming languages are created by this date
1959
International Business Machines (IBM ) creates desk-sized computers for businesses and scientists
COBOL business programming language developed by Dr. Grace Hopper
1960
Satellite technology developed
1961
Optical disc invented by David Paul Gregg
1962
University of South Africa became a distance teaching university
1963
Computer mouse invented by Douglas Engelbart
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1964
IBM introduces the 3rd generation System/360 computer with circuitry stored on chips
1965
BASIC programming language developed by Dr. John Kemeny of Dartmouth
1967
Hypertext invented by Andries van Dam and Ted Nelson
Video game console invented by Ralph H. Baer
1968
First regular use of magnetic storage invented by IBM
IBM unbundles some software from computer hardware
1969
ARPANET network (Internet predecessor) established
1970
Fourth generation computers containing chips with large-scale integration produced
The Microprocessor is developed by Dr. Tedd Hoff of Intel Corporation
E-mail invented by Ray Tomlinson
1971
Liquid crystal display invented by James Fergason
Floppy disk invented by David Noble with IBM
Open University of the United Kingdom founded full distance degree program
Ethernet invented by Bob Metcalfe and David Boggs
1973
Personal computer invented by Xerox Palo Alto Research Center (PARC)
1974
Appalachian Education Satellite Project began
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1975
MITS begins selling the Altair microcomputer kit for $400 (no monitor/keyboard/permanent memory)
1976
The Apple computer built by Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak
CompuServe and Source, the first public online information services, were founded
1979
VisiCalc spreadsheet program written by Bob Frankston and Dan Bricklin
1980
Bill Gates of Microsoft Corporation develops MS-DOS for IBM personal computers (PCs)
1981
IBM PC is introduced and becomes the computer of choice for businesses
1982
The Hayes 300 bps smart modem is introduced
Lotus 1-2-3 software (spreadsheet/database/graphics) becomes best-selling program for IBM PCs
1983
Betamovie camcorder invented by Sony
IBM produces the PC AT with an Intel 80286 microprocessor
1984
Hewlett Packard produces first Laser Jet printers for PCs
Apple manufactures the MacIntosh computer with a graphical user interface
1987
PCs with the Intel 80386 microprocessor are introduced
World Wide Web invented by Tim Berners-Lee and Robert Cailliau
1990
International Society for Technology in Education (ISTE) formed to contribute to student learning
1991
Carbon nanotubes discovered by Sumio Iijima of NEC Fundamental Research Labs in Tsukuba, Japan
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Microsoft Windows 3.1 OS released with TrueType fonts, multimedia, and objecting linking & embedding
1992
The use of digital recording tools restricted by the Audio Home Recording Act
Companies begin manufacturing computers with the Pentium processor by Intel
1993
“Technology Standards for Teachers” released by ISTE with 13 indicators
Mosaic Web browser created by Marc Andreesen, leading to organization of Netscape Communications Corp
Netscape Navigator 1.0 Web browser launched by Netscape
1994
TIIAP begins offering grants to public institutions for the installation of advanced technology
Microsoft Windows 95 released with more than 10,000 lines of computer instructions
1995
The JAVA application introduced by Sun Microsystems is a programming language for numerous platforms
Intel Pentium II Processor introduced to incorporate MMX technology with video, audio, & graphics
1997
FCC approves Education Rate (E-Rate) telecommunications discount for K-12 schools and public libraries
Introduction of DVDs allows optical disc storage of computer, audio, and video data at near-studio quality
Microsoft introduces the Windows 98 upgrade to 95 with improved Internet access and system performance
The futuristic Apple iMac computer is introduced minus the floppy drive but with a new easy setup
1998
Florida High School Online begins online courses
Intel Teach to the Future launches a program for worldwide integration of technology in the classroom
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Microsoft releases Office 2000 productivity suite with new tools for Web site publishing without conversion
1999
More than $500 billion dollars spent worldwide to make computers Y2K (Year 2000) compliant
Smallest transistor produced from a single “buckyball” molecule of Carbon-60 at Lawrence Berkeley National Lab
2000
Napster developed by Shawn Fanning allows users to swap music files without accessing a central file server
Digital satellite radio licenses auctioned off to two companies for $93 million and $89 million
Microsoft introduces Microsoft Office 2001 for Macintosh with Word, Excel, Entourage, and PowerPoint
Apple Computers produces Mac OS X and promotes it as the preeminent operating system
2001
America Online (AOL) introduces Internet access with instant messaging, e-mail, and customized pages
Microsoft releases Windows XP Professional and Home versions for advanced computing
Wireless access to technology increases as carriers compete for market share through new services
Electronic texts (E-books) available via free & paid download with the ability to search, highlight, etc.
Professional-grade videos can be produced with new DVD writers, digital video cameras, & editing software
2002
Handspring introduces the first all-in-one handheld (Treo) with e-mail, Web-browsing, and cell phone use
Friendster becomes a social networking powerhouse
LinkedIn and MySpace bite into Friendster’s market share of social networkers
2004
Microsoft produces Class Server Learning Management Platform to aid school districts with NCLB challenge
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Facebook begins as social media for college students and by 2006 is a worldwide hit in all demographics
2004
Flat panel LCD monitors begin replacing CRTs, offering better display, power consumption, & no radiation
USB Flash Drives become an alternative means of backing of data in an easily transportable unit
Information distribution via blogging and podcasting become commonplace on the WWW
2005
Spim, SPAM, spit, spyware, and phishing join viruses in computer annoyances, often transmitted via e-mail
YouTube (www.youtube.com ) invented by S. Chen, C. Hurley, & J. Karim for online video sharing
The microblogging site, Twitter becomes one of the fastest growing exchanges in online social media
2006
New versions of Microsoft and Mozilla Web browsers enhanced browsing and security
Podcasting and Vlogging increase in popularity due to easy access and use of digital audio and video
Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) extends to Wi-Fi phones with Wireless-G network & high-speed Internet
2007
Microsoft Vista operating system with Internet Explorer 7 released, with improved security & performance
Apple produces the touchscreen iPhone, combining cell phone, iPod, and PDA with a Web browser & e-mail
2009
According to Lucian Parfeni (2009) YouTube presents 1 billion online videos per day
Touchscreen tablet computer, the iPad, released by Apple
2010
YMax Corp, the makers of magicJack, has a new version that lets users make free calls from cell phones
Intel developed the Intel Wireless Display (WiDi) that enables users to beam computer screen images to a TV
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