Computers

Computers, originally used to easily compute mathematical problems, became the most important invention of today's world. The first truly significant in the development of the computer occured when Konrad Zuse (what a baller name), in 1936, created the firstprogrammable computer, upgraded from a bunch of wires that did addition or multiplication...

The next big step came in 1951, when the UNIVAC computer became the first commercially available computer. However, computers were practiacally useless to the average person until...

1962: Steve Russell at MIT creates the first ever computer game: Spacewar! (not pong) Although this does'nt really have much to do with mass comms, it'll lead to the eventual creation of internet gaming.

But, the most important invention of computers came in 1969, when government installations created a wired network to connect one military base to another. This of course, marked the beginning of the internet.

In 1979, a word processor was invented (like Microsoft Word), giving a very practical use to common people. This obviously resulted in a huge rise in computer sales (mainly for businesses.)

In 1981, IBM sells the first computer for the home.

1982: The "luggable computer" is released, a small, lightweight (30 lbs!) computer that improved greatly from the humongous predecessors.

In 1983, the personal computer goes wireless. These notebook computers, however, cost a whopping $500 bucks at the cheapest,a rare earning for the common person.

1984: The RAM, or Random-Access Memory, is invented, a unique new device for storing any sort of information when recorded electronically. Beats a floppy drive...

In 1990, Microsoft becomes the first company EVER to excede $1 billion in sales, showing the true power and desire for computers.

August 6, 1991: The biggest release EVER. The World Wide Web is launched to the public. This will rapidly grow to become quite possibly the most important creation ever in the history of man. The WWW is first used an a large scale by the president and white house, who opened a US white house web page as well as email addresses for the president, VP, and first lady.

For the next 16, years, the internet developed into a giant, complex web of information sharing and communications, including email, instant messaging and more!

This amazing new form of communications completely changed the world in the most fascinating amount yet. Leaders had a new way to talk to their people, people had a new way to gather information, and the recent rise in internet videos has led to a system where everybody and anybody can see anything they desire - even politicians giving speeches.

http://www.computerhope.com/history/