20 computer technologies that changed the world....

[poltr1]

Last week, I was reminiscing somewhat incoherently about old computer technology. I had been thinking about getting a SuperDisk drive and disks on EBay, and found very few offerings. For some of the keyboards that have an onboard floppy disk (e.g, the Kurzweil, the Yamaha DX7II FD), I'm wondering if they could be replaced with a SuperDisk drive. I've seen Iomega Zip disks for Kurzweil synth workstations, but would an OS upgrade or driver instllation be needed to use it?

Then filkerdave mentioned USB, flash drives, and wireless internet on their LJ. I responded, "How did we live without them?" And so that got me to thinking about the good old days. Or not-so-good old days. When "computer" meant "IBM mainframe" that filled a entire room, and people worked on time-sharing systems, punch cards, and dumb terminals. For some, it was the dark ages. For others, it was th epioneering days.

So what did I think were 20 of the most significant developments/technologies in the computer world in the last 40 years? In somewhat chronological order:

1. The Internet.
2. The mouse.
3. The 5 1/4" floppy disk.
4. Spreadsheets.
5. Word Processors.
6. The 3 1/2" disk.
7. Local area networks.
8. Windows 3.0.
9. CD-ROM.
10. Web browsers.
11. Windows 95.
12. Personal digital assistants (PDAs).
13. Burnable CDs (CD-R).
14. Zip disks.
15. USB 2.0.
16. The MPEG-1 level 3 (MP3) file format.
17. External (removable) hard drive enclosures.
18. DVD-R.
19. Wi-Fi.
20. Flash memory.

So...what's the Next Big Thing? The iPod? Bluetooth? Blue-laser DVDs? Accurate speech recognition?

Comments

[figmo.livejournal.com]

Way before Windows you missed a bunch:

• The TRS-80
• The Apple personal computer
• CP/M
• DOS
• The Xerox Alto (which inspired many future computer interfaces with "virtual desktops" such as the Apple line and Windows)
• The laser printer
• The inkjet printer
• PostScript
• The Apple Lisa
• The Apple Macintosh
• Portable computers
• The 8" floppy disk
• Digital audio

[poltr1]

Ah, but you're a certified net.fogey, so of course you'd know more about the computer technology of the 1970s. (And if you're really feeling nostalgic, I'll see if they have a box of 8" disks at Mendelson's.)

If I were to expand the list from 20 to 50, these would definitely be in there. The long version of this list has a one-paragraph explanation for each item.

Oh yeah. While I *hated* the original Macs -- I was already used to command-line prompts and thought the GUI got in the way of real work -- I think I'd like them now...now that Windows came on the scene and seeded my antipathy for Microsoft.

My main criteria for the list were (1) the technology was widespread and pervasive through both the computing and non-computing communities, and (2) once they came out, there was no going back. (Anyone still using Windows 3.x or Wang systems? I don't think so.)

You forgot

[celticferret.livejournal.com]

Databases DB2 was heavily used. What about the progress in lauguages for the person computer: first CPM; Dos in all its incarnations; Windoze in all its incarnations and Linux

KG

Re: You forgot

[poltr1]

But the average person doesn't *use* DB2! Sure, relational databases -- or should I say, SQL -- may have been a breaktrough for the average computer geek, but the average person doesn't get near a relational database. (You can bet you bottom dollar that Larry Ellison, CEO of Oracle, would love to change that.)

As I told figmo, my main criteria for the list were (1) the technology was widespread and pervasive through both the computing and non-computing communities, and (2) once they came out, there was no going back. (Anyone still using Windows 3.x or Wang systems? I don't think so.)