Mass Consumption » Boxchronicles » tech that changed the world

:: 2000 ::

The Millennium Bug proves to be mostly harmless.

IBM releases Blue Gene. It is 1,000xs faster than Deep Blue.

AMD and Intel both break the gigahertz barrier.

Large scale viruses such as I Love You, and DOS attacks on major corporate web sites occur.

Windows 2000 is released.

The da Vinci Surgical System is approved by the FDA.

Kevin Mitnick is released from prison.

Metal band Metallica sues Napster over illegal file sharing.

:: 2001 ::

Windows XP is released.

Advanced worms like Code Red and Nimda capture media and public attention.

AOL becomes AOL/Time Warner in the largest corporate merger in U.S. history.

Microsoft’s first Xbox is released in the U.S.

Wikipedia is launched.

Apple releases Mac OS X, replacing the classic Mac OS.

iTunes 1.0 is released at MacWorld San Francisco.

The PortfolioWall is unveiled at SIGGRAPH. It was one of the first systems with a gesture-based interface.

Apple introduces the first iPod.

:: 2002 ::

The first working quantum computer is built by IBM.

NEC unveils the ESS ( Earth Simulator System). It is the world’s fastest supercomputer.

RIM releases the first Blackberry phone.

The Nintendo GameCube appears.

A massive attack against the internet’s root DNS servers is launched.

:: 2003 ::

DVD burners appear.

GPS bombs are used by the U.S. military in the Iraq War.

The Blaster worm infects PCs worldwide. It was also followed soon after by the Sobig.F worm.

AMD’s Athlon 64 and the Apple G5 are introduced.

The Slammer worm appears.

Microsoft releases Office 2003.

The grandaddy of social networking sites MySpace is launched.

The business oriented social networking service LinkedIn goes live.

:: 2004 ::

Google stock goes public in August to the delight of investors.

IBM sells it’s PC division to Chinese company Lenovo.

The MyDoom virus appears.

The first cell phone virus is discovered.

Firefox 1.0 is released.

Blue Gene/L takes the title of world’s fastest supercomputer.

The first incarnation of Facebook is created at Harvard University.

:: 2005 ::

AMD files an antitrust suit against Intel.

Video site YouTube is founded.

Social media site Reddit is launched.

:: 2006 ::

The massively popular social networking and messaging service Twitter is conceived.

:: 2007 ::

The Apple iPhone is released in the U.S.

Microsoft releases Windows Vista worldwide.

Microsoft unveils the original Surface, which was a touchscreen table.

The Android mobile operating system is introduced.

Gmail is officially released to the public.

:: 2008 ::

Streaming video service Hulu is launched.

The IBM Roadrunner is operational at Los Alamos. It’s the first petaflop capable supercomputer.

Google releases the Chrome web browser.

Microsoft releases Windows Server 2008.

Github is founded.

:: 2009 ::

Microsoft releases Windows 7.

Palm releases webOS.

The online payment system Bitcoin is released as open source software. It is considered one of the earliest digital currency systems.

News of Michael Jackson’s death causes major websites to crash and Google to block all related searches for 30 minutes.

:: 2010 ::

Apple releases the original iPad to great success.

Chromebooks debut.

The Cray Jaguar beats the IBM Roadrunner for fastest computer in the world, but is quickly toppled by China’s entry, the Tianhe-1A.

Apple introduces the iPad.

The Fujitsu K Computer in Kobe, Japan named the fastest in the world at over 8 Petaflops per second.

Instagram is launched.

The game changing Stuxnet worm is discovered.

The IBM Watson supercomputer beats two human opponents on Jeopardy.

:: 2012 ::

The Raspberry Pi is released.

Microsoft debuts Windows 8.

An IBM Blue Gene/Q system, the IBM Sequoia becomes the fastest supercomputer.

Pinterest is launched.

:: 2013 ::

The Cryptolocker virus is discovered.

Microsoft reveals the Xbox One and releases Windows 8.1.

Internet video media app Vine is launched.

:: 2014 ::

The Heartbleed bug is discovered.

Sony Corporation suffers one of the largest hacks in history.

Microsoft releases the source code for the original versions of MS-DOS and Word.

:: 2015 ::

Windows 10 is released.

Apple releases the Apple Watch.

The Surface Book is introduced.

:: 2016 ::

The U.S. government attempts to force Apple to create a version of IOS that circumvents security.

Microsoft acquires LinkedIn

:: 2017 ::

The Equifax data breach affects over 100 million

The Meltdown and Spectre CPU vulnerabilities are discovered

The FCC ends Net Neutrality rules