Released in 1985 by Microsoft, this was their first attempt at implementing a graphical user interface that could multitask on a personal computer. Microsoft sent kits to industry executives and press containing a cryptic squeegee and washcloth along with an invitation to the unveiling of their new software. Regarded mostly…
X Windows is the standard on Unix and Unix based systems for GUI interfaces. It is often referred to as X or X11, and was developed in 1984 at MIT where Bob Scheifler and Jim Gettys set out the early principles of the system. Providing the basic framework for graphical user…
From Cisco’s “Corporate Overview” Cisco was founded in 1984 by a small group of computer scientists from Stanford University. Since it’s inception, Cisco engineers have been leaders in the development of Internet Protocol (IP)-based networking technologies. This tradition of IP innovation continues with industry-leading products in the core areas of…
When Neuromancer by William Gibson was first published it created a sensation. Or perhaps it would be more precise to say that it was used to create a sensation, for Bruce Sterling and other Gibson associates declared that a new kind of science fiction had appeared which rendered merely ordinary…
The Intel 80286 (officially called iAPX 286) is a 16-bit microprocessor that allows up to 16 megabytes of RAM. On DOS machines these can only be used via extended memory emulation. The Intel 8086 by contrast is only able to address 1 megabyte of RAM. The clock speed is between…
The IBM PC AT is the successor of the PC and the XT. IBM added a lot of new features including switching to the Intel 80286, which allowed for among many other things, 16 bit expansion slots. It also used then-new MS DOS 3.0 which supported 1.2 MB floppies, 20…
Apple Computer debuted the Macintosh in 1984. It was the first personal computer to feature a graphical user interface, a system of operating a computer by manipulating windows, menus, and icons with a mouse. It’s much easier to use than the traditional system requiring precise text input, and revolutionizes the…
From Sony’s “Corporate Fact Sheet” Sony Corporation of America, based in New York City, is the U.S. subsidiary of Sony Corporation, headquartered in Tokyo. Sony is a leading manufacturer of audio, video, communications, and information technology products for the consumer and professional markets. Its music, motion picture, television, computer entertainment,…
Snipes is one of the first networked multiplayer games. It was created in 1983 to test the capabilities and features of the new PC-based Novell Netware network operating system developed by former members of Superset Software. It is considered the precursor to modern multiplayer games such as Doom and a…
In 1983 Raymond Noorda of Novell picked up on work originally done by Superset Software, a group that included Drew Major, Dale Neibauer, Kyle Powell and later Mark Hurst, who were later hired to continue work on the project. They were assigned the task of creating a disk sharing system…