The History of PCs - Personal Computers Through the Years
Evolution of the PC
A brief timeline of the technology that changed the world
1962 Just Before Dawn
The LINC (Laboratory Instrument Computer) begins processing data in an MIT lab to assist with biomedical research. Featuring four modules with portable tapes for data storage, the "minicomputer" paves the way for PCs. A 1966 ad read, "While probing electrodialysis, a man suffered mental paralysis. His friend, the LINC-8, alarmed by his state, revived him with real-time analysis." 1965 The Money Maker
The PDP-8, made by Digital Equipment Corp., debuts and becomes the first minicomputer commercial success. Price: $18,000. Extremely popular through the '70s, they could be found running the news display in Times Square and monitoring surgical instruments in operating rooms across the country. 1972 Let the Games Begin
Three years after the Department of Defense established the first computer network (later named the Internet), Atari releases Pong, using two lines and a dot to kick-start the video game industry. The table-tennis arcade game craze blew the computer industry's all-work mentality wide open. World of Warcraft addicts: You're welcome. AARP Offer Get and Stay Connected
Explore for tips on family, relationships, technology and more. today for great ways to save and stay connected to family. 1976 First Bite of the Apple
Steve Wozniak creates the Apple I personal computer and demonstrates it at the Homebrew Computer Club in Palo Alto, Calif. Sales — at $666.66 a pop — allow Wozniak and Steve Jobs to start Apple Computers. 1977 Coming to a Home Near You
Among the first computers designed for the home consumer, the Commodore PET, Apple II and Tandy Radio Shack's TRS-80 all debut. The early edition of the PET (Personal Electronic Transactor) had a built-in cassette-tape drive, an unpopular miniature keyboard and a feeble 4 kilobytes of memory. 1982 The Flip Is No Flop
GRiD Systems releases Compass, the first laptop. NASA sent several aboard early space-shuttle missions to handle basic navigation and to schedule tasks for the crew. The flip-open clamshell design of the Compass would become ubiquitous in laptops and, later, cellphones. 1982 Machine Wins Over Man
Time magazine suspends its "Man of the Year" tradition and names the computer "Machine of the Year." "The enduring American love affairs with the automobile and the television set are now being transformed into a giddy passion for the personal computer," gushed the story — written on a typewriter — in the Jan. 3, 1983, issue, a year and a half after IBM called its new minicomputer the PC. 1990 We re All Connected
The World Wide Web is invented to link disparate Internet sites. The Web would go live to the public the following summer, giving everyone with a computer and a modem free access to the online world. 1995 Open for Business
Amazon and eBay both hit the scene, revolutionizing the way we shop. How many items do you think Amazon founder Jeff Bezos has in his shopping cart? 1998 Browse and Pay Up
The debuts of Google and PayPal deliver a web browser to find everything and a secure service to pay for everything. Here, Google cofounders Larry Page, left, and Sergey Brin pose inside the server room at the company's headquarters in Mountain View, Calif. 2010 For Your Pocket or Purse
At a San Francisco news conference Apple unveils its iPad. The tablet is the latest of the company's mobile gadgets that began with the iPhone in 2007. 2012 Then and Now
LINC: about 8 square feet; 1,000 bytes of memory; $43,600. iPhone5: 5 x 2 inches; 16,000,000,000 bytes of memory; $199. Cancel You are leaving AARP.org and going to the website of our trusted provider. The provider’s terms, conditions and policies apply. Please return to AARP.org to learn more about other benefits. Your email address is now confirmed. You'll start receiving the latest news, benefits, events, and programs related to AARP's mission to empower people to choose how they live as they age. You can also by updating your account at anytime. You will be asked to register or log in. Cancel Offer Details Disclosures
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