1959
Robert Noyce of Texas Instruments conceives the idea of an integrated circuit. In 1968, Noyce will found Intel with Gordon Moore and Andy Grove.
1983
The television show The A-Team begins its first season on the NBC.
1985
Apple Computer introduces the Macintosh Office, which included the first Appletalk network and the LaserWriter laser printer. A US$50 kit will be available for connecting a Macintosh to the 230 kbps Appletalk network. The LaserWriter is priced at US$6995.
Apple Computer officially renames the Lisa 2/10 computer to Macintosh XL. Price: US$3995
1988
The experimental plane Voyager, piloted by Dick Rutan and Jeana Yeager, completes the fist nonstop, around-the-world flight without landing for refueling.
1991
The television series Seinfeld debuts on NBC.
1996
Apple Computer, Inc. Chairman, Mike Markkula opens Apple’s annual shareholders meeting. Amidst rumors of takeovers, sales, merges and layoffs, Markkula admits the company faces serious problems.
Sun Microsystems ships the Java 1.0 development kit.
1997
In Dallas, Texas, Texas Instruments announces it will sell its notebook computer business to the Acer Group of Taiwan.
Sega Enterprises, Ltd. and the Bandai Company announce that plans to merge effective Wednesday, October 1, 1997 have been approved by the boards of both companies. The two companies will be named Sega Bandai, Ltd. The merger will involve a US$1.08 billion stock swap.
1999
Sony Computer Entertainment introduces the PocketStation handheld video game system in Japan. Games are downloaded from the PlayStation in a new format. Price: US$25
2001
Microsoft and Sun Microsystems settle their Java lawsuit. Microsoft will pay Sun US$20 million, and is permanently prohibited from using the “Java compatible” trademark on its products. The Sun-Microsoft licensing agreement will be terminated, but Microsoft is permitted to use a version of Java in its products for the next seven years.
2001
Graeme Wearden publishes an article entitled, “AI: the story so far” on ZDNet. In the article, Wearden writes
“The term artificial intelligence, or AI, was coined at the ground-breaking Dartmouth conference of 1956. But man’s interest in the notion that a machine could be given the ability to think can be traced back to the myths and stories of the ancient world.”
Read parts one and two of the article online at ZDNet.
Transvirtual Technologies releases the PocketLinux operating system for handheld computers.
2002
Sony begins selling a PlayStation One with a plug-in LCD screen for US$200.
2003
NEC introduces the VersaPro Tablet PC in Japan. It features a 10.4-inch screen, the Windows XP Tablet PC Edition operating system, a 933 MHz Intel Pentium III processor, 256 MN RAM, a 20 GB hard drive, and 802.11b wireless communications. Weight: 2.2 pounds. Price: 296,000 yen (about US$2500) in Japan.
A Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania man is convicted of hacking a judge’s personal e-mail account.
Leander Kahney publishes an article entitled, “Of Pawns, Knights, Bits, Bytes” in Wired News. In the article, Kahney writes:
“A new era of man vs. machine competition is dawning. On Sunday, the world’s No. 1-ranked chess player will begin a tournament against the world’s best chess program — and it’s the first human/computer chess match sanctioned by the world’s leading chess body. … The competition is the first man/machine challenge sanctioned by the Fédération Internationale des Échecs , or the World Chess Federation. … ‘Until now FIDE has been on the sidelines and ignored computer chess,’ said Professor Jonathan Schaeffer, an expert in artificial intelligence and one of the competition’s judges. ‘I’m hopeful it will be the first of many, many computer chess matches to come…. It’s very exciting to see international recognition of computer chess.’ … Schaeffer said the match could mark the moment when humankind finally cedes one of its most cherished and uniquely human capabilities to computers. ‘One hundred years from now, the idea that humans could still beat computers will seem quaint,’ he said. ‘It will be like men trying to race cars at the turn of the century. Who’s better? Who cares? The technology is what matters. It’s improving, and that’s what counts.’”
Read the Entire Story at Wired.com …
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