1983
Osborne Computer introduces The Osborne Executive portable computer, featuring a 4MHz Z80A, 128KB RAM, a 7-inch amber monitor, a detachable keyboard, two 204KB 5.25-inch disk drives, two serial ports, and one parallel port. The system comes bundled with a range of software, including: CBASIC, CP/M Plus, MBASIC, Personal Pearl, Supercalc, UCSD p-System, and Wordstar. Read more at the Computer Museum. Price: US$2,495 Weight: 28 pounds
Osborne Computer introduces The Osborne Executive II portable computer. The system is nearly identical to the original Osborne Executive, with the addition a co-processor board with a 4MHz Intel 8088 processor running either the CP/M-86 or MS-DOS operating system. Price: US$3,195
1986
(IBM) becomes the first computer manufacturer to use a processor capable of storing a million bits of information. The chip is first released with the IBM 3090. The achievement is heralded as a victory for American computer makers, whose work has been perceived as having fallen behind that of the Japan’s electronics industry. Visit the official IBM website.
1988
Dell announces its first personal computer (PC) using IBM’s Micro Channel 32-bit data bus.
1989
Quarterdeck Office Systems is granted a US patent for “An Improved Display System and Memory Architecture and Method for Displaying Images in Windows on a Video Display”. The technology allows multiple MS-DOS programs to run simultaneously in separate windows.
1991
The WordPerfect Corporation releases what will be the final version of WordPerfect for the Atari ST home computer.
2000
The Japanese Trade Ministry announces that simplified international exportation policies for the Sony Computer Entertainment Inc. (SCEI) PlayStation 2 video game system. Upon closer review, the ministry found that the game console is a general-purpose consumer product that doesn’t pose a significant risk of military use. Visit the official website of the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry.
2003
Intel halts the release of the new 800MT/s Front Side Bus variants of the 2.4 to 3.0GHz Pentium 4 processors due to an anomaly.
2005
Adobe Systems announces an agreement to acquire its principal rival Macromedia in a stock swap worth approximately US$3.4 billion. Visit the official Adobe website.
Version 2.1.0 of the R programming language is released. Visit the official R Project website.
2006
The Phantom of the Opera becomes the first film released on HD DVD with a TrueHD soundtrack. Dolby’s TrueHD is a lossless multi-channel audio codec for high-definition home-entertainment equipment. Visit the official TrueHD website.
Toshiba launches the HD DVD high definition video disc format in the United States with the release of the first HD DVD players, the Toshiba HD-A1 and Toshiba HD-XA1. Both players will be sold out within days of their release. The HD-A1 will later be rebranded by RCA and sold as the HDV-5000. Only six HD DVD film titles are available for the launch. Visit the official website of the HD-A1 and the HD-XA1.
2008
PayPal announces they are “Concidering” blocking certain web browsers because of their lack of security regarding anti-phishing protection.
2009
Barack Obama selects Virginia Tech leader Aneesh Chopra as president’s CTO.
2014
LinkedIn hits 300 million members