 1939
Digital Computer George R. Stibitz, right, builds the first electrical relay computer. It is the first such machine to use binary logic. Foreground, a model of Stibitz's 1937 "binary adder." He built the device to prove that telephone relays could be used to calculate. It was the first step toward what is today called the "Computer Revolution." |
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This is the first Bell Labs relay computer, known as the Complex Number Calculator, which was put into operation in 1940. |
| 1962
Computer- Generated Music The production of musical sounds with a digital computer is done by Max V. Mathews (right), shown here with Lawrence Rosler. Mathews and his team develop software that can design, store and edit synthesized music. The study of the reproduction of music, a simpler form of sound than speech, is part of Bell Laboratories' efforts to better understand speech and its reproduction. |
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| 1965 Stored Program Control | |
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The development of the 1ESS® switch in 1965 included the concept of stored program control--the storage of software instructions in the machine that could be changed over time to provide new features and control the switch without having to modify the switch hardware. Such software upgrades were monitored as part of the function of the switch's master control panel, shown here. |
| 1969
UNIX System Dennis Ritchie and Ken Thompson (seated) develop a general purpose computer operating system that can handle a variety of applications --from managing a telecommunications network to word processing. UNIX is the first software system designed to run on computers of all sizes from different manufacturers. It is at the heart of many operating systems that run the nation's communications networks, including the Internet. |
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Below, an early UNIX manual. |
| 1973 C Language Development of this flexible computer language by Dennis Ritchie, co-developer of the UNIX operating system, gives rise to an era of efficient and portable programming languages that span all computing environments -- from micro to super. |
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Below, C manuals in a variety of languages. |
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| 1985 C++ Language | |
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Bjarne Stroustrup develops a highly versatile programming language that becomes widely used in personal computers, supercomputers, microchips, and digital signal processors. |
| 1988 Virtual Meeting Service | |
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Bell Labs engineers demonstrate a multimedia conferencing system that links people at multiple locations via personal computer over regular telephone lines. Participants are able to talk to one another and have identical screen images. Video capability is subsequently added to the service, which enables conferees to see each other on a portion of their PC screens. |