From 1984 to 1990

1984

Steve Jobs delivers the MAC after "seeing the light" at Xerox PARC. The mouse and icon come to the people.

Appleworks - one of the first integrated office packages written by Rupert Lissner.

# 2,000,000 Apple II sold

3rd and final demo of Windows to IBM - still no interest

1000 hosts on the ARPANET

1984: Apple introduces the Macintosh computer.

1984: IBM introduces the PC AT (Advanced Technology). IBM merges with Rolm Corp., which becomes a telecommunications subsidiary.

1984: The Tandy 1000 personal computer becomes the #1 selling IBM PC-compatible in its first year.

1985: IBM delivers the new 3090 Sierra systems.

1985: Aldus introduces PageMaker for the Macintosh and starts the desktop publishing era.

IBM discontinues PC jr

Computer Crackers come to forefront when"414 Hackers" of Milwaukee break into the Los Alamos Laboratory computer system.

Steve Jobs is unimpressed with preview of MS Excel, prefers Lotus Jazz

Apple Computer reports first quarterly loss

Jobs ‘leaves’ Apple Computer - forms NeXT Inc.

Ted Waitt founds Gateway 2000 in Sioux City, IA

Windows 1.0 ships (November)

IBM announces Token Ring Architecture

Microsoft purchases all rights to DOS from SCP - $925,000

Nintendo is introduced to the U.S. market

1985

Intel announces the 80386 chip

32-bit registers,

32-bit bus

16-MHz

-275,000 transistors,

4Gig bytes address space

-$299 in quantity

1986: Burroughs merges with Sperry to form Unisys Corporation, second only to IBM in computer revenues.

1986: Compaq makes the Fortune 500 list. Introduces its first Intel 80386-based PC.

1986: Computerworld publishes its 1,000th issue on November 3.

1986: HP introduces its Spectrum line of reduced instruction set computers (RISC).

1986: Tandy has over 7300 retail outlets including more than 4800 company-owned Radio Shack stores in the U.S.

1986: The number of computers in the U.S. exceeds 30 million.

1987: IBM introduces its PS/2 family and ships over 1 million units by year end.

1987: Cray Research introduces the Cray 2S which is 40% faster than the Cray 2.

1987: ETA Systems introduces its ETA-10 family of supercomputers.

1987: Sun Microsystems introduces its first workstation based on a RISC microprocessor.

1987: Apple introduces the Macintosh II and Macintosh SE and HyperCard.

1987: IBM introduces its Systems Applications Architecture (SAA).

1987: DEC introduces Vaxstation 2000 workstation computer, and the MicroVAX 3500 and 3600.

1987: Aldus introduces PageMaker for the IBM PC and compatible computers.

1987: Compaq reaches a billion dollar in sales in its fifth year of operation.

1987: Conner Peripherals beats Compaq's first year sales record: $113M vs $111M.

1987: Computer Associates acquires UCCEL in the largest ever software acquisition ($780M).

1987: IBM invests in Steve Chens Supercomputer Systems, Inc.

1987: Apple spins off its application software business as a separate company and names it Claris.

1987: Texas Instruments introduces the first AI microprocessor chip.

1988: DEC introduces VAXstation 8000.

1988: Cray Research introduces the Cray Y-MP, a $20M supercomputer.

1988: IBM introduces a new mainframe computer operating system called MVS/ESA.

1988: IBM announces its long awaited Silverlake mid-range computers called AS/400.

1988: Motorola announces the 88000, a RISC microprocessor.

1988: The first graphics supercomputers are announced by Apollo, Ardent and Stellar. These computers are aimed at 3D graphics applications.

1988: The first PS/2-compatible computers are announced by Tandy, Dell Computer and others.

1988: Unisys introduces the 2200/400 family to replace its mid-range 1100 series.

1988: AT&T announces plan to acquire 20% of Sun Microsystems, and that Sun will help AT&T develop the next version of UNIX.

1988: In response to the AT&T-Sun cooperation, IBM, DEC, HP, Apollo and several other major computer companies form the Open Software Foundation to set a UNIX counterstandard.

1988: Sun Microsystems surpasses the $1 billion sales mark, and introduces 80386-based workstations.

1988: IBM and Sears joint videotex venture starts operation under the PRODIGY name.

1988: Sematech picks Austin, TX as its headquarters and the consortium will be headed by Robert Noyce.

1988: A consortium of PC companies led by Compaq introduces the EISA counter standard to IBM's PS/2 MicroChannel bus.

1988: IBM introduces the ES/3090 S series mainframe computer.

1988: IBM wins a $3.6B contract to build the next generation air traffic control system.

1988: Unisys acquires Convergent Technologies for $350M.

1988: Computer Associates acquires Applied Data Research for $170M from Ameritech.

1988: Next unveils its innovative workstation computer which is the first computer using erasable optical disks as the primary mass storage device. IBM license Next's graphics user interface.

1988:

A nondestructive worm spreads via the Internet network and brings several thousand computers to their knees.

1988

Compaq Computer reports sales of $1.2 billion - quickest a company has ever reached that mark

Apple sues Microsoft & Hewlett Packard - MAC OS issues

Ashton-Tate sues Fox - Dbase language

DEC begins development of 64-bit, 150-MHz alpha chip

W.H. Sim forms Creative Labs, Inc.

HP introduces the DeskJet inkjet printer - $1000

1989

Intel announces the 80486 chip combines

386 & 387 math coprocessor & cache

1.2 million transistors

$900

NeXT, Inc. ships its first machine

Creative Labs releases 8-bit mono Sound Blaster card

Personal Computer Memory Card International Association (PCMCIA) is formed to develop standards for PCs.

LOTUS Development quote: "We don’t see Windows as a long term graphical interface for business."

Apple announces a new font standard - it will become "TrueType"

First relays between a commercial e-mail carrier and the Internet - MCI/CRNI & Compuserve/OSU

100,000 hosts on Internet

1989: Solbourne Computer introduces the first Sun 4-compatible computer.

1989: DEC announces a workstation using Mips Computer's RISC microprocessor.

1989: Microsoft buys a 20% stake in Santa Cruz Operation, a major UNIX software developer.

1989: Intel announces the 80486 microprocessor and the I860 RISC/coprocessor chip. Both chips have over one million transistors.

1989: Hewlett-Packard acquires Apollo for $476M.

1989: Sun Microsystems introduces its SPARCstation, a low-end RISC workstation with an entry price of only $9,000.

1989: Control Data discontinues its ETA supercomputer subsidiary.

1989: IBM announces the Officevision software using the SAA protocol, which runs on PS/2s, PS/2 LANs, AS/400 and mainframe computers.

1989: Cray restructures itself into two companies: Cray Research which continues with its current business and Cray Computer Corp. headed by Seymour Cray, which will develop a gallium arsenide-based supercomputer.

1989: Next sells a 16.6% share to Canon for $100M.

1989: Seagate buys Control Data's Imprimis disk drive subsidiary for $450M.

1989: Computer Associates acquires Cullinet for $333M.

1989: Prime Computer agrees to be bought by a J.H. Whitney-formed company, ending a long and acrimonious takeover battle by MAI Basic.

1989: Apple introduces its long awaited portable Macintosh.

1989:

The worldwide number of computers in use surpasses 100M units.

1989: Poqet announces the first pocket sized MS-DOS compatible computer.

1989: Grid introduces a laptop computer with a touch sensitive pad that recognizes handwriting--the GridPad.

1989: The battery-powered notebook computer becomes a full function computer including hard and floppy disk with the arrival of Compaq's LTE and LTE/286.

1989: Digital Equipment extends the VAX-family into the mainframe arena with the VAX 9000.

1989: The first EISA-based personal computers arrive.

1989: The first 80486-based computers are introduced.

1989: Dun & Bradstreet acquires MSA in a major software acquisition worth $333M.

1990: Motorola introduces the 68040 microprocessor.

1990: IBM announces its RISC Station 6000 family of high performance workstations.

1990: Digital Equipment introduces a fault-tolerant VAX computer.

1990: Cray Research unveils an entry-level supercomputer, the Y-MP2E, with a starting price of $2.2M.

1990: Microsoft introduces Windows 3.0.

1990: Lotus wins its look and feel suit against Paperback Software's spreadsheet program.

1990: IBM ships the PS/1, a computer for consumers and home offices.

1990: IBM announces the System 390 (code name Summit), its mainframe computer for the 1990s.

1990: Microsoft's fiscal year revenue ending 6/30/90 exceeds $1B.

1990: NCR abandons its proprietary mainframes in favor of systems based on single or multiple Intel 486 and successor microprocessors.

1990: Apple introduces its low-end Macintoshes: The Classic, LC and IISI.

1990: Intel launches a parallel supercomputer using over 500 860 RISC microprocessors.

1990: Sun Microsystems brings out the SPARCstation 2.

1990: Microsoft along with IBM, Tandy, AT&T and others announced hardware and software specifications for multimedia platforms.

1990: The first SPARC compatible workstations are introduced.

1990

ARPANET ceases to exist - NSF assumes funding

Microsoft releases Windows 3.0 $3 million 1st day announcement for $10,000,000 plan

Microsoft annual sales reach $1 billion,

first personal software company to do so.

Gilbert Hyatt is granted a basic patent for the microprocessor, 20 years after his first application for patent.

IBM & Microsoft end cooperative work agreement  

Previous Page                                                       First Page