MONITORS - The display unit

Hello Friends,

After all the technical know how of CPU, I move along to one of the most important part of a Computer that is, the display unit - MONITOR. Often referred to as a display screen, a video display terminal (VDT) or visual display unit (VDU), monitor is the component of your computer system that displays the messages and data being processes and utilized by CPU.

There are two types of monitors available in the market. CRT and LCD monitors.
Lets look at them in detail and decide which one would be a better choice for your computing needs.

CRT Monitors: Short for Cathode-ray tubes, these were the only choice consumers had for monitors for many years. CRT has been in use for more than 100 years and is found in most televisions and computer monitors. A CRT works by moving an electron beam back and forth across teh back of screen, each time the beam makes a pass across the screen, it lights up phosphor dots on inside of glass tube, thereby illuminating the active portions of the screen. By drawing many such lines all over the screen it creates an entire screen of images.

LCD Monitors: Short for Liquid Crystal Display, LCD can be found in digital watches and computer monitors. These have sheets of polarizing material with a liquid crystal solution between them. An electric current pass through the liquid causes the crystals to align so that light cannot pass through them. Each crystal is like Shutter, either allowing or blocking light. Color LCD uses two basic techniques for producing color: Passive Matrix - a less expensive technology of two and Thin Film Transistor or Active Matrix that produces color images that are as sharp as CRTs but are expensive.

Let us compare CRT and LCD with respect to the necessary features of a monitor.

Resolution and Viewing Quality: Resolution on CRT is flexible and supports resolution up to 1600 X 1200 and higher, while on LCD it is fixed. The resolution of LCD can be changed but if you change it to other than native resolution you will notice a drop in image quality.

Both type of monitors provide bright and vibrant color display, however LCDs cannot display the maximum color range that a CRT can. In term of image sharpness, when running at native resolution, LCD's picture quality is very sharp while on CRT ,it can be blemished by soft edges or a flawed focus.

A CRT monitor can be viewed from any angle while LCD have a bit of problem. With different angles and distance your view changes in LCD and you may notice picture fade and possibly look as if it will disappear from view. Though recent LCD's provide viewing angle of 179 degrees which is at par with CRTs.

Refresh Rate: This an important feature to look for. CRT call this their Refresh Rate while LCD have this what is called Response time. This simply means the screen will refresh at a given interval. For instance CRT monitor's refresh rate is ~ 75 MHz while a LCD have a response time of 20 to 8 milliseconds. Again faster the refresh rate, better it will be for your eyes.

Gamers and people who watch a lot of movies on LCD screens would be better opting for something with a fast response time, around 8 ms as this reduces the ghosting effect of fast motion.

Brightness: Because LCDs require their own back light to create colour, brightness is an important factor. It's measured in candelas per metre squared or cd/m2, where one candle produces a brightness of 1 candela. The higher this number, the brighter the screen.

Contrast Ratio: This is the degree of difference between the extremes of light and dark colors. The higher the contrast ratio, the more detailed the image will be. Blacks will be blacker, whites will be whiter, and particularly text on the image will be more vivid. It will usually be written as 2000:1 or 1000:1

Screen (Viewable) Size: Most people tend to look at a 17 inch CRT or bigger. When you purchase a 17 inch CRT you usually get 16 inches or a bit more actual viewing area. This is due to bulky frame of CRT. If you purchase a 17 inch LCD monitor you get actual viewing area which is 17 inch or a little less.

Physical Size: There is no denying that LCD wins in terms of physical size and the space it needs. CRT are big, bulky and heavy.

Physical Size of LCD and CRT

Video Card compatibility: It goes without saying that when you are looking at new monitors you should also look at your video card. Make sure that your video card can support the recommended refresh rate and resolution of your monitor. This will help extend the life of both your monitor and your eyes.

Warranty: The manufacturer's warranty is also something to consider when purchasing a new monitor. CRT monitors have a tendency to fail after 3 years and LCD monitors are usually rated from 10 to 50 thousand hours of operation. The longer the warranty the better chance you will have at getting it replaced if and when it does fail.

Price: As an individual one time purchase LCD will be a bit more expensive but throughout lifetime they are cheaper has they have longer lifespan and lower power consumption. The cost of both technologies have come down over the past few years and expect even more sliding. You may pay more for LCD but considering the actual size you get, the money to size advantage is still with LCD.

To sum it up, Here are PROS and CONS of CRT and LCD

CRT MONITOR

PROS: Great value for money, Mature technology, Good for graphical detail, Can accommodate many different resolutions.

CONS: Big, Take up a lot of space, Cost more to run than an LCD

LCD MONITOR

PROS: Less desk space needed, Require less power to run, more environmentally friendly, Increased Viewable area, Faster response time aids in image sharpness.

I hope this information was useful to you and will help you deciding which monitor to buy. In my opinion LCD are preferable over CRT. Though it varies from user to user.

Please feel free to comment on anything to everything. Your valuable advice will help me improve better.

Regards
Maulik

Graphics Cards

Hello Friends,

Today's topic is Graphics Card. One of the most important part of any processor and motherboard is the graphics. I will elaborate on various aspects of Graphics Card and help you choose one and if need be overclock graphics card to get the best out of it.

There are two types of Graphics Card: On-Board Graphics and Stand Alone Graphics.

On-Board Graphics are the ones which are integrated with the processor and share memory with RAM.
Stand Alone Graphics are card which comes as a seperate units that have dedicated memory that is not shared with RAM.

What is GPU ?????

A Graphics Processing Unit or GPU (also occasionally called visual processing unit or VPU) is a dedicated graphics rendering device for a pc, workstation or gaming console. Modern GPUs are very efficient at manipulating and displaying computer graphics, and their highly parallel structure makes them more effective than general-purpose CPUs for a range of complex algorithms. A GPU can sit on top of a video card, or it can be integrated directly into the motherboard.


Graphics boards aren't just for gamers. They help you work with large graphics, play high-definition video, and upgrade the monitor ports on an aging PC. Some models even give you the kind of video inputs and outputs required to hook up your camcorder or cable TV to the PC.

The million dollar question is HOW TO BUY A GRAPHICS BOARD? that is suitable for your computing needs and doesn't break your bank balance.
Read along for details.

THE BIG PICTURE
Graphics chip and board makers update their hardware every six months or so, mainly to enable the development of more-complex, more-realistic PC games. But games aren't the only reason to get a new graphics board. Such features as support for two or even three displays, DVI ports, a TV and/or FM radio tuner, and video connections--such as S-Video, Component, and, looking forward, HDMI--are other compelling reasons to upgrade.

KEY FEATURES
Interface: Today's consumer graphics boards come with a PCI Express interface to plug into a PC's PCI Express slot. A few mainstream and value options with an AGP interface plug into the AGP slot on an older PC. You can't plug a PCI Express card into an AGP slot or vice versa. PCI Express graphics boards transfer data faster than AGP boards.

Graphics processor: Today's graphics chips can efficiently handle sophisticated full-motion 3D video, thanks to advanced graphics processors, or GPUs. Right now, the GPUs populating most graphics boards for desktop PCs are developed by two companies: nVidia and ATI.

Memory: These days, you'll easily find budget graphics cards with at least 256MB of DDR3 SDRAM. You'll want this amount at a minimum, since, for Windows Vista, Microsoft's initial recommendations are to have a graphics board with 128MB of memory to run Vista's Aero Glass graphics-heavy interface. For older games, 128MB is sufficient, though it's best to get a card with at least 256MB of video memory. Many games today don't require more than that, but you may want to opt for more memory rather than face upgrading again when new memory-intensive games arrive.

Some graphics chips that are integrated on a motherboard use main system memory in lieu of dedicated graphics RAM, reducing the amount of memory available to the operating system. They lack the extra memory necessary for sophisticated gaming, so they aren't usually suitable for playing any but the simplest games.

TV tuner: If you want to play and/or record live TV on your PC, you'll need a graphics board with a TV tuner. Several midrange and power boards with such tuners are available.

Overclocking: Running a graphics processor faster than the manufacturer's specified speed is popular among PC tweakers and dedicated gamers. While it carries risks such as overheating, when done within vendor-specified safety limits, it's a viable way of eking extra performance out of a midrange or power board.Be sure to read the manufacturer's recommendations and instructions before overclocking.

Quad SLI: nVidia's Quad SLI technology lets you combine four graphics chips in one PC. Quad SLI will let you play games at massive resolutions such as 1920 by 1200 and 2560 by 1600; and it really shines when you turn on high-end antialiasing and anisotropic filtering settings.

SHOPPING TIPS
If you stick to what you need and follow these tips, you should be able to get a board at a price you can smile about.

Go for midrange boards: Unless you need the ultimate gaming board (and have a brand-new, high-end PC that can use it to maximum advantage), aim below the top. You can usually save at least $100, and you won't sacrifice much in terms of performance.

Gamers need more power: If you're planning to play new games, you'll want a powerful board that supports the DirectX 10 API and has 512MB of DDR SDRAM.

Check the connection: PCI Express cards can't fit in AGP slots and vice versa, so check what your PC can accommodate before you buy. Similarly, make sure there is room inside your PC for a board that takes up two slots.

Consider your needs: Don't throw away money on features you won't be using. Unless you're planning to capture and edit digital video, for example, get a board without video- and audio-in ports. By getting only what you need, you can save money or spend the money on features (such as more RAM) that matter more to you.

Determine your budget: Before you go for buying a graphics card, determine your budget, your requirement for graphics card as well as how will you be using it. Doing so will save you from spending more than what you required.

So while you go about buying the best graphics card I will take your leave and will post a new topic soon. Stay Tune for more.

I hope you enjoyed the post about graphics card, Any comment or views are welcome. If you have any questions about which graphics card to buy or would like to suggest few graphics card for other users, you are most welcome to do so.

Regards
Maulik

What is Motherboard

Hi Friends,
How are you all,

I hope you enjoyed reading details about processors. Today I am gonna elaborate about one of the most vital components of CPU that is MOTHERBOARD.

In today's article I will try to explain you brief of what motherboard is and other details about motherboard and also helping you select the best suitable to you?

What is motherboard??

A motherboard is the central or primary circuit board making up a complex electronic system, such as a modern computer. It is also known as a mainboard, baseboard, system board, planar board or, on Apple computers, a logic board, and is sometimes abbreviated as mobo.

The motherboard of a typical desktop consists of a large printed circuit board. It holds electronic components and interconnects, as well as physical connectors. It often consists of two components or chips known as the Northbridge and Southbridge, though they may also be integrated into a single component. These chips determine, to an extent, the features and capabilities of the motherboard.

Most motherboards include, at a minimum:

• sockets (or slots) in which one or more microprocessors are installed.
• slots into which the system's main memory is installed (typically in the form of DIMM modules containing DRAM chips)
• a Chipset which forms an interface between the CPU's front-side bus, main memory, and peripheral buses
  
• Non volatile chips (usually Flash ROM in modern motherboards) containing the system's firmware and BIOS
  
• a clock generator which produces the system clock signal to synchronize the various components
• slots for expansion cards (these interface to the system via the buses supported by the chipset)
• power connectors and circuits, which receive electrical power from the computer power supply and distribute it to the CPU, chipset, main memory, and expansion cards.
• Additionally, nearly all motherboards include logic and connectors to support commonly-used input devices, such as PS 2 connectors for a mouse and keyboard.

There are a lot of motherboards on the market to choose from. The big question is, how do you go about choosing which one is right for you?

The first factor to think about concerning motherboards is the size, or form factor. The most popular motherboard form factor today is ATX, which evolved from it's predecessor, the Baby AT, a smaller version of the AT (Advanced Technology) form factor.

The important differential is which CPU the board supports. Two of the biggest makes of CPUs at the moment are Intel and AMD, yet you cannot buy motherboards that support the use of either: it will support one or the other, due to physical differences in the connectors. Furthermore, you must choose a specific type of processor; for example, an AMD Athlon 64 or or Intel Core 2 Duo.

Chipsets are a crucial part of a motherboard, a chipset supports the facilities offered by the processor. A chipset is part of the motherboard, and cannot be upgraded without upgrading the whole board. There are a few main producers of chipsets, which are AMD, Intel, NVidia and Via: The latter two make chipsets for both AMD and Intel processors; AMD and Intel only make chipsets compatible with their own processors.

The next thing is how much RAM you want. RAM, or Random Access Memory, is the main memory in a computer, and is used mainly to store information that is being actively used or that changes often. It is always wise to choose a motherboard that can support more RAM than you currently need. For example, if you want 512MB of RAM in your computer, it would be wise to buy a motherboard that supports at least 1GB of RAM (many now support 4GB). This is simply to help make your computer ‘future proof': if you need to upgrade your memory, you will not need to upgrade your motherboard too.

You are likely to want various expansion cards (such as graphics cards, sound cards and so on). These components tend to have physically different connectors. The PCI-E slot is the most common graphics card interface nowadays, but the AGP slot is still in use.

Aside from the main differences I have covered, there a few more details to consider. All motherboards have USB sockets for peripheral devices. You also need to ensure that your motherboard has the right socket for your drives (hard drive, CD ROM drive, etc), which are generally SATA and IDE.

Unless you have limitless resources, price is always a consideration when buying computer component. A motherboard usually takes up a fairly large part of any PC budget, so it requires careful consideration. A cheap motherboard may be more unreliable and more trouble than it is worth. A motherboard is one of those components where it pays to spend a little extra.

Finally, try to buy from a reputable retailer: It is always worth doing so just in case you have any problems.

That's it for today, I hope you got a brief idea about how you should go about buying a motherboard and a CPU.

Please feel free to comment or write views on the above article. It will help me do better.

Image of Motherboard will be uploaded soon

Regards
MauliK

Processor War

Hello Friends,

I hope you had fun reading the history of computers.

Taking a leaf out of those history I bring details about the heart of computer, that is the PROCESSOR.

Two most prominent chipmaker in the world - INTEL and AMD are slugging it out to provide the best possible processors in today's world. With time the companies have moved ahead from Single- Core CPUs to Quad- Core CPUs with 8-Core CPUs in pipeline.

Just 3 years back we were arguing about performance difference between Single core cpus v/s dual core cpus. Now, with Intel's dual-core becomming more mainstream, within less than a year, we have already begun to look to the future and speculate the performance increase between dual vs. quad-cores.

What are basically Single Core, Dual Core, Quad Core CPUs?

Let me explain each of them in brief

Single Core : In a single-core or traditional processor the CPU is fed strings of instructions it must order, execute, then selectively store in its cache for quick retrieval. When data outside the cache is required, it is retrieved through the system bus from random access memory (RAM) or from storage devices. Accessing these slows down performance to the maximum speed the bus, RAM or storage device will allow, which is far slower than the speed of the CPU. The situation is compounded when multi-tasking. In this case the processor must switch back and forth between two or more sets of data streams and programs. CPU resources are depleted and performance suffers.

Dual Core : A dual-core processor is a single chip that contains two distinct processors or "execution cores" in the same integrated circuit. Each core handles incoming data strings simultaneously to improve efficiency.

A dual core processor is different from a multi-processor system.

Multi Core refers to - two or more CPUs working together on one single chip (like AMD Athlon X2 or Intel Core Duo) in contrast to DUAL CPU, which refers to two separate CPUs working together.

Quad Core : In this processor, there are four complete execution cores in a single processor with upto 12 MB of L2 cache and upto 1333 MHz Front Side Bus. Four dedicated, physical threads help OS and applications deliver additional performance that reflects in multi-tasking and multi-threaded performance. More instructions can be carried out per clock cycle, shorter and wider pipelines execute commands more quickly and improved bus lanes move data throughout the system faster.

To take full advantage of more than one core CPU, operating systems as well as applications should be developed such that they can utilize the multiple core capability of processor thereby improving the performance.

The obvious question that comes to every computer user will be:

What sort of processor do i need to buy?

The answer to this is quite straight forward.

In today's world usually we run two to three applications at one time. That is while surfing on web, we listen to music, burn dvd, run other applications as well. So at this time a single core cpu won't be able to perform these task efficiently. So the best option would be to go for dual core cpu or quad core cpu.

For value conscious users who want the best out of both the worlds should go for a higher end dual core cpu as they can be easily overclocked to meet all the basic requirements.

For those who have no money bar issue can go for the best Quad Core processors available in the market.

For users who are interested in overclocking their units to perform the best Quad Cores are the way to go while for those who don't like to play with their units will have a different opinion that dual cores are better as the lab test mention below suggest.

Games, which usually run about 2 years behind hardware innovations, b/c of their long and vested development time, are just now starting to cater to dual-core cpu's. However, with games like Unreal Tournament 2007, and Alan Wake looking to take advantage of multi cores, it's common sense that individuals looking to play the next wave of next gen games, look to the quad-core environment. Also, the power consumption to productivity ratio is greater in quad-core machines, verses dual-core.

I think it won't be until the end of '07 to '08 when we really see common programs and apps, as well as games, truly become multi-threaded.

We're not yet at a point of deminishing returns, where adding more cores will cease to improve performance, so the switch should be even more likely. As far as upgradability, dual-cores can't be upgraded to quads, and the new motherboards coming out will be able to support dual-quad- cores, potentially offering up to 8 cores within a single machine.

While programs now don't really take advantage of quad-core cpu's, unless they are extremely multi-threaded, they will eventually.

In my personal opinion, if you are a gaming freak it is better to go for Quad Core for reasons mentioned below. And for those who are more in software development and application users need not worry as buying a Quad Core should ensure that they don't have to update their Computers for 5 to 7 years.

The recent XBIT lab review had a battle between 3 GHz Dual Core processor and a 2.4 GHz Quadra Core processor which are price almost the same. Though the performance difference is not huge it has to be kept in mind that the applications and games as of today are still lacking in terms of utilizing all core. But one can expect to change all this in near future, as near as end of 2008 or starting of 2009.

Here is the link for the processor battle between two processors.

http://www.xbitlabs.com/articles/cpu/display/core2quad-q6600.html

Finally, it all boils down to what you need and how are you gonna utilize the processor so that your money is well spent and you get the most out of your CPUs.

There is another report generated where dual core and quad core processor of INTEL and AMD are compared.

Find it out at http://techreport.com/articles.x/12091/1

Not surprising is that INTEL wins comprehensively considering they are working on 65 nm processors as well as 45 nm processors. AMD has a long way to go and play catch up to its arch rival, till then it can consolidate with # 2 chip maker in the world.

I hope you enjoyed reading and referring about the processors. If you wish to make any comments or give your personal views you are most welcome to do so. As they are very valuable to me.

So have a good day, I look forward to hearing from you soon.

Regards,
MauliK

Computer History Part 3

Hey, Greetings to my friends.

How are you all. Hope you are having a good time.

Continuing to my last post of computer history I bring you the last part of history of computers.

This is gonna be a long post and I grab a popcorn while you relish the happenings in computer world since 1990.

So get ready for the ride and fasten your seat belts as it gonna be one hell of a ride.

1990 Tim Berners-Lee, working with Robert Cailliau at CERN propose a 'hypertext' system, which is the first start of the Internet as we know it today.

1990 Microsoft releases Windows 3.0 a completely new version of Microsoft Windows. The version will sell more than 3 million copies in one year.

1990 Microsoft exceeds $1 billion in sales and becomes the first company to do so.

1990 The World, the first commercial Internet dial-up access provider comes online.

1990 Microsoft and IBM stop working together to develop operating systems.

1990 The first search engine Archie, written by Alan Emtage, Bill Heelan, and Mike Parker at McGill University in Montreal Canada is released on September 10, 1990

1991 Linux is introduced by Linus Torvald in 1991.

1991 The World Wide Web is launched to the public August 6, 1991. Tim Berners-Lee, a scientist at the European Partial Physics Laboratory (CERN) in Geneva, Switzerland develops the Web as a research tool.

1991 Following its decision not to develop operating systems cooperatively with IBM, Microsoft changes the name of OS/2 to Windows NT.

1992 Open Database Connectivity (ODBC) is developed by SQL Access Group.

1993 Intel releases the Pentium Processor. The processor is a 60 MHz processor, incorporates 3.2 million transistors and sells for $878.00.

1994 Microsoft releases its beta for Windows 95, code named Chicago.

1994 YAHOO is created in April, 1994.

1994 MS-DOS 6.22 was released April, 1994

1995 The dot-com boom starts.

1995 The first VoIP software (Vocaltec) is released allowing end users to make voice calls over the Internet.

1995 Apple develops FireWire.

1995 Microsoft Releases Windows 95, within four days the software sells more than 1 million copies.

1995 One of the largest and well known e-commerce sites today opens its website for the first time. Amazon.com is officially opened July of 1995.

1996 Google is first developed by Sergey Brin and Larry Page.

1996 Microsoft introduces DirectX.

1996 Sony enters the PC market with the release of VAIO.

1997 IEEE releases 802.11 (WiFi) standard.

1997 Digital Video Discs / Digital Versatile Discs (DVDs) go on sale.

1997 Microsoft releases Microsoft Office 97.

1997 Microsoft announces Windows 98.

1997 The Li-Ion battery begins being used for commercial uses.

1998 Intel releases the Celeron processor.

1998 Bill Gates, is hit in the face with a cream pie.

1998 MySQL is introduced.

1999 The D programming language starts development.

1999 On December 1, 1999 the most expensive Internet domain was sold by Marc Ostrofsky for $7.5 Million.

2000 Microsoft releases Windows ME June 19, 2000.

2000 Microsoft introduces C# to the public in June 2000.

2001 Bill Gates unveils the Xbox on January 7th 2001.

2001 Apple introduces Mac OS X 10.0 code named Cheetah.

2001 USB 2.0 is introduced.

2001 Apple introduces the iPod.

2001 Microsoft Windows XP home and professional editions are released October 25, 2001.

2002 PCI Express is approved as standard.

2002 Microsoft release DirectX 9, December 19, 2002.

2003 Microsoft Windows XP 64-Bit Edition (Version 2003) for Itanium 2 systems is released on March 28, 2003.

2003 The first computer is infected with the spybot worm on April 16, 2003.

2004 Google announces Gmail on April 1, 2004.

2005 YouTube is founded.

2005 Microsoft announces it's next operating system, codenamed "Longhorn" will be named Windows Vista on July 23, 2005.

2006 The blu-ray is first announced and introduced at the 2006 CES on January 4, 2006.

2006 On January 5, 2006 Intel introduces the Core Duo.

2006 On July 27, 2006 Intel introduces the Core 2 Duo processors.

2006 On November 14, 2006 Microsoft released its portable Zune media player.

2006 Microsoft releases Microsoft Windows Vista to corporations on November 30, 2006.

2007 Apple announces in January 1, 2007 that it will drop computer from its name as it becomes a company who deals with more than computers.

2007 Apple introduces the iPhone to the public at the January Macworld Conference & Expo.

2007 Microsoft releases Microsoft Windows Vista and Office 2007 to the general public January 30, 2007.

2007 Apple releases the Apple iPhone to the public June 29, 2007.

2007 Intel releases Quadra Core to the public.

I hope you enjoyed the happenings till present.

Please leave your comments and views.

Regards
MauliK

Computer History Part 2

Hello Friends,
I hope you enjoyed the evolution of computers and development of some of the most amazing hardware systems and software.
Now continuing on the same lines. Here is some more history in the world of computers of what happened from 1951 to 1989.

1951 The first commercial computer, the "First Ferranti MARK I" is now functional at Manchester University.

1952 Alexander Sandy Douglas created the first graphical computer game of Tic-Tac-Toe on a EDSAC known as "OXO".

1953 IBM introduces the first IBM computer, the 701.

1953 A magnetic memory smaller and faster than existing vacuum tube memories is built at MIT.

1953 The IBM 701 becomes available to the scientific community. A total of 19 are produced and sold.

1954 IBM produces and markets the IBM 650. More than 1,800 of these computers are sold in an eight-year span

1954 The first version of FORTRAN (formula translator) is published by IBM.

1955 William (Bill) H. Gates is born October 28, 1955.

1955 Bell Labs introduces its first transistor computer. Transistors are faster, smaller and create less heat than traditional vacuum tubs, making these computers more reliable and efficient.

1956 On September 13, 1956 the IBMs 305 RAMAC is the first computer to be shipped with a hard disk drive that contained 50 24-inch platters and was capable of storing 5MB of data.

1960 The Common Business-Oriented Language (COBOL) programming language is invented.

1962 Steve Russell creates "SpaceWar!" and releases it in February 1962. This game is considered the first game intended for computers.

1963 IEEE is founded.

1963 The American Standard Code for Information Interchange (ASCII) is developed to standardize data exchange among computers.

1964 Dartmouth Universitys John Kemeny and Thomas Kurtz develop Beginners All-purpose Symbolic Instruction Language (BASIC).

1965 Lawrence G. Roberts with MIT performs the first long distant dial-up connection between a TX-2 computer n Massachusetts and a Q-32 in California.

1967 GPS becomes available for commercial use.

1968 Intel Corporation is founded by Robert Noyce and Gordon Moore.

1969 AT&T Bell Laboratories develop Unix.

1969 AMD is founded.

1970 U.S. Department of Defense develops ada a computer programming language capable of designing missile guidance systems.

1970 Intel introduces the first microprocessor, the Intel 4004.

1970 Centronics introduces the first dot matrix printer.

1971 The first 8" floppy diskette drive was introduced

1971 FTP is first purposed.

1971 Niklaus Wirth invents the Pascal programming language.

1972 Dennis Ritchie at Bell Labs invents the C programming language.

1972 The compact disc is invented in the United States.

1973 The first VoIP call is made.

1974 IBM develops SEQUEL, which today is known as SQL today.

1975 MITS ships one of the first PCs, the Altair 8800 with one kilobyte (KB) of memory. The computer is ordered as a mail-order kit for $397.00.

1975 Paul Allen and Bill Gates write the first computer language program for personal computers, which is a form of BASIC designed for the Altair. Gates later drops out of Harvard and founds Microsoft with Allen.

1976 Steve Wozniak designs the first Apple, the Apple I computer in 1976, later Wozniak and Steve Jobs co-found Apple Computers.

1976 The first 5.25-inch floppy disk is invented.

1976 Microsoft introduces an improved version of BASIC.

1977 Apple Computers Apple II, the first personal computer with color graphics is demonstrated.

1978 TCP splits into TCP/IP driven by Danny Cohen, David Reed, and John Shoch to support real-time traffic. This allows the creation of UDP.

1979 Oracle introduces the first commercial version of SQL.

1979 The programming language DoD-1 is officially changed to Ada.

1979 The Motorola 68000 is released and is later chosen as the processor for the Apple Macintosh.

1979 Oracle is founded.

1980 IBM hires Microsoft to develop versions of BASIC, FORTRAN, COBOL, and Pascal for the PC being developed by IBM.

1980 Microsoft licenses Unix and starts to develop a PC version, XENIX.

1981 MS-DOS 1.0 was released August, 1981.

1981 VHDL is proposed and begins development.

1981 Adam Osborne introduces the Osborne I, the first successful portable computer, which weighs 25 pounds.

1981 Commodore ships the VIC-20, which later becomes the worlds most popular computer costing only $299.95.

1981 Logitech is founded in Apples, Switzerland.

1982 WordPerfect Corporation introduces WordPerfect 1.0 a word processing program that will become one of the computer markets most popular word processing program.

1982 Sun is incorporated in February 1982, with four employees.

1982 Lotus Development Corporation is founded and Lotus 1-2-3, a spreadsheet program is introduced.

1982 Compaq Computer Corp. is founded by Rod Canion and other Texas Instruments Incorporated engineers. Compaq is the first company to introduce a clone of the IBM PC (the Compaq Portable in 1983) and become IBMs biggest challenger in the corporate market.

1982 Apple Computer is the first personal computer manufacturer to hit the $1 billion mark for annual sales.

1983 THX is established.

1983 Microsoft Windows was announced November, 1983

1984 The 3.5-inch floppy diskette is introduced and later becomes an industry standard.

1984 Dell Computer is founded May 3, 1984 in Austin Texas.

1984 The now famous Apple commercial is shown during the Super Bowl, the commercial introduces the Apple Macintosh, a computer with graphical user interface instead of needing to type in commands. In six months sales of the computer reach 100,000.

1984 Microsoft introduces MS-DOS 3.0 for the IBM PC AT and MS-DOS 3.1 for networks.

1985 Microsoft Windows 1.0 is introduced in November, 1985 and is initially sold for $100.00.

1986 Pixar is co-founded by Steve Jobs.

1986 The AT or 101 key keyboard is introduced by IBM.

1987 Microsoft introduces Microsoft Works.

1987 The SPARC processor is introduced by Sun.

1987 IBM introduces VGA.

1989 The networking routing protocol OSPF is introduced.


I hope you had a good time reading. Please post your comments and views. It will help me do better in future.

Regards
MauliK