It’s said that in order to know where you’re going you should know where you’ve been, right? Well, considering that the Internet and web design has become something common to ordinary daily life, let’s take a look to see how it all started and how far we’ve come.
The Birth of Computing
The origins of the computing can be traced as far back as 2400 BC with the invention of the abacus (the first calculator) by the Babylonians, and throughout its course we also crucial discoveries like the binary number system (in India, c 300 BC) on which all computing systems are based. Around 850 BC we saw the rise of cryptography (basically hiding information), thanks to Arab mathematician Al-Kindi, which is the basis for normal day things like ATM’s, email and computer passwords, and e-commerce.
Later on in the 1490’s AD, Leonardo da Vinci creates what seems to be the first mechanical calculator and the robot. In 1848, George Boole developed binary algebra, which is used extensively in computer design and operation.
Fast forward to 1946, which is considered to be the official day modern computing was born. The EDSAC computer was able to execute its first stored program, thanks to Maurice Wilkes and a team at Cambridge University.
In the 1950’s we start to see the usage of computing amongst businesses, and used magnetic tape for input. In 1951, the Whirlwind computer gave the US Air Defense System a chance to interact by means of a keyboard and screen, and eventually morphed into a computer that allowed them to get warnings of air attacks. In 1957, IMB brought out the first dot matrix printer.
During the 1960’s we see the birth of programming languages and video games, such as ALGOL and Spacewar!, respectively. The mouse was invented in 1963 by Douglas Engelbart, although it didn’t reach its peak of popularity until 1983 when Apple began to implement it. The floppy disk came out in 1967 and was created by David Noble at IBM.
In the 1970’s we see the first steps of the UNIX operating system, the C programming language, as well as Texas Instruments’ first portable calculator. In 1972 ARPANET (Advanced Research Projects Agency Network), created by the Department of Defense, establishes its first international connections, giving the foundations to what we know today as the Internet. Ethernet was born in 1973, and gave us the chance to connect computers to communicate between amongst each other.
The 1980’s brought the dawn of the personal computer, with IBM taking in 100,000 orders by Christmas of 1981.
In the 1990’s we see the introduction of Window’s operating systems, like 3.1, 95, and 98. Apple introduced the iMac, an integral computer that brought back the company to profitability.
The decade of 2000 brought us fierce competition between computer companies, and the rise of browser battles, bringing us to the vast amount of choices and ideals that lie within the computer world.These choices and ideals have now blended into a social and psychological aspect of our humans lives, dictating at times the trends and evolutions of our own nature.
Stay tuned for Part 2, were we will see a more about the birth and evolution of the Internet and web design.
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