This Month in Tech History

As kids, we were always taught that we are shaped by our past. The same can be said about technology. That lovely feeling of nostalgia that fills us geeks when we look back at how technology has evolved over the years can be really moving. I still remember my first mobile phone (a measly Nokia 5110i. I roll with an N82 now. Sweet!), my first (and only) iPod, the iPod Mini 2G, and my first computer, which was made WAY back in 1990 by a company, which has probably ceased to exist.

So, in keeping with our teachings, I'm going to write, on the 1st of each month, about old technological developments (and news) that still makes us shiver, nod appreciatively, and downright overwhelms us with emotion.

Welcome all, to This Month In Tech History - A date-wise listing of what was hot this month, that year.

• December 1, 1941: Microprocessor co-inventor Faggin is born - Dr. Frederico Faggin was born in Vicenza, Italy.
• December 3, 1968: CDC Announces 7600 Supercomputer - Control Data Corporation announces the 7600 model, considered by some as the first true supercomputer. It calculated at a measly 40 Megaflops (a lot in those times). Designed by Seymour Cray.
• December 9, 1916: Cryptologist and Statistician Good is born - Irving John Jack Good is born in London. During W.W.II he worked on both the Enigma and Teleprinter encrypting machines with Alan Turing at Bletchley.
• December 10, 1815: Lady Ada Lovelace is born - She is widely considered the first computer programmer. She worked with Charles Babbage (the father of the computer) and the language ADA was developed in her honour.
• December 12, 1980: Apple Computer's IPO - The largest IPO since Ford Motors went public in 1956. The shares were originally prices at $14 but opened at $22. All 4.6 million of them were sold almost instantly. 40 out of 1000 Apple employees turned overnight millionaires.
• December 18, 1991: IBM and Siemens AG announce 64MB DRAM Chips: IBM and Siemens announced the development of the 64MB DRAM prototype. It was once of the first developments that followed Moore's Law.
• December 24, 1791: Charles Babbage is born - Born in Teignmouth, Devonshire, Charles Babbage would later be given the title "Father of the Computer".
• December 26, 1982: TIME Magazine names a non-human "Man of the Year" - For the first time ever, TIME magazine names a machine of the year, the personal computer.
• December 30, 1987: PC-DOS sees version 3.2: IBM's version of DOS, used on the IBM-PC, was released on this date. The system requirements were 128 KB RAM.

The dates mentioned above changed the technology world as the then-geeks knew it. It would eventually evolve into something total and powerful.

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