Software

Key Points and Facts about Sketchpad Computer: Ivan Sutherland’s Ph.D. thesis in 1963 resulted in the creation of Sketchpad, a pioneering computer application. Sketchpad was a pioneer in the field of human-computer interaction (HCI). Sketchpad is regarded as the forerunner of today’s computer-aided design (CAD) software. It is also recognized as an important step forward […]

5 Facts About The Unix Operating System The Unix Operating System is the oldest operating system that has ever existed. Unix can run multiple application programs simultaneously. Unix was firstly written in the low-level PDP-7 assembler language before it was rewritten in 1972 with the new C programming language. Unix isn’t an operating system name; […]

Key Points About Tetris A Russian is the original author of Tetris. The original function of the game was to reduce the intimidating effects of computers. The name, Tetris, was partly inspired by tennis. Tetris was originally distributed by piracy. What Is Tetris: Explained Tetris is a puzzle video game requiring players to strategically move, […]

4 Facts about Photoshop Adobe Photoshop is the most popular graphics and photo editing software on the market, with over 36% of the market share in 2021. Photoshop was originally created in 1987 by Thomas Knoll, the 25-year-old Ph.D. candidate and program author who called the program Display. John Knoll, co-creator of Photoshop, worked for […]

No matter if you prefer Xbox, Playstation, Nintendo, or PC, there’s no denying that today’s video games are enormous, highly advanced creations. With their large open worlds, realistic graphics, and engrossing stories, a video game in the 21st century is quite different from a video game in the mid-20th century. The game OXO is the […]

The History of Aldus Pagemaker: A Complete Guide Four Facts About Aldus Pagemaker While most people only think about Mac OS, Linux, and Windows, Aldus Pagemaker was also released for IBM PC. It was even released for IBM PC before it was released for Windows. The creators of Pagemaker, Aldus Corporation, were acquired by Adobe […]

Key Points About Simula: Simula, from history, is considered the first object-oriented programming (OOP) language ever. The name Simula was obtained from two (2) simulation programming languages. This OOP was created in 1962 to cater to simulations. What Is Simula: Explained Simula, an acronym for Simulation Language, is touted as the first object-oriented programming language […]

3 Facts about Plankalkül Programming Language Plankalkül was the first high-level computer programming language to be designed. The initial years of the language saw poor reception by the people, inhibiting its implementation. Plankalkül was comprehensively published in 1972. What is Plankalkül: Explained Plankalkül is a programming language ideal for engineering purposes. The language was developed […]

Key Points Mac OS is the original proprietary operating system of Apple Inc., the company founded by Steve Jobs, Steve Wozniak, and Ronald Wayne in 1976. Many Mac OS releases are named after big cats and geographic locations (Lion, Puma, Big Sur, and Yosemite). Although the original concept for Mac OS is based on Unix, […]

4 Facts About OS/400  The OS/400 was designed to run on AS/400 hardware.  OS/400 was divided into System Licensed Internal Code (SLIC) and Extended Control Program Facility (XPF) controlled by the Technology Independent Machine Interface (TIMI).  Since its release in 1988, the OS/400 has had name changes and developed into better versions which have added […]

6 Facts About Lisp Lisp, originally styled LISP, stands for list processing. This family of programming languages is the second-oldest programming language that’s still in use, beaten by Fortran by only one year. Lisp is recognized by its distinctive parenthesized prefix notation and syntax. The programming language remains popular in artificial intelligence research. The founder, […]

4 Facts about DOS  Each of the files saved in DOS must have a unique title. The name consists of an optional drive letter, an optional path, desired filename, and an optional extension.  DOS saves all recent information retrieved by users. Therefore, it automatically stores current information and buffers essential information that users accidentally deleted.  […]

4 Facts About Fortran The name Fortran derives from the name Formula Translation.  Initially, the spelling of the name was in all-uppercase form as FORTRAN before changing to Fortran. Fortran was the first high-level computer programming language for wide use. Fortran stands out as a high-performance computing language utilized for the world’s fastest supercomputers. What […]

7 Facts about BASIC Programming Language The first version of BASIC was released on May 1, 1964. The creation of BASIC gave way to what was the first real form of personal computer The BASIC language was initially based on FORTRAN II, with some influences from ALGOL 60 and additions to make it suitable for […]

Four Facts About the Xerox NoteTaker The NoteTaker inspired the Compaq Portable and Osborne 1 computers. This personal computer was termed a “luggable” computer. It had a portable case, but at 48 pounds it’s size made it not the most convenient to carry around the office. The 128 kB of RAM, while laughable by today’s […]

4 Facts About DATAR The work on the Comprehensive Display System (CDS) by the Royal Navy, which Canadian engineers were familiar with, sparked the development of the DATAR system. DATAR systems worked on drum memory The display of the DATAR was an adapted radar unit, and trackball and trigger were used as inputs. The DATAR […]

  Key Points Yahoo! was founded in January 1994. Its founders are Jerry Yang and David Filo, the two electrical engineers who created it as an essential collection of Yang and Filo’s favorite websites, with features such as a search engine, an e-mail service, a directory, and a news section. The original title for yahoo […]

Key Points Skype was originally developed by the Kazaa Media Desktop IT business; the name came from the phrase “Sky peer to peer.” It was invented by the Swedish entrepreneur Niklas Zennström and the Dane Janus Friis. The software client was sold to eBay and then to Microsoft. What Is Skype?: Explained Skype is an […]

Key Points Matthew Gray originally created the World Wide Web Wanderer to track servers, but of all its uses it was most popular in tracking URLs. He named the database Wandex, not to be confused with the Russian search engine Yandex. Wandex is known as the first web database. The World Wide Web Wanderer helped […]

Key Points Napster was launched in June 1999 to enable music files to be shared for free. By the following year, it had 20 million users, and at the height of its popularity, it had 80 million users. However, lawsuits soon followed: In December 1999 the Recording Industry Association of America sprang into action. Napster […]

Key Points Before the chat applications of today, there was the Internet Relay Chat (IRC) created by Jarkko Oikarinen, in 1988. IRC was the chat application that reported Iraq’s invasion of Kuwait in 1991 during a media blackout. In spite of its popularity, the emergence of new chat platforms resulted in its decline. File sharing […]

4 Facts About NCSA Mosaic Internet Web Browser The NCSA Mosaic Internet Web Browser was not the first web browser available. However it was the first truly user friendly browser and gained a lot of popularity in a short period of time. While the exact numbers are not known, the NCSA Mosaic Internet Web Browser […]

Key Points Archie was a search engine that pre-dated the modern Internet. In 1986, Archie’s creator Alan Emtage was part of the team that first brought the Internet to eastern Canada. At the time, this was only the second link to the Internet in the entire country of Canada. The name Archie stands for “archives,” […]