Mosaic 1.0
April 22, 1993
Version 1.0 of the web browser Mosaic is released by the National Center for Supercomputing Applications. It’s the first software to provide a graphical user interface for the emerging World Wide Web, including the ability to display inline graphics. The lead Mosaic developer is Marc Andreesen, one of the future founders of Netscape.
My first experience with the World Wide Web was in 1993 using Mosaic on a Mac in my dorm’s computer lab. I had no idea what I had discovered until a few months later.
IBM Licenses PC Patents
April 21, 1988
The Tandy Corporation holds a press conference to announce plans to build clones of IBM’s PS/2 system computers. The conference comes soon after IBM’s announcement that it would license patents on key PC technologies. IBM made this decision as they realized they were losing control of the “IBM-compatible” PC market and could make more money licensing the technologies. Within five years, IBM clones will become more popular than the original IBM machines themselves. Eventually IBM would leave the PC manufacturing business altogether, selling their PC division to Lenovo in 2005.
Apple Passes $500 Billion Valuation
February 29, 2012
The stock value of Apple, Inc. surpasses $500 billion, setting a new record for the company which was already the world’s most valuable company at the time. This day marks a milestone on the historic run for the company from near-bankruptcy in the 1990’s to one of the most, if not the most, dominant technology company in recent history. Apple would later become the first company in history to surpass $700 billion in value in February 2015.
Tokyo Skytree Completed
February 29, 2012
Construction of the Tokyo Skytree broadcast tower, delayed two months due to the 2011 Japan earthquake and tsunami, is completed on leap day – February 29th, 2012. The Tokyo Skytree is the tallest structure in Japan and the world’s tallest tower.