Daniel Lemire is a computer science professor at the Data Science Laboratory of the Université du Québec (TÉLUQ) in Montreal. His research is focused on software performance and data engineering. He is a techno-optimist and a free-speech advocate.
A short history of technology
-312: The aqueduc is invented.
-100: Paper is invented.
100: Paper production at scale begins.
900: Gunpowder has been invented.
1040: The modern compas has been invented.
1439: Gutenberg’s printing press.
1451: Christopher Columbus’ boats have lateens, triangular sails that allow boats to go against the wind.
1656: First mechanical clock.
1712: Newcomen’s steam engine.
1758: The first railway.
1775: Invention of the modern steam engine by Watt. Watt was a knowledgeable technician.
1789: The smallpox vaccine is created based on prior observations by milkmaids.
1884: Invention of the steam turbine. Invention of the linotype machine that made modern-day newspapers possible.
1885: Lord Kelvin states “heavier-than-air flying machines are impossible”. First modern bicycle.
1887: Invention of the induction motor. The Eiffel tower is built.
1888: Modern tires.
1889: The electric furnace made aluminium into an affordable metal. The Daimler engine would make the gasoline-powered automobile practical.
1891: Toilet paper.
1892: Moving picture camera.
1895: Wireless telegraphy.
1903: The Wright brothers invent the airplane. They were self-taught inventors without advanced degrees. The airplane would be used in the 1914-1918 war. The ECG (heart monitoring) is invented.
1907: Leo Baekeland coined the term ‘plastics’.
1908: The Ford Model T is commercialized. Oreo cookies are invented.
1909: First synthetic plastic (Bakelite).
1910: Haber-Bosch process (synthetic fertilizers).
1923: Insulin and the method used to make it is patented, the patent are sold to the University of Toronto for $1.
1928: Fleming discovers penicillin.
1943: First mass production of antibiotic (penicillin).
1946: ENIAC, the first general purpose electronic computer.
1947: Invention of the transistor.
1949: Ridley implants an intraocular lens in a human eye.
1951: Univac is the first commercial computer.
1953: The structure of the DNA is discovered.
1957: The first container ship, the Gateway City, began regular service. The shipping container has been described by economists as the most important invention of the XXth century. The alkaline dry cell battery gets patented.
1960: the silicon integrated circuit is invented.
1961: Spacewar is the first successful video games. It will inspire the current video game industry.
1963: First liver transplant.
1965: Moore’s law is first stated.
1967: Ray Tomlinson is credited with inventing email. Kelman makes cataract surgery significantly less invasive. Dynamic random-access memory is invented.
1968: Engelbart demoes the first computer mouse. Moore and Noyce found Intel. The first practical LED display is introduced.
1969: Apollo 11 lands on the Moon. The first packet-switching networks (e.g., ARPANET) become operational.
1971: first commercially available microprocessor (Intel’s 4004).
1972: The contraceptive pill becomes generally available to American women. Apollo 17 is the final mission of the Apollo program.
1974: Knee replacement surgery becomes common.
1975: Microsoft is incorporated.
1977: The Apple 2 computer is released; in 2016 dollars, it was worth more than $5000. The Atari 2600 is released with 128 bytes of memory, its processor runs at 1.19 MHz.
1978: First in-vitro baby is born (Louise Brown).
1980: The VIC-20 and the TRS-80 Color Computer are launched.
1981: IBM launches the PC with a processor running at 4.77 MHz.
1982: The Commodore 64 is launched, its processor runs at 1 MHz.
1983: Cataract surgery becomes common.
1984: Apple launches the Mac.
1985: Intel introduces the 386 processor.
1987: A suitcase design with two wheels is invented (Rollaboard). It would commercialized years later.
1988: Monoxidil is approved for treating baldness in men under the name ‘Rogaine’. Laser eye surgery is invented.
1989: The World Wide Web is invented. Intel releases the 486 processor. The first GPS satellite.
1991: Linus Torvalds starts work on Linux. Sony commercializes the first lithium-ion batteries.
1993: Intel releases the first Pentium processor.
1994: Amazon.com is incorporated. The PlayStation is released, its processor runs at 33 MHz. Mosaic Communications Corporation is founded (would become Netscape and then Mozilla).
1995: Microsoft launches Windows 95.
1996: Molly the sheep is cloned. First mammal cloned from an adult (somatic) cell.
1997: A powerful computer designed to play Chess (Deep Blue) defeated the world champion (Kasparov). The first modern Wifi standard is published (802.11).
1998: The International Space Station is put into orbit. Google is incorporated. Apple commercializes a PC without floppy drive (the iMac). Sildenafil is marketed as Viagra to treat erectile dysfunction.
1999: Apple releases the first wifi-enabled laptop.
2000: The PlayStation 2 is released. Its processor runs at 299 MHz. Intel introduces the Pentium 4.
2001: Wikipedia is launched. First version of Windows with builtin support for Wifi comes out (Windows XP). Apple introduces the iPod. The first in-car GPS assisted navigation devices are released.
2002: The first camera phones are commercialized in North America.
2003: The Human Genome Project is completed.
2004: Facebook is launched. It will become a massive social network covering the entire planet.
2005: YouTube is launched. It will become a massive repository of user uploaded videos.
2006: The PlayStation 3 is released. Its processor runs at 3.2 GHz. Amazon starts offering Amazon Web Services, which is often viewed as the beginning of cloud computing. Shinya Yamanaka shows that the introduction of four specific genes encoding transcription factors convert adult cells into pluripotent stem cells.
2007: The first mass-market smartphone is launched (the iPhone). It has 128 MB of RAM and its CPU runs at 412 Mhz.
2009: A computer program (Pocket Fritz) running on mobile-phone hardware achieved Grand Master level in Chess.