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Apple’s IPO Makes Forrest Gump Rich
December 12, 1980 Apple Computer holds their initial public offering, selling 4.6 million shares at $ 22 per share and turning more than 40 Apple employees and investors into instant millionaires. With the stock value closing at $ 29, the market capitalization puts the company’s worth at $ 1.778 billion. Stock held by Steve Jobs…
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Google Releases Chrome
December 11, 2008 Google releases the first stable public version of their web browser, Chrome. Chrome is now considered the third-most popular web browser in the world. Google Releases Chrome is original content of This Day in Tech History. This Day in Tech History Tech History provided by This Day in Tech History.com
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iD Software Releases DOOM
December 10, 1993 Video Game developer iD software releases the game DOOM. DOOM is considered one of the most influential titles in video game history, popularizing the first-person shooter genre with its “deathmatch” multi-player mode. Its use of graphic violence and satanic imagery also made the game controversial, which of course only served to increase…
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Windows 2.0 Released
December 9, 1987 Microsoft releases version 2.0 of Windows. The most notable feature of Windows 2.0 was that application windows could overlap each other, unlike in Windows 1.0. The terminology of “Minimize” and “Maximize” was also introduced in Windows 2.0. Windows 2.0 was a relatively obscure operating system, as the popularity of Windows did not…
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The Byte Shop Opens
December 8, 1975 Paul Terrell opens the Byte Shop, one of the first retail computer stores in the world. Besides that important distinction, Paul Terrell and the Byte Shop are most famously known for ordering the first 50 computers from Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak’s fledgling Apple Computer company in 1976. As the story goes,…
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RIAA Sues Napster
December 7, 1999 The Recording Industry Association of America sues the peer-to-peer file sharing service Napster alleging copyright infringement for allowing users to download copyrighted music for free. The RIAA would eventually win injunctions against Napster forcing the service to suspend operations and eventually file bankruptcy. In the end the RIAA and its members would…
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Apple Sues over QuickTime
December 6, 1994 Apple sues the San Francisco Canyon Company alleging they helped Intel and Microsoft steal code developed under contract for QuickTime for Windows. Apple first released QuickTime for the Macintosh in December 1991 and then contracted the San Francisco Canyon Company to port QuickTime to Windows in 1992. Microsoft’s competing Video for Windows…
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Initial ARPANet Completed
December 5, 1969 The University of Utah becomes the fourth node on the ARPANet*. This completed the planned original nodes on the experimental network that would eventually evolve into what we now know as the Internet. *Some sources claim this date as December 1st. I can not yet find a definitive source. Initial ARPANet Completed is…
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Segway Unveiled
December 3, 2001 Inventor Dean Kamen unveils the Segway self-balancing, battery-powered vehicle on the TV show Good Morning America. The Segway uses computers and motors in its base to keep itself upright while the user is riding it. Users shift their weight to control the Segway. While not considered a commercial success, the Segway has…
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Apple Releases QuickTime
December 2, 1991 Apple releases version 1.0 of QuickTime, a multimedia extension for playing color video, transforming the capabilities of personal computers. Before QuickTime, only specialized computers could play color video. QuickTime allowed anyone with a personal computer to do so and it changed the history of computing – in more ways than one. It…