| History of Microcomputers 2000-2001 |
Last updated: 2002 Mar 30.
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2000
January, 2000
- January 1, 2000; Companies spent hundreds of billions of dollars eliminating
the potential problems of the Y2K bug. But dire predictions, ranging from
airplane crashes to power failures, failed to materialize. The biggest computer-related
companies, weren't taking chances. Software giant Microsoft Corp., Hewlett-Packard
Co., Intel Corp. and others fielded large staffs to handle any customer
problems that might arise.
Intel, the leading chipmaker with large operations in Asia, Europe and elsewhere,
said it has monitored its global installations intensely through friday Jan.
31, 1999, with "no significant issues," said spokesman Bill Calder. "We continued
to get good news all day long, all night," said Hewlett-Packard spokeswoman
Marlene Somsak. "We are really pleased. No problems at all, a rather quiet
Y2K all around." "Nothing happened. Not even a light flickered," one Microsoft
staffer reported from Washington. "However, one person narrowly missed getting
hit by a flying champagne cork."
- REDMOND, Wash. -- Jan. 13, 2000; Microsoft Corp. today announced
that its co-founder, Bill Gates, has created a new role for himself -- Chairman
and Chief Software Architect -- so that he can dedicate all of his time
to helping drive the next generation Windows Internet platform and services.
Microsoft announced that Steve Ballmer becomes president and CEO, and will
take over management of the company.
- Microsoft Windows® 2000, Professional, which
becomes available to consumers on Feb. 17, has earned Popular Mechanics
magazine’s prestigious Design & Engineering Award for technology.
- SANTA CLARA, Calif. (January 19, 2000) - Transmeta Corporation today
ended four and a half years of secrecy with the introduction of CrusoeTM
, the world's first family of smart microprocessors. Designed to create
a new category of Mobile Internet Computers, the Crusoe processor family
(www.crusoe.com) is based on a breakthrough software approach that revolutionize
the field of mobile computing. Crusoe delivers on the market's need for
"all day computing" with a PC compatible solution that is unmatched in performance
with low power.
February, 2000
- February 7, In Canada, Corel annouces the purchase of the Inprise/Borland
company for US$1.1 billion in stock.
- February 14 In San Francisco, California, Microsoft unveils Windows 2000
operating system.
March, 2000
- March 6, 2000 - SUNNYVALE, CA. Advanced Micro Devices reached a
computer industry milestone, announcing commencement of shipments of 1GHz
AMD Athlon™ processors. The first commercially available systems based
on the 1GHz AMD Athlon processor will be available from Compaq Computer
Corporation and Gateway. Compaq said a system with 128 megabytes of random
access memory, a 30-gigabyte hard drive and a 17-inch color monitor, but
not a printer, would sell for $2,499.
April, 2000
- April 1, Bill Gates learns that negotiations with the US government over
the monopoly issue have failed.
- April 03, 2000, Worries about Microsoft drove Nasdaq composite index
down 349 points. Bill Gates, who saw about $12-billion (US) of his personal
fortune evaporate , vowed to overturn an antitrust verdict against Microsoft.
In a 45 page verdict issued on April 03, 2000, U.S. District Judge Thomas
Penfield Jackson portrayed Microsoft as a corporate predator that waged
a relentless and costly crusade to delete rivals in the emerging market
for Internet browser software and cement its monopoly over computer operating
systems.
May, 2000
- SANTA CLARA, Calif., May 10, 2000 - Intel Corporation released the Itanium™
Processor Microarchitecture reference, a guide for software developers that
details the functional behavior of Intel's forthcoming Itanium microprocessor.
The Itanium processor is the first in a family of IA-64 processors from Intel,
and the most significant new development in Intel microprocessor architecture
since the 386 processor was introduced in 1985. Intel is taking the unprecedented
step of releasing Itanium microarchitecture details on the Internet to broaden
the availability of highly optimized software for the new processor.
The IA-64 architecture is based on a new approach called EPIC (Explicitly
Parallel Instruction Computing) that goes beyond RISC and CISC, pairing massive
processing resources with intelligent compilers that make parallel execution
explicit to the processor. The Microarchitecture Reference provides details
that help developers of compilers and related software tools take full advantage
of IA-64.
- In Canada, Corel announces that the proposed merger with Inprise/Borland
has been cancelled.
June, 2000
- Paris, FRANCE - June 20, 2000. IBM® announced the availability of
the 1Gb Microdrive, the world's smallest,
lightest and largest capacity mobile hard disk increasing storage by a factor
of three. IBM** also previously announced it is offering Bluetooth* wireless
capability on its next generation ThinkPad® notebooks - the ThinkPad
A Series and T Series.
- June 7, United States District Judge Thomas Penfield Jackson orders the
breakup on Microsoft into two companies, one producing operating systems,
the other producing applications programs.
- SANTA CLARA, Calif., June 28, 2000 - Intel Corporation today announced
the Intel® Pentium® 4 processor brand name for its new generation
of desktop microprocessors (formerly code-named Willamette). The Intel
Pentium 4 processor logo will become part of the Intel Inside® program,
the largest co-op advertising program in the world.
July, 2000
- July 19,2000 - A new mouse, a colorful
new line of iMacs, and a dual processor for G4s were among Steve Jobs's
eye-catching product announcements at Macworld Expo in New York. And the
G4 cube, a miniaturized PowerMac housed in a
breathtaking crystal-clear case. It's a quarter of the size of a PowerMac
G4, but can be upgraded to accomodate an impressive 1.5GB of memory, 40GB
of storage, and a 450-MHz processor.
August, 2000
- August 8, 2000 - Intel announced the development of its next generation
of microprocessors, the Pentium 4.
- August 22, 2000 - Intel Corporation disclosed details of its new
NetBurst™ micro-architecture, the name for the technical features contained
in its upcoming Intel® Pentium® 4 processor. This new processor
is scheduled to be introduced later this year.
- Intel officials have announced that the company is recalling the 1.13GHz
Pentium III chip it shipped on July 31 because of a problem that could cause
certain applications to freeze. According to Intel, only some of the 1.13GHz
chips showed the problem. However, the company will recall all the 1.13GHz
Pentium III processors that it has shipped to date and will repair the problem
in a version of the chip to be released in the future.
September, 2000
- Apple released a beta version of Mac OS X at Paris' Apple Expo on Wednesday
sep.13 2000. (the "X" stands for 10)
- Thursday Sep. 14, 2000 Microsoft released Windows
Me, short for Millenium Edition, which is aimed at the home user. The
Me operating system boasts some enhanced multimedia features, such as an
automated video editor and improved Internet plumbing. But unlike Microsoft's
Windows 2000 OS which offers advanced security, reliability, and networking
features Windows Me is basically just an upgrade to the DOS-based code on
which previous Windows versions have been built.
October, 2000
- Fri Oct 27 16:44:21 2000 GMT; STOCKHOLM/LONDON, (Reuters) - Microsoft
President and Chief Executive Steve Ballmer said on Friday the hackers who
broke into the software giant's computer systems had gained access to some
of its key programmes, but had not changed them. "It is clear that hackers
did see some of our source code," Ballmer told Microsoft programmers and
reporters at a seminar in Stockholm.
Ballmer said the burglars had not changed any of its software programs, soothing
fears that a virus had been hidden inside future releases of Microsoft products.
"I can assure you that we know that there has been no compromise of the
integrity of the source code that it has not been modified or tampered with
in any way," he added. Earlier on Friday Ballmer had said hackers had not
gained access to any of Microsoft's key programmes or source code.
Computer security experts told Reuters that hackers appeared to have used
a "well-known" worm called QAZ, which first surfaced in China several months
ago, to break into Microsoft's systems.
November, 2000
- SANTA CLARA, Calif., Nov. 20, 2000 - Intel Corporation today introduced
the Intel® Pentium® 4 processor at 1.5
and 1.4 GHz speeds. The Pentium 4 processor is manufactured on Intel's high-volume,
0.18-micron process technology and is available now. Pricing in 1,000 unit
quantities is $819 and $644 each for the 1.5 and 1.4 GHz parts, respectively.
2001
February, 2001
- February 13th, 2001 Windows® XP was introduced at the Experience
Music Project in Seattle, Washington.
- CUPERTINO, California—February 19, 2001—Apple® announced it has begun
shipping its new 733 MHz Power Mac™ G4 with the SuperDrive, a combination
CD-RW/DVD-R drive that can read and write CDs as well as DVDs that can be
played in consumer DVD players. Apple unveiled the SuperDrive at Macworld
Expo in San Francisco last month.
- MACWORLD EXPO, TOKYO—February 22, 2001—Apple® today introduced a
new Power Mac™ G4 Cube with a slot-loading CD-RW drive and iTunes, Apple’s
amazing new “jukebox” software. The new G4 Cube lets users make digital
movies, create and manage their own music library, and burn their own custom
audio CDs.
- MACWORLD EXPO, TOKYO—February 22, 2001—Apple® today introduced a
new line of iMacs™ with CD-RW drives and iTunes, Apple’s amazing new “jukebox”
software, which lets users create and manage their own music library and
burn their own custom audio CDs. With fast new PowerPC G3 processors running
at up to 600 MHz, up to 40 GB hard drives, FireWire® ports and iMovie™
software on all systems, the new iMac family comes in two dazzling new patterns,
Blue Dalmatian and Flower Power, as well as the two most popular iMac colors,
Indigo and Graphite.
- SAN JOSE, Calif., Feb. 27, 2001 - Intel Corporation today announced a
new addition to its family of low-power processors for small mobile PCs.
The Low Voltage mobile Pentium® III processor 700 MHz featuring Intel®
SpeedStep™ technology delivers the best performance, lowest power consumption
and extended battery life to new categories of mini-notebooks weighing less
than 3 pounds.
March, 2001
- CUPERTINO, California—March 21, 2001—Apple® announced that
beginning March 24, customers can buy Mac® OS
X in retail stores around the world. Mac OS X
is the world’s most advanced operating system, combining the power and
openness of UNIX with the legendary ease of use and broad applications base
of Macintosh®.
April, 2001
- CUPERTINO, California - April 19, 2001 - Apple® announced that it has
shipped its five millionth iMac™ computer.
- April 23, 2001 Intel released a 1.7GHz Pentium 4 processor. The 1.7GHz Pentium
4 will sell for $352 when it debuts, with PCs incorporating the chip selling
for just less than $1,800, monitor included. Price cuts on 1.3GHz, 1.4GHz
and 1.5GHz Pentium 4s slated for the following week will drop the base price
of computers using the chip to the $1,000 mark. A little more than a year
ago, 1GHz chips alone cost $1,299.
May, 2001
- May 17 - Nintendo and Microsoft, both announced availability plans for their
highly anticipated next-generation gaming consoles. Nintendo's GameCube will
hit stores on November 5, with Microsoft's Xbox arriving
on the 8th for $299 USD. GameCube pricing has not been officially announced,
but the console is expected to run around $199 USD.
- May 23, 2001 - Microsoft today announced plans regarding the upcoming release
of Windows for Intel's 64-bit Itanium processors. Windows XP 64-Bit Edition
will debut with 32-bit versions on October 25, but will be first available
through an 'Early Deployment Program' for developers. The 64-bit Windows Advanced
Server Limited Edition will become available upon general availablity of Itanium
systems. Microsoft toyed with the idea of releasing a 64-bit version of Windows
2000, but held off due to delays surrounding the Itanium. "The 64-bit
Windows platform is the best choice for customers who want to combine powerful,
64-bit computing with great price/performance and manageability, unmatched
scalability, and broad hardware and software support," said senior vice
president of the Windows Division, Brian Valentine, in today's press release.
Microsoft promises to support more than 300 software applications for the
64-bit Windows Platform, including SQL Server 2000, currently in beta. 64-bit
systems are aimed at businesses and other organizations needing high-powered
computing solutions, not everyday computer users. While 32-bit applications
will run on Windows XP 64-Bit Edition, there will be no performance increase.
Intel has also stated that Itanium systems will initially be geared toward
developers. Microsoft has not yet announced pricing plans for 64-bit editions
of Windows.
June, 2001
- Computer manufacturers are expected to introduce initial Intel® Itanium™-based
servers and workstations in June, Intel Corporation said. The company expects
approximately 25 computer manufacturers to offer more than 35 models this
year, as hundreds of hardware, software and application vendors provide products
that support Itanium-based systems.
August, 2001
- REDMOND, Wash. -- Aug. 24, 2001 - Microsoft Corp. announced the release
of Microsoft® Windows® XP, the highly anticipated next major version
of the Windows operating system, to computer manufacturers around the world.
With development of the software now complete, Windows XP is on schedule for
widespread availability on Oct. 25. Industry partners, computer manufacturers
and customers greeted the news with excitement about the opportunities Windows
XP will offer for creating, connecting and communicating in new ways.
- SAN JOSE, Calif., Aug. 27, 2001 - Intel Corporation introduced the Intel®
Pentium® 4 processor at 2 gigahertz (GHz) - or two billion cycles per
second - crossing a key technology milestone and extending the PC's ability
to meet evolving user requirements for today and the future.
September, 2001
- Microsoft introduced Pocket PC 2002 Sept.
06, 2001 at the DEMOmobile Conference in San Diego. Code-named Merlin, the
Pocket PC upgrade is aimed at business users, touting improved wireless networking
and added support for virtual private networks. An updated Windows Media Player
for mobile entertainment, allowing users to watch video clips and listen to
music stored on the device.
October, 2001
November, 2001
- SANTA CLARA, Calif., Nov. 26, 2001 -- Intel Corporation announced that its
researchers have developed an innovative transistor structure and new materials
that represent a dramatic improvement in transistor speed, power efficiency
and heat reduction. The technology development is an important milestone in
the effort to maintain the pace of Moore's Law and remove the technical barriers
that Intel and the semiconductor industry have only recently begun to identify.
The Intel TeraHertz transistor solves
a key barrier to bringing future chips into volume production that enable
a whole new range of applications like face recognition and computing without
keyboards as well as significantly improve battery life. Intel is expected
to begin incorporating elements of this new structure into its product line
as early as 2005.
End of 2000-2001
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