Simple IT History – How IT Got Here and Where IT is Going

IT History

To go over IT history extensively, would require so much more time that neither you nor I have. The goal of my Technology Explained series of articles is to give you a broad explanation while touching on just enough interesting details to allow you to feel confident enough to enter a discussion about something you might have previously walked away from. In this article, I’ll give you just enough IT history to start a conversation and hold your own.

Key Takeaways

• The US military started the Internet
• IT advancement is accelerating, exponentially
• IT means Information Technology
• Machines are coming for us all

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What We’ll Talk About

• The Birth of Internet: How war connected the world
• Important IT Dates: A list of firsts as IT grows up
• The Future of IT: What our future looks like – The Good, The Bad, The Ugly

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The history of Information Technology (IT) can be traced back to the early 20th century when mechanical devices like punch cards were used for data processing. However, the modern era of IT began in the 1940s with the invention of the electronic computer.

Early computers were large, expensive, and primarily used by governments and research institutions. Over the decades, advancements in computing technology led to the development of smaller and more powerful computers, the creation of the Internet in the 1960s, and the emergence of personal computers in the 1970s. The IT industry has since evolved rapidly, encompassing various fields such as software development, networking, cybersecurity, and data management.

Today, IT plays a crucial role in almost every aspect of our lives, revolutionizing communication, business operations, and the global economy.

In this article, I’ll list as many interesting dates as I can think of and hopefully give you an idea of how far we’ve come. Later, we’ll use this knowledge to make predictions on what the future might hold.

The Birth of Internet

• 1946: Birth of first high-speed electronic digital computer (ENIAC – Electronic Numerical Integrator and Computer)
• 1950: Computer Science emerges as a recognized discipline
• 1957: The Soviet Union launches Sputnik, panicking the USA into pouring loads of money into science and technology
• 1965: The first of two key component of the World Wide Web is invented (Packet Switching)
• 1969: USA, worried that the Soviet Union could knock out their communications systems (telephones) with a few carefully targeted missiles, pours heaps of money into DARPA (military) which creates ARPANET – the first network on computers capable of connecting government officials to one another in a non-centralized and thus, more secure manner.
• 1970: As a result of so many computers joining ARPANET (including several large universities), a new technology is needed to deal with the unintended volume. TCP/IP is born as the protocol that allows smaller networks (Example: Your home or office) to exist within the larger network (Internet). This is still the backbone of our Internet today and what makes the World Wide Web actually possible.
• 1973: ARPANET goes international, with satellite links linking the University College of London in England and the Royal Radar Establishment in Norway to US universities.
• 1980: This decade saw the boom of ARPANET through its miss-use as university students transmitting messages to their friends at other universities
• 1985: Internet domains are launched and the first .com makes its debuts
• 1990: The ARPANET project is abandoned but the technology remains in place, serving the purpose it was most used for anyhow
• 1992: The doors to the Internet are blown wide open as a group of students from the University of Illinois develop Mosaic, which later became Netscape, the first internet browser that made accessing this magical “cloud” world, much simpler
• 1992: The USA Congress opens up ARPANET for commercial use

In the 90s and early 2000, we see the dot com boom as everyone and their grandmother tries to rush online in the hopes of retiring at age 30.

Important IT Dates

Here are a few more dates to bring us closer to today.

• 1994: Amazon is launched to eventually become The Everything Store
• 1996: Hotmail is launched as an attack against post office workers everywhere
• 1997: Wi-Fi becomes a thing, doing away with those messy cables
• 1997: Deep Blue becomes the 1st computer to beat a world Chess champion (AI is out to get us)
• 1998: PayPal launches online payments, making it easier to buy things online
• 1998: Google is launched making it easier than ever for sites to be discovered
• 1999: Napster changes music for ever
• 2001: Torrent technology is created, giving the pirate community a much needed boost
• 2001: Wikipedia is launched to eventually become the largest wealth of information on earth
• 2004: Facebook is launched, sparking the beginning of Social Media and what we will later call Web 2.0)
• 2005: YouTube is launched, delivering the first major blow to TV
• 2007: Netflix, which was actually founded in 1997, becomes popular, delivering the death blow to TV
• 2007: iPhone is launched, placing the internet in everybody’s palms (Sorry, Palm Pilot)
• 2009: Bitcoin is created so we all have something to argue about
• 2011: Google Brain takes a giant leap in AI by detecting pictures of cats, completely unsupervised
• 2016: AlphaGo beats humans at a game more complex than Chess and Netflix lets the world know that AI is here
• 2021: Dall-E is launched, so that people can pass their work day asking it to create useless images mashups of famous people
• 2022: ChatGPT panics the world into thinking that SkyNet is here and machines are going to take over the world
• 2030: Machines take over the world

The Future of IT

The future of information technology is an exciting and rapidly evolving landscape that is set to change the way we live, work, and communicate. With the rise of emerging technologies like artificial intelligence (AI), the Internet of Things (IoT), and blockchain, the possibilities for innovation and growth in the IT sector are limitless.

One of the most significant trends in the future of IT is the continued development and deployment of AI. AI-powered technologies are already transforming industries like healthcare, finance, and transportation, but in the years ahead, we can expect to see even greater applications of this technology. For example, AI could be used to automate mundane tasks, improve customer service, or enhance the accuracy of scientific research.

Another trend that is poised to shape the future of IT is the growth of the IoT. The IoT refers to the network of physical objects, devices, and sensors that are connected to the internet, enabling them to communicate and exchange data. This technology has the potential to revolutionize everything from home automation to industrial manufacturing, as well as create entirely new industries and business models.

In addition to AI and IoT, blockchain is another technology that is set to have a significant impact on the future of IT. Blockchain is a decentralized, distributed ledger that enables secure and transparent transactions without the need for intermediaries. This technology has the potential to transform industries like finance, supply chain management, and healthcare, by providing greater security, transparency, and efficiency.

Overall, the future of information technology is a dynamic and rapidly evolving landscape that is sure to bring significant changes and opportunities. As new technologies emerge and existing ones continue to evolve, IT professionals will need to stay up-to-date with the latest trends and best practices in order to thrive in this exciting and challenging field.

Any, what is my opinion on this fast-paced evolution?

We can not take the good without the bad. Certainly, technological advancements will mean significant changes to our way of life. But, if the timeline we’ve shown at the top of this article does not show you how unstoppable this technology wave is, you might find yourself feeling a little out of date.

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