UNIX
to the desktop
Mid
1970s
Late 1970s
1980s
1990s
2000s
Historical
Timeline
1930s
1940s
Computers: IBM SSEC; Manchester SSEM
Technology: random access memory; magnetic drums; transistor
Computers: Manchester Mark 1
Technology: registers
Among the
early commercial attempts to deploy UNIX on desktop computers was AT&T
selling UNIX in an Olivetti box running a w74 680x0 assembly language is
discussed in the assembly language section. Microsoft partnered with Xenix to
sell their own version of UNIX. Apple computers offered their A/UX version of
UNIX running on Macintoshes. None of these early commercial UNIXs was
successful. “Unix started out too big and unfriendly for the PC. … It sold like
ice cubes in the Arctic. … Wintel emerged as the only ‘safe’ business choice”,
Nicholas Petreley.
“Unix had a limited PC market, almost entirely
server-centric. SCO made money on Unix, some of it even from Microsoft.
(Microsoft owns 11 percent of SCO, but Microsoft got the better deal in the
long run, as it collected money on each unit of SCO Unix sold, due to a bit of
code in SCO Unix that made SCO somewhat compatible with Xenix. The arrangement
ended in 1997.)” —Nicholas Petreley, “The new Unix alters NT’s orbit”, NC World
To date,
the most widely used desktop version of UNIX is Apple’s Mac OS X, combining the
ground breaking object oriented NeXT with some of the user interface of the
Macintosh.
Mid
1970s
Some
operating systems from the mid-1970s include: CP/M, Master Control Program.
In 1973
the kernel of Unix was rewritten in the C programming language. This made Unix
the world’s first portable operating system, capable of being easily ported
(moved) to any hardware. This was a major advantage for Unix and led to its
widespread use in the multi-platform environments of colleges and universities.
Late 1970s
Some
operating systems from the late-1970s include: EMAS 2900, General Comprehensive
OS, VMS (later renamed OpenVMS), OS/MVS.
1980s
Some
operating systems from the 1980s include: AmigaOS, DOS/VSE, HP-UX, Macintosh, MS-DOS,
and ULTRIX.
The 1980s
saw the commercial release of the graphic user interface, most famously the
Apple Macintosh, Commodore Amiga, and Atari ST, followed by Microsoft’s
Windows.
1990s
Some
operating systems from the 1990s include: BeOS, BSDi, FreeBSD, NeXT, OS/2, Windows
95, Windows 98, and Windows NT.
2000s
Some
operating systems from the 2000s include: Mac OS X, Syllable, Windows 2000, Windows
Server 2003, Windows ME, and Windows XP.
Historical
Timeline
Timeline
Notes In addition
to listing the years that various operating systems were introduced, this
timeline also includes information on supporting technologies to give better
context.
Year Year that items were introduced.
Operating
Systems Operating
systems introduced in that year.
Programming
Languages
Programming languages introduced. While only a few programming languages are
appropriate for operating system work (such as Ada, BLISS, C, FORTRAN, and
PL/I, the programming languages available with an operating system greatly
influence the kinds of application programs available for an operating system.
Computers Computers and processors
introduced. While a few operating systems run on a wide variety of computers
(such as UNIX and Linux), most operating systems are closely or even intimately
tied to their primary computer hardware. Speed listings in parenthesis are in operations
per second (OPS), floating point operatins per second (FLOPS), or clock speed
(Hz).
Software Software programs introduced. Some
major application programs that became available. Often the choice of operating
system and computer was made by the need for specific programs or kinds of
programs.
Games Games introduced. It may seem
strange to include games in the time line, but many of the advances in computer
hardware and software technologies first appeared in games. As one famous
example, the roots of UNIX were the porting of an early computer game to new
hardware.
Technology Major technology advances, which
influence the capabilities and possibilities for operating systems.
1930s
1938:
Computers: Zuse Z1 (Germany, 1 OPS, first mechanical
programmable binary computer, storage for a total of 64 numbers stored as 22
bit floating point numbers with 7-bit exponent, 15-bit signifocana [one
implicit bit], and sign bit)
1940s
1941:
Computers: Atanasoff-Berry Computer; Zuse Z3 (Germany,
20 OPS, added floating point exceptions, plus and minus infinity, and
undefined)
1942:
Computers: work started on Zuse Z4
1943:
Computers: Harvard Mark I (U.S.); Colossus 1
(U.K., 5 kOPS)
1944:
Computers: Colossus 2 (U.K., single processor,
25 kOPS)
1945:
Programming Languages: Planalkül (Plan Calculus)
Computers: Zuse Z4 (relay based computer,
first commercial computer)
1946:
Computers: UPenn Eniac (5 kOPS); Colossus 2
(parallel processor, 50 kOPS)
Technology: electrostatic memory
Technology: electrostatic memory
1948:
Computers: IBM SSEC; Manchester SSEM
Technology: random access memory; magnetic drums; transistor
1949:
Computers: Manchester Mark 1
Technology: registers