Tech History

From mechanical computing to cloud-based apps—tracing the long and tangled web of innovations that built modern tech.

Tech History

As We May Think: Vannevar Bush, WW2, and Tech Today

75 years on, the fingerprints of wartime research are still all over our lives. How one American wartime visionary predicted the internet, the cloud, and more.

Tech History

The Internet Wasn’t Born Yesterday—A Brief History

Almost 50 years ago, the first Internet message was sent. From Cold War research oddity to pan-global phenomenon, the network has evolved in surprising ways.

 
Tech History

Ted Nelson, Hypertext, and Hippie Modernism

Computer visionary Ted Nelson’s started his alt-Internet project Xanadu in 1960. Since then, he’s been misunderstood by many—even dubbed insane. 

 
Tech History

Xerox PARC and the Origins of GUI

Graphical User Interface (GUI) is part of everyday laptop-and-phone life. But it has a surprising history, starting as a fringe early 70s NoCal idea.

Tech History

Computing Evolves. Part VII: All Around You (2009-2019)

In the 2010s, computers shape what it is to be human while server farms and supercomputers are disrupting life itself.

Tech History

Computing Evolves. Part VI: The Tipping Point (2000-2008)

 In the 2000s, laptops became less brick-like. Smartphones appeared, as did cloud computing, social media, and YouTube. The stage was set for tech today.

Tech History

Computing Evolves. Part V: Jacked in (1990-1999)

In the 90s, cyberpunk went mainstream. From the Internet to Windows 95 and the first iMac—this was the decade that computing took over the world.

Tech History

Computing Evolves. Part IV: Computer Love (1978-1989)

In the 80s, computers infiltrated polite society. Video games were one Trojan horse. Graphical user interface (GUI) and weird mass marketing helped too.