| Year |
AeA |
High-Tech Industry |
| 1943 |
- David Packard and 25 of Hewlett- Packard's suppliers create the West Coast
Electronic
Manufacturers Association (WCEMA) to help secure government contracts.
Offices were in San Francisco and Los Angeles.
|
- Colossus - A team of English engineers completes the Colossus, an electronic
digital computer developed to break codes generated by German code-writing machines
|
| 1946 |
- WCEMA membership doubles to 50 companies.
|
- Microwave Oven - Perry Spencer discovered that microwaves could be used to heat
things; Raytheon files for patent for a microwave oven.
- ENIAC - Machly and Eckert create the world's first electronic, large scale,
general purpose computer. First activated at the University of Pennsylvania, it was a 300
ton machine with 19000 vacuum tubes, 6000 switches, and could add 5000 numbers a second.
|
| 1957 |
- San Diego Council added to WCEMA's offices in San Francisco and Los Angeles.
|
- Sputnik - USSR launches Sputnik I and II, the first Earth satellites.
|
| 1959 |
- Northwest Council founded to support members in Oregon and Washington.
|
- 1st Planar Transistor - Fairchild, Inc. introduces 1st planar transistor, IBM
incorporated this technology in its 1st transistorized computer.
|
| 1962 |
- Arizona Council of WCEMA is founded, making a network of five councils for the
organization.
|
- 1st Pager - Bell System (the U.S. telephone monopoly that existed at the time)
introduced its Bellboy radio paging system at the Seattle World's Fair.
|
| 1965 |
- WCEMA adds Colorado to its network of five regional Councils.
The Colorado Council was renamed the Mountain States Council in 1985
to reflect inclusion of Utah companies.
- WCEMA has 225 members.
|
- 1st Laser Surgery
- Minicomputer - Digital Equipment introduces the PDP-8, the first computer to use
integrated circuit technology.
- Computer Science Ph.D. - The first computer science Ph. D. is granted to Richard
L. Wexelblat at the University of Pennsylvania.
- Audio Cassette Tapes - Philips introduced the compact cassette for consumer audio
recording and playback on small portable machines, setting the standard for audio
cassettes.
|
| 1967 |
- The Santa Barbara Council office was
opened. This office was closed in 1981 and merged with the
Los Angeles Council.
- The Northwest Council was divided
into the Oregon and Washington Councils.
|
- Computer World - First issue
of Computer World is published.
- ARPANET - At a computer
conference in Tennessee, Larry Roberts presents a paper on
ARPANET, a computer network that lacks a central hub.
ARPANET becomes the foundation for the Internet and World Wide
Web.
|
| 1969 |
- WCEMA's name is changed to Western
Electronic Manufacturers Association (WEMA) to
reflect membership outside California.
|
- Moon Landing - Apollo 11, Neil Armstrong walks on the moon.
- PASCAL - Nicklaus Wirth writes the PASCAL compiler and it is installed on the CDC
6400..
- ARPANET Created - Stanford Research Institute, UCLA, UC Santa Barbara, and the
University of Utah create the first hosts of the ARPANET, predecessor to the Internet.
- Videocassettes - Sony introduced the first videocassette, the 3/4-inch U-Matic
one-hour tape.
|
| 1970 |
- Eben Tisdale becomes Vice President of Government Affairs.
|
- Optical Fiber - Corning Glass develops a glass fiber that can communicate pulses
of light.
- First Home VCR - Phillips releases the first commercially available home video
cartridge machine on the market.
|
| 1971 |
- WEMA membership reaches 590 companies.
|
- Calculator - Hewlett Packard introduces the first easily portable electronic
calculator, a phenomenal success.
- Floppy Disks - IBM introduces the floppy disk to load the IBM 370 microcode.
- Microprocessor - Intel announces the first microprocessor, the Intel 4004.
- Personal Computer - John Blankenbaker builds the first personal computer, the
Kenblak I.
- NASDAQ - On February 8, the National Association of Securities Dealers (NASD)
begins trading over-the-counter (OTC) securities, which becomes the NASDAQ Stock Market.
|
| 1972 |
- Board votes to expand membership past the Mississippi River.
- Membership reaches 682
companies
- Orange County Council Founded.
|
- 1st Mass-produced Video Games - Pong, video game becomes all the rage. Noland
Bushnell, it's 28 year-old inventor, goes on to found Atari.
- Email Invented - Ray Tomlinson of BBN develops a program to send messages across
ARPANET. His program uses the "@" sign to separate email users' names from their
machines
|
| 1973 |
- Southwest council of WEMA founded in
Dallas, Texas.
- WEMA ends 29 year alliance with WESCON.
|
- 1st International Connection - Norway and England connect to ARPANET, making the
first international connection.
- Ethernet Developed - Xerox develops the Ethernet which will become the defacto
standard for linking computers, printers, and other hardware devices.
- Automatic Teller Machine (ATM) - Ducutel receives a patent for the Automatic
Teller Machine, which revolutionizes the banking industry.
- Desktop Computer - The Desktop computer is introduced by Hewlett-Packard.
|
| 1974 |
- Ed Ferry becomes president of WEMA.
|
- Barcode - Products with barcodes begin appearing in American stores. Scanners at
checkout counter are able to read the codes using laser technology.
|
| 1977 |
- Name changes to American Electronics Association (AEA) to more accurately represent its
members across the nation.
- AEA has 750 members.
|
- Commodore and Tandy - Commodore and Tandy begin selling PCs.
- 1st Floppy Disks - North Star and Pertec introduce PCs with 5.25" floppy
disks.
- 1st Laser Printer - Xerox releases the Xerox 9700 Electronic Printing System, the
first xerographic laser printer product.
|
| 1978 |
- AEA founds its first council east of the Mississippi, in Boston, to serve its New
England members.
|
- Cell Phone - Bell Labs began the first commercial cellular service trial,
offering Advanced Mobile Phone Service in Chicago.
- Speak-and-Spell - Texas Instruments introduces Speak-and-Spell, an educational
toy featuring digital speech synthesis.
- LaserDisc - Pioneer developed the LaserDisc that was first used by General Motors
to train Cadillac salesmen.
|
| 1980 |
- AEA's scholarship program, the
Electronics Education Foundation (EEF) was established.
In 2003, it was changed to the Technology Education Foundation.
- AEA's Minnesota council was
opened. In 1986 the office was closed and AEA enters into a
partnership ("merged operations") with the Minnesota High
Tech Association (MHTA).
|
- 1st Hewlett-Packard PC - HP introduces its first PC.
- Video Camcorder - Sony
introduces the first consumer video camcorder.
- Ethernet - Xerox publishes
Ethernet specifications. Ethernet, developed by XEROX PARC
researcher Robert Metcalfe, will become the de facto standard for
linking computers, printers, and other electronic devices.
|
| 1981 |
- New York Council of AEA founded in
Long Island to support members in New York and New Jersey (New
Jersey becomes its own council in 1991 and New York Council
relocates to Albany in 2005).
|
- Space Shuttle - NASA introduces, Columbia, a resusable spacecraft.
- Personal Computer (PC) - IBM launches its home/personal computer, creating the de
facto standard.
- Portable Computer - Osborne Computer introduces the Osborne 1, the first portable
computer.
|
| 1984 |
- AEA opens its first overseas office in Tokyo, Japan.
- Florida Council of AEA founded, making a total of 16 AEA offices in the US.
|
- Macintosh - Apple Macintosh computer with mouse is launched.
- Silicon Microchip - The silicon microchip is developed, storing four times more
data than previously possible.
- Tandy 1000 - The Tandy 1000 personal computer becomes the #1 selling IBM
PC-compatible in its first year.
|
| 1985 |
- AEA opens the Midwest Council in Palatine,
Illinois. The office was closed in 2002 and reopened in
Oakbrook Terrace in 2004.
- AEA membership grows to 2,700 companies from 750 companies five years earlier. AEA
increases staff from 30 to 110 to keep up with the demand.
|
- 1st Desktop Publishing - Aldus introduces the first Desktop Publishing software.
- AOL - American Online is founded.
- LCD TV - Seiko-Epson unveiled the first commercial LCD color TV set, which had a
two-inch screen using an LCD made with polycrystalline silicon, breaking ground for LCDs
to be used in portable computers.
- First Domain Names - Symbolics.com becomes the first registered domain and is
quickly followed by cmu.edu, purdue.edu, ucl.edu, and others.
|
| 1986 |
- Richard Iverson becomes president of AEA.
- New York Council expanded to the Tri-State
Council. The Tri-State Council represented Connecticut, New Jersey, and New York, with office in New Jersey.
The Tri-State Council was closed in 1991, with separate offices continued for New Jersey Council and New York Council
(Long Island).
|
- 30 Million PCs - Total computers in use in the U.S. exceed 30 million.
- Prodigy - Prodigy founded by Sears and IBM.
|
| 1987 |
- The Potomac Council was opened in
AEA's Washington, DC, headquarters.
- AEA splits Northern California Council off of Bay Council.
- Southeast Council of AEA founded in Atlanta, Georgia.
|
- Semiconductor - Paul Chu creates a superconducting ceramic at much higher
temperatures than previously possible.
|
| 1990 |
- AEA opens 2nd overseas office in Brussels, Belgium.
- AEA opens a Sacramento, California
office to manage CA state legislative and regulatory issues.
|
- First ISP - The World becomes
the first commercial provider of dial-up Internet access.
- ARPANET Decommissioned -
ARPANET is decommisioned, leaving a network of networks called the
Internet with over 300,000 host computers.
- Digital Camera - Dycam Model
1 B&W digicam is the world's first completely digital consumer
camera.
- Windows 3.0 - Microsoft
introduces Windows 3.0 operating system.
|
| 1995 |
- AEA membership exceeds 3,500.
- William T. Archey becomes president of AEA.
- AEA opens third overseas office in
Beijing, China, with the Telecommunications Industry Association and
the Software Industry Association named the United States
Information Technology Office (USITO).
|
- Java - Sun Microsystems introduces Java.
- DVD - DVD manufacturers announce the creation of a new standardized Digital Video
Disc (DVD) format, which leads to the mass production of movie DVDs.
- Cybercafes - The first cyber-cafes open, which serve Internet access and cafe
latte.
- Real Audio - Progressive Networks releases Real Audio - the first audio streaming
software for the Internet.
- Internet Explorer - Microsoft introduces the Internet Explorer web-browser.
- eBay - Pierre Omidyar launches an online auction service called Auction Web,
which becomes eBay.
- Amazon - Amazon.com sells its first book online.
- Toy Story - Pixar releases Toy Story, the first fully computer generated animated
feature film.
|
| 1996 |
- AEA publishes world wide web
addresses in their member directory for the first time.
|
- USB
– The Universal Serial Bus (USB) emerges as a standard personal
computer I/O bus
- 100 Million PCs
- Total computers in use in the U.S. exceed 100 million
- WebTV
–
Philips and Sony introduce WebTV boxes that connect TVs to the
Internet
- PalmPilot
–
U.S. Robotics unveiled its PalmPilot connected organizer. More than
a million Pilots were sold within 18 months
- Cable Modems
-
Both @Home and Time Warner announce high-speed, cable-modem ventures
in an attempt to meet consumers' growing demand for higher bandwidth
- Pointcast/Push Technology
-
Pointcast, a little-known company in Cupertino, California,
announces a beta version of its Pointcast software. The service,
which grabs information from the Web and displays it on the user's
screen, kicks off a year of industry hype about "push"
technologies. The hype fades after a year or so when consumers fail
to embrace push over active Web browsing
- GPS
– The
White House announces that the Global Positioning System (GPS) will
be demilitarized and opened up for civilian use
|
| 1997 |
- AEA opens an office in Austin,
making it the second office in the state of Texas.
|
- Sensormatic Electronic
Corporation - Introduces the first digital recorder with
intelligence search capabilities.
|
| 2001 |
- AEA name changes to AeA, with the tagline added: Advancing the Business of Technology.
|
- iPod - Apple Computer introduced the iPod portable music player.
- Mac OS X - Apple Computer releases a new operating system based on a UNIX core,
Max OS X.
- Xbox - Microsoft announces the Xbox, a new video game console.
- Camera Pill - Food & Drug Administration approve the use of a camera pill
which takes pictures of the gastriontestinal tract.
|
| 2003 |
- AeA celebrates 60 Years of Advancing the Business of Technology.
|
- Walmart RFID - Walmart, the world's largest retailer, announces that its top 100 suppliers must include
Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) tags on pallets and cases.
- FCC Telecom Deregulation - The Federal Communications Commission begins a
potential overhaul in telecommunications.
|
| 2004 |
|
- Telephony - Voice-over
Internet Protocol (VoIP) and cellular telephony surge domestically
and especially overseas
|
| 2005 |
|
- P2P Networks - Supreme Court rules that Peer-to-Peer networks can be held liable for copyright infringements committed by users in Grokster v. MGM case
|
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