- February 1
- Lenovo releases the ThinkPad X300 portable computer online to resellers. [2550.45]
- February 26
- Lenovo launches the ThinkPad X300 portable computer. It features 13.3-inch 1440×900 pixel LED display, DVD drive; under 1-inch thick, about 3 pounds weight. [2550.20]
- February 27
- The European Commission fines Microsoft 899 million euros (US$1.35 billion) for using high prices to discourage software competition, in defiance of a 2004 order from Brussels to provide the information on reasonable terms. [2322]
- February (month)
- Top selling computer game in the USA for the month: World of Warcraft. [2490.100]
- March 1
- Time Warner AOL ceases support, development, and security fixes for Navigator. Last released version is 9.0.0.6. [2505.12] (February [2502.10])
- March 2
- Intel announces the name for its new low-power microprocessor family: “Atom”. [2322]
- March 9
- The Fox Broadcasting Company airs The Simpsons TV show in the US. A personal computer appears, used to play poker. [2473]
- March 26
- Advanced Micro Devices unveiled the “Phenom” microprocessor for desktop personal computers. [2322]
- March 30
- The Fox Broadcasting Company airs The Simpsons TV show in the US. A personal computer appears, showing a Power Point presentation. Another computer appears in a bedroom. [2474]
- March (month)
- Top selling computer game in the USA for the month: The Sims 2 Free Time. [2491.102]
- April 2
- At the Intel Developer Forum in Shanghai, China, Intel introduces the low-power Atom microprocessor, in speeds up to 1.86 GHz. [2322]
- April
- At the CTIA conference in Las Vegas, Nevada, Microsoft launches the Windows Mobile 6.1 operating system. [2436]
- April 27
- Advanced Micro Devices unveils its first computer brand, AMD Business Class desktop personal computers, initially aimed at the small- and medium-size business market. The desktops include AMD Phenom X3 triple-core, AMD Phenom X4 quad-core, and AMD Athlon X2 dual-core processors. [2322]
- April (month)
- Top selling computer game in the US for the month: The Sims 2: Kitchen & Bath Interior Design Stuff. [2514.96]
- May 4
- The Fox Broadcasting Company airs The Simpsons TV show in the US. A laptop computer appears, in writing a review of a film. [2475]
- May 18
- The Fox Broadcasting Company airs The Simpsons TV show in the US. A laptop computer appears, showing a coin web site. [2476]
- May (month)
- Top selling computer game in the US for the month: Age of Conan: Hyborian Adventures. [2515.92]
- June 1
- Algeria issues a 15d postage stamp depicting a personal computer. [2538.59]
- June 14
- In London, England, David and Richard Darling are made Commanders of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) for their “services to the computer games industry”. The brothers co-founded Galactic Software in 1982, and co-founded Codemasters in 1986. [2322]
- June 17
- Mozilla releases the Firefox 3.0 web browser for download. 8.3 million downlaoads are recorded in the first 24 hours. [2322] [2500.14] [2501] [2506.9]
- June 23
- Research firm Gartner estimates that the number of personal computers in use around the world has surpassed 1 billion. [2322]
- June 27
- Last official day for Bill Gates at Microsoft. [2553.64]
- June 30
- Last day of Microsoft making Windows XP available to PC makers. [2322] [2552.49]
- June (month)
- Top selling computer game in the US for the month: Spore Creature Creator. [2516.108]
- April-June
- Shipments of personal computer in the USA during the quarter: Dell 5.25 million, Apple 1.4 million, Acer 1.33 million. Total shipments: 16.5 million. [2497]
- Market share of laptop computer sales in the USA for the quarter: Apple 10.6 percent. [2537.30]
- July
- Lenovo releases its first consumer desktop PC outside China, with the IdeaCentre K210 on sale in the USA starting at US$399.99. [2506.8]
- July (month)
- Top selling computer game in the US for the month: Nancy Drew: The Phantom of Venice. [2517.116]
- August
- Microsoft releases Microsoft Internet Explorer 8.0 Beta 2. [2528.12]
- August (month)
- Top selling computer game in the US for the month: The Sims 2: Apartment Life. [2522.132]
- September 2
- Google releases a test version of its new Web browser, Google Chrome. [2322] [2541.11] [2554.62]
- September 7
- Electronic Arts releases the Spore game for Windows and Macintosh computers. [2477.24] [2519] [2520.2] [2522.128] [2559.32]
- September 16
- Electronic Arts releases the Crysis Warhead game for personal computers in the USA. [2559.33] [2565.33]
- September 22
- 2K Games releases the Civilization IV: Colonization game for personal computers. [2517.112] [2559.33]
- September (month)
- Top selling computer game in the US for the month: Spore. [2523.132]
- Personal computer market share: Apple Mac OS X 8.23 percent. [2542.14]
- July-September
- Worldwide notebook computer shipments exceed those of desktops for the first time ever, 38.6 million units to 38.5 million. [2322]
- October 7
- The Fox Broadcasting Company airs The Simpsons TV show in the US. A personal computer keyboard appears. A laptop computer is used to track the movement of someone. [2570]
- October
- At the Professional Developers Conference, Microsoft first publicly demonstrates the Windows 7 operating system. [2518.3]
- October 28
- Electronic Arts releases the Command & Conquer: Red Alert 3 computer game for Windows computers. [2523.113]
- October (month)
- Top selling personal computer game in the USA for the month: Fallout 3. [2596.80]
- November 1
- North Korea issues a 12-w postage stamp marking the 50th anniversary of introductory compulsory secondary education, depicting a boy at a personal computer. [2586.51]
- November 13
- Blizzard releases the World of Warcraft: Wrath of the Lich King game for personal computers. [2559.36] [2582.13]
- November 17
- Valve releases the Left 4 Dead game for personal computers. [2559.36]
- Intel releases the Core i7 processor. It features four processing cores, 64 KB L2 cache per core, 256 KB L2 cache, 45-nanometer circuitry, shared 8 MB L3 cache, 731 million transistors, 262 mm2 area. Code name during development was “Nehalem”. Model i7-920 Extreme is 2.66 GHz and sells for US$284 in 1000-unit quantities. Model i7-940 is 2.93 GHz and sells for US$562 in 1000-unit quantities. Model i7-965 Extreme is 3.2 GHz and sells for US$999 in 1000-unit quantities. [2322] [2543.8,14]
- November 30
- The Fox Broadcasting Company airs The Simpsons TV show in the US. A computer store in a mall has a logo like the Apple company. with laptop and desktop computers that look like Apple products. A man runs into the store and throws a sledgehammer at the large screen displaying the company CEO, like the “1984” Apple ad introducing the Macintosh. A laptop computer with an Apple-like logo is used at a house. A package is delivered in a box with double-bite apple logo and “MAPPLE”. [2571]
- November (month)
- Personal computer operating system market share: Apple Mac OS X 8.9 percent. [2544.14]
- Top selling personal computer game in the USA for the month: World of Warcraft: Wrath of the Lich King. [2559.88]
- December
- Logitech ships its one-billionth computer mouse. [2543.7]
- December (month)
- Top selling personal computer game in the USA for the month: World of Warcraft: Wrath of the Lich King. [2560.96]
- Personal computer operating system market share: Apple Mac OS X 9.63 percent. [2544.14]
- Year
- World personal computer shipments: 292 million. [2556.9]
2009
- January 8
- At the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, Nevada, Palm debuts its overhauled mobile operating system, the Palm Web OS. [2322]
- January 9
- Microsoft releases the Windows 7 operating system for beta testing. Downloading the software will be available until January 24. [2501]
- January 28
- A Federal judge in Arizona rules that MDY Industries is guilty of copyright infringement for its Glider software which plays Blizzard Entertainment’s World of Warcraft online game unattended. [2539.16]
- January (month)
- Top selling personal computer game in the USA for the month: World of Warcraft: Wrath of the Lich King. [2561.92]
- February 19
- THQ releases the Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War II game for personal computers in the USA. [2560.91] [2580.31]
- February 23
- 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment releases the film Futurama: Into the Wild Green Yonder on DVD in the United Kingdom.
- A character says in his speech “It seems only fit that I, Commodore 64 Zap Brannigan…”.
- A robot (Calculon) thinks of his award acceptance speech: “I’d like to thank the Academy, my agent, and most of all my operating system, Windows Vista for everything…” and then malfunctions.
[2606]
- February (month)
- Top selling personal computer game in the USA for the month: World of Warcraft: Wrath of the Lich King. [2562.92]
- March 4
- Apple introduces new models of its iMac (24-inch iMac US$1199-2199), Mac mini (6.5×6.5×2 inches US$599+), and Mac Pro (US$2499) desktops. [2322]
- March 8
- The Fox Broadcasting Company airs The Simpsons TV show in the US. A personal computer keyboard and flat-screen monitor appear. [2572]
- March 19
- Microsoft launches the Internet Explorer 8 Web browser, following a year of public beta testing. [2322] [2545.11]
- March 20
- South Africa issues a 2.05r postage stamp for “Ergonomics in the office” depicting a personal computer. [2547.54]
- March 29
- The Fox Broadcasting Company airs The Simpsons TV show in the US. A church reverend uses a handheld “Psalm Pilot” computer, mocking the Palm Pilot. A personal computer displays the Windows “Pipes” screen saver. [2573]
- March (month)
- Top selling personal computer game in the USA for the month: Empire: Total War. [2563.94]
- April 5
- The Fox Broadcasting Company airs The Simpsons TV show in the US. A laptop computer appears. Three desktop computers appear in a library. [2574]
- April 19
- The Fox Broadcasting Company airs The Simpsons TV show in the US. A personal computer appears. [2575]
- April 20
- Oracle announces it will acquire Sun Microsystems for US$7.4 billion. [2322] [2540.13]
- April (month)
- Top selling personal computer game in the USA for the month: World of Warcraft: Wrath of the Lich King. [2564.92]
- May 13
- The European Commission slaps a record 1.06 billion euro (US$1.45 billion) fine on Intel for antitrust violations, and orders it to halt illegal efforts to squeeze out Advanced Micro Devices. The antitrust fine, imposed after an eight-year investigation, is the biggest the European Union’s executive Commission has imposed on a company. [2322]
- May 15
- Venezuela issues 10 postage stamps depicting personal computers, promoting protection of children on the Internet. [2590.68]
- May 17
- Morocco issues a 7.80-dirham postage stamp depicting a computer keyboard and monitor. [2589.67]
- May 18
- Netherlands Antilles issues a 164-cent postage stamp for the Century of Telecommunications and Posts Departments, depicting a person at a computer. [2587.52]
- May (month)
- Top selling personal computer game in the USA for the month: World of Warcraft: Wrath of the Lich King. [2565.94]
- June 2
- Electronic Arts releases The Sims 3 game for personal computers in the USA. [2562.70] [2563.35] [2564.89] [2580.33]
- June 30
- Microsoft discontinues its Microsoft Money software. [2556.11]
- Costa Rica issues a postage stamp for the 60th anniversary of the Costa Rican Electrical Institute, depicting a laptop computer. [2591.57]
- June (month)
- Top selling personal computer game in the USA for the month: The Sims 3. [2566.98]
- July 22
- Microsoft releases Windows 7 code to PC manufacturers in the USA. [2322]
- July (month)
- Top selling personal computer game in the USA for the month: The Sims 3. [2567.102]
- August 11
- Malaysia issues a 30-cent postage stamp depicting a personal computer. [2589.59]
- August 13
- A U.S. District Court in Texas orders Microsoft to stop selling the 2003 and 2007 versions of Word software in the United States in two months, and orders the company to pay US$290 million in damages to i4i Limited Partnership and Infrastructures for Information, a small Canadian firm that accused the software giant of violating its patents. [2322] (August 11 [2558.11]) (August 12 [2322])
- August
- US 10th Circuit Court of Appeals rules Novell does not own copyright ownership of Unix due to error by judge in 2007 who awarded Novell ownership. [2557.11]
- September 3
- US Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit grants Microsoft a stay of injuction issues August against selling Word. [2558.11]
- September 11
- The United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit overturns a US$358 million damages award against Microsoft in a patent dispute with French telecoms equipment firm Alcatel-Lucent. The judge agreed Microsoft did infringe the patents, but said the damages awarded were not justified. [2501]
- September 27
- The Fox Broadcasting Company airs The Simpsons TV show in the USA.
- A character says “do you know where you can buy ink for an Amiga brand fax machine?”.
- Laptop and desktop computers appear.
[2576]
- July-September
- Market share of US personal computer market: Apple 9.4 percent. [2322]
- October 4
- The Fox Broadcasting Company airs The Simpsons TV show in the USA.
- An old desktop personal computer “ADDGOOD” appears, with “WORD JAMMERS” software.
- A laptop computer is used to access the Internet.
[2577]
- October 20
- Apple unveils new line of redesigned iMac (starting at US$1199), MacBook (4.7 pounds, starting at US$999), and Mac Mini (US$599) computers, with touch-based mice (no buttons, balls, or wheels) and edge-to-edge glass. [2322]
- October 22
- Microsoft launches Windows 7 operating system. Price is US$199.99 for the Home Premium version, or US$119.99 for an upgrade from older versions. [2322]
- The first branded Microsoft store opens in Scottsdale, Arizona. [2322]
- October 29
- In England, the 27th Golden Joystick Awards ceremony is held, for games released between May 2008 and May 2009. PC game of the year is \iFallout 3\i. [2501]
- November 29
- The Fox Broadcasting Company airs The Simpsons TV show in the USA. A desktop computer is used to access a “Wiccapedia” web site. [2578]
- December 3
- Intel unveils a prototype processor with 48 separate processing cores. The Single-chip Cloud Computer contains 1.3 billion transistors, and is based on Intel’s X86 architecture. [2501]
- December 9
- Kenya issues a postage stamp depicting a personal computer. [2606]
- December 22
- United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit upholds a US$290 million jury verdict for i4i against Microsoft for patent infringement by the Microsoft Word program. Microsoft is barred from selling the current Microsoft Word and Microsoft Office as of January 11. The company will modify the programs to remove the disputed feature, which relates to the use of XML. [2322]
- October-December
- Shipments of personal computers in the USA: Apple 3.36 million. [2322]
- Year
- Shipments of personal computers worldwide: 308.3 million. [2642.10]
2010
- January 3
- The Fox Broadcasting Company airs The Simpsons TV show in the USA.
- A laptop computer with Apple-like logo appears.
- A laptop computer displays a web site about “Pyramid Power”.
- An Apple Mac OS-like screen is used to denote a person forgetting something.
[2579]
- January 7
- Intel releases new 32-nanometer microprocessors for desktop and laptop computers, including basic graphics capabilities for the first time. [2322]
- January 27
- At Macworld conference in San Francisco, California, Apple CEO Steve Jobs unveils the iPad tablet computer. It features 9.7-inch touchscreen, 0.5 thick unit. Price starts at US$499 with 16 GB RAM. [2322]
- February 21
- The Fox Broadcasting Company airs The Simpsons TV show in the USA. A laptop computer is used to give a presentation, but is interrupted by the need to “install an important update”. [2592]
- March 21
- The Fox Broadcasting Company airs The Simpsons TV show in the USA. Two desktop computers are used at a school, with a person adding to a web site blog. [2593]
- April 3
- Apple begins sales of the iPad tablet computer in the USA. The unit available features Wi-Fi and 9.7-inch touchscreen display. Price is US$499-829. First day sales total over 300,000 units. (First month sales: 1 million.) [2322] [2501]
- April 13
- Apple updates its line of high-end MacBook Pro laptops with faster Intel processors, better Nvidia graphics chips and longer battery life (8-10 hours). Prices start at $1199 for the 13-inch model. [2322]
- April 15
- Uzbekistan issues a postage stamp depicting personal computers. [2606.82]
- April 25
- The Fox Broadcasting Company airs The Simpsons TV show in the USA. A desktop computer appears, running a standard Windows lines screensaver. [2594]
- April 28
- Hewlett-Packard announces it will acquire Palm for US$1 billion in cash. [2501]
- May 2
- The Fox Broadcasting Company airs The Simpsons TV show in the USA. A USB flash drive for Windows and Macintosh appears as a promotional give-away from a beer company. [2595]
- May 12
- Microsoft launches Microsoft Office 2010, including online versions for “cloud” computing. [2322]
- May 26
- Market capitalization of Apple (US$222 billion) passes Microsoft (US$219 billion) for the first time since December 19,1989. Apple stock is worth more than 10 times what they were 10 years ago, whereas Microsoft stock is down 20 percent over the same time period. [2322]
- May 28
- Apple begins sales of the iPad tablet computer outside the USA (Germany, France, Italy, Switzerland, Spain, Britain, Japan, Australia, and Canada). [2322]
- July 1
- Comedy Central airs the Futurama TV show in the USA. An original Apple Macintosh appears. [2607]
- July 22
- Comedy Central airs the Futurama TV show in the USA. A sign on a Mexican building reads “ADOBE PHOTO SHOPPE”, a play on the name of Adobe PhotoShop software. [2608]
- August 26
- Sweden issues a postage stamp depicting a laptop computer. [2604.93]
- September 26
- The Fox Broadcasting Company airs The Simpsons TV show in the US. A laptop computer appears to access web sites. [2609]
- October 3
- The Fox Broadcasting Company airs The Simpsons TV show in the US. A computer and wired mouse are used to access web sites. [2610]
- October 10
- The Fox Broadcasting Company airs The Simpsons TV show in the US. A mock Apple laptop computer appears. [2611]
- December 12
- The Fox Broadcasting Company airs The Simpsons TV show in the US. A laptop computer is used to show disguising a person in software. [2612]
2011
- January 9
- The Fox Broadcasting Company airs The Simpsons TV show in the US. A mock Apple laptop computer is used for live interactive video through WiFi. [2613]
- January 23
- The Fox Broadcasting Company airs The Simpsons TV show in the US. A desktop computer uses live streaming video. [2614]
- February 20
- The Fox Broadcasting Company airs The Simpsons TV show in the US. A touch-pad computer resembling the Apple iPad is used. A scene from 1999 shows a room full of mini-tower computers, CRT and LCD monitors, keyboards. [2615]
- March 27
- The Fox Broadcasting Company airs The Simpsons TV show in the US. A computer monitor, keyboard, and headset appear. [2616]
- January-March
- Personal computer unit sales world-wide for the quarter: Hewlett-Packard 15 million, Acer 10.9 million, Dell 10 million, Lenovo 9 million, Asus 4.5 million. [2647.55]
- May 8
- The Fox Broadcasting Company airs The Simpsons TV show in the US. A computer monitor, keyboard, and mouse appear. [2617]
- April-June
- Personal computer unit sales world-wide for the quarter: Hewlett-Packard 15 million, Lenovo 11.2 million, Dell 10.6 million, Acer 9.2 million, Asus 4.5 million. [2647.55]
- July 13
- Serbia issues a 22-d postage stamp depicting six computer mouse pointing devices as petals of a flower. [2644.72]
- August 19
- Hewlett-Packard stock shares crash 20 percent, $12 billion of market value, the day after announcement of plan to spin off personal computer business and buy British software maker Autonomy for $10.3 billion. [2637.55]
- August 24
- Steve Jobs resigns as CEO of Apple. [2637.53]
- September 13
- At Microsoft’s annual developer conference, Microsoft distributes 5000 Samsung tablet computers running a test version of Windows 8 operating system. [2322]
- July-September
- Personal computer unit sales world-wide for the quarter: Hewlett-Packard 16.1 million, Lenovo 12.5 million, Dell 10.7 million, Acer 9.4 million, Asus 5.7 million. [2647.55]
- November 25
- Serbia issues a 22-d postage stamp for the 130th Anniversary of Journalist Association depicting a laptop computer. [2643.149]
- October-December
- Personal computer unit sales world-wide for the quarter: Hewlett-Packard 14.9 million, Lenovo 12.7 million, Dell 11.8 million, Acer 9.5 million, Asus 6.1 million. [2647.55]
2012
- January-March
- Personal computer unit sales world-wide for the quarter: Hewlett-Packard 15.1 million, Lenovo 11.9 million, Dell 9.5 million, Acer 9.5 million, Asus 5.3 million. [2647.55]
- April-June
- Personal computer unit sales world-wide for the quarter: Hewlett-Packard 13.1 million, Lenovo 13.0 million, Acer 9.3 million, Dell 9.1 million, Asus 6.0 million. [2647.55]
- August 16
- Sweden issues a postage stamp depicting a laptop computer. [2645]
- July-September
- Personal computer unit sales world-wide for the quarter: Lenovo 13.9 million, Hewlett-Packard 13.8 million, Dell 9.1 million, Acer 8.9 million, Asus 6.2 million. [2647.55]
2014
- November 19
- The Philippines issues a 10-peso postage stamp depicting a laptop computer, commemorating the 110th anniversary of the Filipino-Chinese General Chamber of Commerce. [2652.81]
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