A history of software · 1940s → now
The history of software, one release at a time.
Personal computing cold-booted in 1980. This blog covers the operating systems, editors, databases, and stranger experiments that came after, plus the ancient history they grew out of.
Directory of eras
Pick a decade
- 1940s–1979Ancient HistoryBefore the cold boot: vacuum tubes, punch cards, mainframes, and the ideas everything since still runs on.13 articles
- 1980–19891980sThe personal computer arrives, software comes shrink-wrapped, and a blinking prompt lands on ordinary desks.23 articles
- 1990–19991990sWindows wins the desktop, the web gets a browser, and everything starts dialing in.19 articles
- 2000–20092000sOpen source grows up, search organizes the world, and the phone in your pocket gets smart.20 articles
- 2010–20192010sApps, clouds, containers, and the turn toward machine learning.20 articles
Recently written
Fresh from the archive
- Manchester Baby: The Instructions Were in MemoryChanging the computation could mean changing the contents of memory.Ancient History7 min
- A-0: Let the Computer Arrange the RoutinesReusable routines still needed somebody to put the pieces together correctly.Ancient History7 min
- FORTRAN: The Formula Was the Starting PointNumerical relationships could be written before the machine's detailed instruction sequence.Ancient History7 min
- LISP: The Shape of an ExpressionSymbols could be arranged into structures that a function could traverse.Ancient History8 min
- COBOL: Describe the Record Before the ArithmeticA sequence of digits needed a field description to become a price.Ancient History7 min
- CTSS: Save Your Place, Let Somebody Else WorkA shared processor could pause a program without forgetting its progress.Ancient History7 min