In today’s times, having a home computer has become a necessity for families to keep in touch with the social world, do online research, or simply browse the web. Having a home computer has not always been a common household item, however. The home computer has gone through decades of technological upgrades to reach its modern status leading up the world of search engines and SEO that we know today.
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Origins of the Home Computer
The first freely programmable computer was created in 1936, and it took years of programming, technological development, and research to evolve the computer into a room-sized processing machine. Computer powerhouse Hewlett-Packard is founded in 1938 in a Palo Alto garage, where David Packard and Bill Hewlett designed an audio oscillator which became a popular piece of testing equipment for computer engineers across the nation. HP entered the consumer computer business after creating the HP-2115 computer that offered computational power that could originally only be found in massive computer systems.
In 1944, a professor from Harvard University completed the Harvard Mark-1. This massive computer filled an entire room and was built to produce mathematical table. During the 1940s, companies on the allied side of the second World War were constructing computers to decipher secret Nazi codes that were intercepted, a function that today’s computers would not need to do.
In 1958, Texas Instruments built the first integrated circuit for computers. After nearly two more decades of program research and increases in technology, famous computer mastermind Bill Gates and partner Paul Allen found the Microsoft Corporation in 1975. A year later, the late Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak founded Apple Computer (now Apple Inc.) and began selling Apple 1 computer boards.
Modernized Home Computers
The 1980s brought a wave of computers for personal use. IBM introduced its own PC in 1981, which ignited the the rapid growth of smaller more compact personal computers for home use. The Osborne 1, created by Adam Osborne, was the world’s first portable computer. This 24 pound machine cost around $1800 and had a five inch display screen. Commodore introduced the C64 in 1982. It is recognized today as the highest selling computer model in the world by the Guiness Book of World Records.
Apple launched its first iconic Macintosh computer in 1984, which was the first mouse-driven computer with a graphic user interface. In 1990, the world wide web as we know it was created. A physics laboratory in Geneva created what they called the HyperText Markup Language, or HTML, and the HyperText Transfer Protocol, or HTTP. In order to browse the web, the Mosaic web browser was released in 1993. This program allowed graphic content for access on the Internet.
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The improvements to the computer made from the 1930s to the 1990s is nothing compared to the technology of today. Researchers today are working on virtual reality, processors the size of needles, and improved resolutions on portable computers. Technology today is growing exponentially, so in upcoming years we can expect great things to be created.
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Overview of the history of SEO
After Yahoo launched and became a great success in the early 90s, the popular search engines of today Google and DMOZ launched in 1998. Because of Google’s success, Yahoo dropped their Altavista program to use Google’s algorithm. In Google’s algorithms, page rankings were displayed to users through the toolbar. This then had a significant impact in the business world, because companies then desired to rank higher up on search engine search results pages.
Thus, SEO was born. Search engine optimization allowed businesses to beat their competition and appear higher on search results. To do this, companies manipulated the Google algorithms to make their website rank. It all involves having a large amount of content and referring domains for your website. Google then sees these websites as having a strong supporting background and legitimacy, so they rank these sites higher than others. Google then introduced their Caffeine Algorithm in 2009, which caused a major shift in SEO because companies had to change their SEO tactics. In addition, Google had a Panda Algorithm Update in 2011, followed by a Penguin Algorithm Update in 2012. This updates to the search programming made SEO even more difficult for companies.
Essentially, early computers were not designed around search engines. But recently, computers focus on social more than ever. Companies are focusing on getting their name out there, and through search engine optimization, they can do so.
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Nice post buddy. The way people use computers and perform SEO has really evolved since the last one decade.
I grew up with a keyboard in my hand (now I’m 28) and I’ve seen almost the entire history of the internet from a home user pespective and the evolution of the personal computer up close and personal. We have truly come a long way and its almost scary to tthink where we might be going….
I do remember my first and very slow computer. It is amazing how much it cost back then, and what I can get now for a fraction of the price too. Makes me wonder what kind of computer power we will have in another 5-10 years down the road.
SEO back in the early internet day was pretty simple, and we didn’t have as much instant backlinking. It was more on page seo back then. Of course we didn’t have as much automated spam like we do now either.
It’s really nice to hear and read about the history about the tech stuffs… because then only we can get to learn something more from it… because always new idea comes from the past… I am really thankful to the admin for refreshing the memories about the computer history with SEO.. And I loved the explanation… It was just awesome
…the popular search engines of today Google and DMOZ launched in 1998…” – huh? DMOZ? Really? Google used to use DMOZ to run its own directory but disabled it, saying that search is now much faster and a better way to find things.
With all the corruption and bad PR, along with lack of market, I don’t think DMOZ or any other directory is really used any more, not for its original purpose at least – maybe by obsessive (and naive) SEO’s.
It’s nice to know the history of computers and SEO here in your post. The very first time I was introduced to the computer was maybe around 1996. Technology sure changed that time’s computers from what they are now. Thanks for sharing!