By:
December 16, 2004
Previous: 1986 / Next: 1988
Intro and links to the other years in the timeline

TECHNOLOGY

  • NSFNET is funded by the National Science Foundation to connect five supercomputer research centers. It is called the backbone of the Internet and will eventually take the place of ARPANET. NSFNET will help guide and manage the Internet’s incredible growth until it is decommissioned in April 1995.
  • “For something as complex as the modern computer, it is difficult to assign credit for invention to a single person. The computer is not so much a thing as a set of ideas….”
    (Source: “A Long, Fast Drive into Computer History.” Chet Raymo, Boston Globe, April 20, 1987.)
  • HyperCard, a commercial hypertext authoring system, is introduced by Apple. The HyperCard application is included with all Macintosh machines. Additional Resources
  • “Mid to late 1980s Compac TV commercial with John Cleese.” Posted on YouTube. (Internal  promo for Compac dealers.)

THE MEDIA

  • Videotex operators see regional Bell telephone companies as a threat to the U.S. videotex industry. They are concerned about the possible dual role of telephone companies as information gateways and content providers.
  • The Middlesex (Mass.) News launches a BBS new media site during 1987.
  • News Example:
    Oct. 20, 1987 —
    “Stocks Plunge
    508 Points    “,
    New York Times.
    (Story available from
    database vendor services.)
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