Computer history - 1986

Updated: 11/12/2023 by Computer Hope

Major computer events in 1986

IBM PCD (PC Division) announced its first laptop computer, the PC Convertible, which weighed 12 pounds, 18 pounds lighter than the earlier portable computer.

New computer products and services introduced in 1986

Apple introduced the Mac Plus. The computer contained one megabyte of RAM (Random-Access Memory), a new keyboard with cursors and numeric keypad, and sold for $2,600.

The AT or 101 key keyboard was introduced by IBM.

IBM introduced AIX (Advanced Interactive eXecutive) in 1986.

CVS (Concurrent Version System) was released in 1986 and became a venerable and influential revision control system.

Compaq introduced the first 386-based PC (personal computer) compatible computer in 1986.

MS-DOS 3.2 was released in April 1986.

CVS was introduced in 1986.

BITNET II was created in 1986.

IDE (Integrated Drive Electronics) was introduced by Western Digital and Compaq in 1986.

NSFNET (National Science Foundation Network) was created in 1986.

PostgreSQL began being developed in 1986.

SCSI-1 was the original SCSI (Small Computer System Interface) standard developed in 1986 as ANSI (American National Standards Institute) X3.131-1986.

The last of ten revisions of the ASCII (American Standard Code for Information Interchange) standard, published as ASA X3.4-1963 in 1986.

In 1986, software author Ian E. Davis released a shareware ANSI text editor, TheDraw, that increased the accessibility and popularity of the ANSI art form.

IBM introduced IBM 9332 and 9335 direct access storage devices.

GEOS (Graphic Environment Operating System) was released for the Commodore 64 in 1986.

IBM released The IBM 3422 magnetic tape subsystem, a compact tape unit for data storage.

IBM introduced the IBM RT Personal Computer line. The RT was the first workstation to use the RISC (Reduced Instruction Set Computing).

IBM released the IBM Personal Computer XT Model 286, which can operate up to three times faster than earlier models of the PC XT (extended technology) in most applications, was introduced.

IBM introduced the IBM 4234 Dot Band Printer and IBM 4224 printer for use with IBM intermediate systems.

IBM released the IBM 7552 Industrial Computer, its first plant-floor computer that monitors and controls manufacturing operations without operator assistance.

IBM announced the IBM Personal Computer 2400 bps (bits per second) Modem, the IBM 5842.

Computer and technology-related events in 1986

The Hacker Manifesto was published in Phrack (Volume One, Issue 7, Phile 3 of 10) on January 8, 1986.

The IETF (Internet Engineering Task Force) was formed on January 16, 1986.

IBM introduced the IBM 6150 or IBM RT (RISC Technology) computer. The computer used the AIX, AOS (Academic Operating System), or Pick operating system.

The space shuttle Challenger exploded on January 28, 1986, during takeoff, resulting in the death of the seven crew members.

The term vaporware was first used by Philip Elmer-DeWitt in a TIME magazine article on February 3, 1986.

Tandy announced the Color Computer 3 on July 30, 1986.

Chipsets started being used on computer motherboards with the introduction of the Chips and Technology 82C206.

Microsoft was listed on the New York Stock Exchange, selling shares to the public at $21 each, making Bill Gates one of the world's youngest billionaires.

More than 30 million computers were in use in the United States.

IMAP (Internet Message Access Protocol) was developed by Mark Crispin at Stanford University in 1986.

Eric Thomas developed the first Listserv in 1986.

Reynold Johnson received the National Medal of Technology from U.S. President Ronald Reagan for developing the IBM 350 RAMAC (Random-Access Method of Accounting and Control) disk file that helped make possible online computing systems.

Benoit B. Mandelbrot, IBM mathematician and creator of fractal geometry, received the 1986 Franklin Medal.

CD-i (Compact Disc-interactive) format was specified in 1986.

The first cyber law was the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act, enacted in the United States in 1986.

The Erlang functional programming language was released in 1986.

The Oberon programming language was released in 1986.

Computer companies and organizations founded in 1986

D-Link was founded in March 1986.

Unisys was founded in September 1986.

Chaintech was founded in November 1986.

Amkette was founded in 1986 by Rajiv Bapna.

Amptron was founded in 1986.

Antec was founded in 1986.

Avid was established in 1986.

AVM was founded in 1986.

Aztech was established in 1986.

Bethesda Softworks was founded in 1986.

BIOSTAR was founded in 1986.

Codemasters was founded in 1986.

Composers Desktop Project was founded in the UK in 1986.

CTI Electronics was founded in 1986.

Dawicontrol was founded in 1986.

Domex was founded in 1986.

Gigabyte was founded in 1986.

I.R.I.S. was founded in 1986.

InFocus was founded in 1986.

JVC was founded in 1986.

Lanner was founded in 1986.

Leadtek was founded in 1986.

MSI was founded in 1986.

mTab was founded in 1986 by Brad Hontz and John Doyle.

Mustang was founded in 1986.

The NCSA opened in 1986.

Paradise Systems was founded in 1986.

Pinnacle was founded in 1986.

Pixar was co-founded by Steve Jobs on February 3, 1986.

PKWARE was founded in 1986.

Plustek Technology was founded in 1986.

Post-Newsweek Cable was founded in 1986. Today, the company is called Sparklight.

SBS Technologies was founded in 1986.

Synaptics was founded in 1986 by Federico Faggin and Carver Mead.

Ubisoft was founded in 1986.

Vintech was founded in 1986.

Computer company events in 1986

In 1986, ITC (International Typeface Corporation) was acquired by Esselte Letraset, which sold all ITC assets to the Agfa Monotype Corporation in 2000.