Previous: 1988 / Next: 1990 View all of the years in the New Media Timeline
TECHNOLOGY The U.S. Department of Defense sponsored ARPANET computer network, which began as an experimental network of four computers in 1969, is decommissioned and replaced by the faster NSFNET network. (NSFNET will continue until 1995.) Tim Berners-Lee writes his original proposal for the the World Wide Web.  Intel introduces its 486 microprocessor. Nintendo releases its Game Boy handheld  game console. The Corporation for Research and Education Networking (CREN) is started. It supports low-cost access to worldwide electronic networking. (The BITNET and CSNET networks helped develop CREN.) Additional Resources "A Brief History of the Internet." The Internet Society, 2003.		THE MEDIA Newspapers continue to experiment with audiotex technologies. Audiotex customers use their telephone to dial a local number, then enter a four-digit code for news, stock quotes, weather, sports, and other content. The Source, an early online service designed for the general public, is purchased by CompuServe. The Source is soon discontinued. CompuServe is one of the largest dial-up systems for electronic bulletin board (BBS) access. In 1989 an online service which was launched a year earlier by the Quantum company is renamed America Online. (The history of Steve Case's AOL can be traced back to the beginning of the Quantum Computer Services company and an online service called Quantum Link.) News Example: June 5, 1989 -- "Beijing Death Toll at Least 300; Army Tightens Control of City But Angry Resistance Goes On", New York Times. (Story available from database vendor services.) Additional Resources See Also: New Media Bibliography

Previous: 1988 / Next: 1990
Timeline Intro