1990s in technology & science

This page contains the scientific and technological developments of the 1990s

cience

* Detection of extrasolar planets orbiting stars other than the sun.
* Dolly the sheep is cloned.
* Human Genome Project begins.
* DNA identification of individuals finds wide application in criminal law.
* Hubble Space Telescope launched in 1990; revolutionizes astronomy.
* Protease inhibitors introduced allowing HAART therapy against HIV; drastically reduces AIDS mortality.
* NASA's spacecraft Pathfinder lands on Mars and deploys a small roving vehicle, Sojourner, which analyzes the planet's geology and atmosphere.
* The Hale-Bopp comet swings past the sun for the first time in 4,200 years in April 1997.
* Development of biodegradable products, replacing products made from Styrofoam; advances in methods for recycling of waste products (such as paper, glass, aluminum).
* Genetically engineered crops are developed for commercial use.
* Discovery of dark matter, dark energy, brown dwarfs, and first confirmation of black holes.
* The Galileo probe orbits Jupiter, studying the planet and its moons extensively.
* The Global Positioning System (GPS) becomes fully operational.
* Proof of Fermat's last theorem is discovered by Andrew Wiles.
* Construction starts on the International Space Station – 1996

Technology

Some technologies invented and improved during the 1990s:

Hardware

* The Pentium processor is developed by Intel.
* Explosive growth of the Internet, perhaps caused by a decrease in the cost of computers and other technology.
* Advancements in computer modems, ISDN, cable modems and DSL lead to faster connection to the Internet.
* Pagers are initially popular but ultimately are replaced by mobile phones toward the end of the decade.
* Hand-held satellite phones are introduced towards the end of the decade.
* CD burner drives are introduced.
* Digital SLRs and regular Digital cameras become commercially available.
* The DVD media format is developed and popularized along with a plethora of Flash memory card standards.
* Apple introduces the iMac computer, initiating a trend in computer design towards translucent plastics and multicolor case design, discontinuing many legacy technologies like serial ports, and beginning a resurgence in the company's fortunes that continues unabated to this day.
* IBM introduces the 1-inch wide Microdrive hard drive in 170 MB and 340 MB capacities.
* The first GSM network is launched in Finland in 1991
* The first MP3 Player, the MPMan, is released in late spring of 1998. It came with 32Mb of flash memory expandable to 64Mb.
* The introduction of affordable, smaller satellite dishes and the DVB-S standard in the mid-1990s expanded satellite television services that carried up to 500 television channels.

oftware

* The World Wide Web and HTML are created by Tim Berners-Lee and eventually displace the Gopher protocol.
* Microsoft introduces Windows 95 and later Windows 98 to the market, which gain immediate popularity.
* The development of Web browsers such as Netscape Navigator and Internet Explorer makes surfing the World Wide Web easier and more user friendly.
* The Java programming language is developed by Sun Microsystems.
* Businesses start to build E-commerce websites; E-commerce-only companies such as Amazon.com, eBay, AOL, and Yahoo! grow rapidly.
* E-mail becomes popular; as a result Microsoft acquires the popular Hotmail.com webmail service.
* Instant Messaging and the buddy list becomes popular. AIM and ICQ are two early protocols.
* The Year 2000 problem (commonly known as Y2K), the computer glitch disaster expected to happen on January 1, 2000.
* Microsoft Windows operating systems become virtually ubiquitous on IBM PCs.
* Development of the free Linux kernel is started by Linus Torvalds in Finland.