__ How we got here and where we're going: a multimedia timeline. __
1436 Johannes Gutenberg debuts printing press in Germany.
1790 US Copyright Act establishes basic parameters of copyright in United States.
1841 Folsom v. Marsh introduces doctrine of fair use.
1844 Samuel Morse transmits first message by telegraph, from Washington, DC, to Baltimore.
1857 Transatlantic cable, laid by Cyrus W. Field and John Pender, connects US and Europe.
1876 Alexander Graham Bell demonstrates telephone in US.
1877 Thomas Edison records and plays "Mary Had a Little Lamb" on tinfoil cylinder phonograph.
1894 Guglielmo Marconi transmits wireless telegraph signals.
1895 Louis and Auguste Lumière project movies on a screen in public demonstrations in France.
1905 Jukebox is introduced.
1909 US Copyright Act revised to address media categories beyond literature, especially music.
1931 Alan Blumlein invents stereo audio recording.
1938 John Logie Baird transmits color television signal.
1948 Columbia Records introduces 33 1/3-rpm 12-inch vinyl LP.
1949 Jay Forrester at MIT invents magnetic computer memory.
1951 Nagra's Stephan Kudelski develops portable audiotape recorder.
1952 Recording Industry Association of America is founded to represent interests of record companies.
1955 Narinder Kapany invents fiber optics in England.
1956 Prerecorded, stereo, open-reel audiotapes hit market.
Video recording is developed in US by Ray Dolby and Charles Ginsburg of Ampex.
IBM markets RAMAC 305 hard-disk drive, which stores 5 Mbytes on 50 disks 2 feet wide.
1958 Stereophonic records are introduced.
1959 Xerox debuts photocopier.
1963 Philips demonstrates compact audiocassette.
Sony launches consumer open-reel videotape recorder.
1965 Eight-track audiotape cartridges developed by William Lear.
Computers at MIT and System Development Corporation in Santa Monica, California, communicate via 1200-bps connection.
1966 Xerox markets first fax machine.
1967 Ampex introduces the portable videotape deck.
1969 Sony releases U-Matic videocassette in Japan.
1971 Project Gutenberg begins digitizing major literary works.
1972 Intel introduces 8008 CPU running at 200 KHz.
1973 File-transfer protocol (FTP) specification is developed for uploading and downloading digital files between nodes on a network.
1974 Sony launches Betamax videocassette format in US.
1975 First personal computer developed, the MITS Altair 8800.
1976 Intel 8085 CPU runs at 5 MHz.
US Robotics markets PhoneLink 300, a modem that operates at 300 baud.
VHS videocassette format launched by JVC.
Universal and Disney sue Sony for encouraging copyright infringement via Betamax.
1979 Walkman portable audiocassette player introduced by Sony.
1982 Philips and Sony introduce CD digital audio format.
Intel 80286 processor runs at 6, 10, and 12 MHz, processing 16-bit rather than 8-bit words.
1984 Apple introduces Macintosh computer.
Number of Internet hosts exceeds 1,000.
Philips and Sony develop CD-ROM format with 650-Mbyte capacity.
Motorola 68020 CPU runs at 16 MHz.
Sony introduces Discman portable CD player.
1985 US Robotics Courier 2400 modem operates at 2400 bps.
AOL goes online.
Microsoft releases Windows 1.0. 3
1987 DAT is introduced in Japan.
Number of Internet hosts exceeds 10,000.
Fraunhofer Institute begins work on new audio codec, later formalized as MP3.
1988 AT&T installs first transatlantic fiber-optic cable.
1989 Number of Internet hosts exceeds 100,000.
Barry Shein founds World.std.com, which soon becomes the first commercial dialup ISP.
1992 Number of Internet hosts exceeds 1 million.
US Robotics Sportster 14,400 fax modem operates at 14.4 Kbps.
US Congress enacts Audio Home Recording Act.
The Moving Picture Experts Group approves MPEG-1 video and audio data-compression spec, including Audio Layer 3, or MP3.
Apple releases QuickTime 1 for Windows.
1993 Intel Pentium CPU runs at 66 MHz.
1994 Under the name Netscape Communications, Marc Andreessen and Jim Clark release Navigator 1.0.
Rob Glaser founds Progressive Networks (renamed RealNetworks in 1997).
US Robotics ships 28.8-Kbps modem.
MPEG finalizes MPEG-2 spec for video and audio data compression.
HOME NETWORK IS FOUNDED TO PROVIDE BROADBAND NET ACCESS VIA CABLE MODEM.
1996 MCI upgrades Net backbone, adding 13,000 ports and boosting effective speed from 155 Mbps to 622 Mbps.
1997 David Bowie releases five tracks in RealAudio 3.0 format.
US Robotics ships modems capable of 56-Kbps performance over twisted pair.
RealNetworks ships RealVideo 1.0.
encoding.com founded by Martin Tobias, Alex Tobias, David Conover, and Adam Berman.
MP3.com founded by Michael Robertson.
1997 Audible Inc. ships Audible MobilePlayer.
1998 Microsoft releases Windows Media Player.
Diamond Multimedia announces Rio PMP300 portable MP3 audio player.
RIAA applies for temporary restraining order to halt shipment of Rio PMP300.
US District Court for Central District of California allows Diamond Multimedia to ship Rio PMP300.
MPEG approves preliminary version of MPEG-4.
RealNetworks releases RealSystem G2.
Intel Pentium II Xeon processor runs at 450 MHz.4
US Congress passes Digital Millennium Copyright Act.
RIAA announces Secure Digital Music Initiative.
1999 Audible begins offering MP3-encoded content.
AT&T releases beta of DjVu image-compression technology.
Intel Pentium III Xeon processor runs at 550 MHz.
IBM unveils Madison Project, a digital audio-distribution platform.
Microsoft releases Windows Media Technologies.
RealNetworks acquires Xing Technology, pioneer in MPEG streaming.
RealNetworks releases RealJukebox.
Universal Music partners with InterTrust to develop technology for selling music online.
Hollywood motion picture premieres on the Net - available for three days only.
8__2000__ MPEG approves MPEG-4 spec.
TiVo delivers a Diamond Rio for television programming.
2001 Motion Picture Association of America proposes the Secure Digital Motion Picture Initiative to create a downloadable-video file format that incorporates copyright protection.
2002 MPEG approves MPEG-7 encompassing multimedia search, filtering, management, and processing.
2003 Handheld wireless Net radios receive streaming audio on demand.
Handheld wireless TVs use cheap LCD screens to deliver streaming video on demand.
2004 Chinese film students crack Paramount's intranet and post entire contents to Beijing University server. For 79 hours, Net users have free access to streaming 800-Kbps MPEG-2 versions of innumerable movie classics.
2008 New codecs deliver HDTV resolution on Net.
Cable modems and DSL phone services achieve 50 percent penetration in US.
2009 ABC debuts a Net-only soap opera, aimed at office workers.
2015 Yahoo! Media buys Turner Networks for an undisclosed sum.
Yahoo! Media announces that all future Turner content will be available exclusively online.
2016 Interactive sitcom My.Friends grips nation.
2024 Fiber to home available to 50 percent of US public.
