Information Technology: Past and Current Trends

Information technology has experienced many changes since 1980, with computer systems and online communication becoming vastly different. Some past trends moved technology toward where it is today, while others became reversed or were short-lived. Read on for a summary of major information technology trends which have occurred in the past and are taking place in current times...

Early 1980s: Personal computers were becoming widespread for the first time, and some basic models were available for $100-200, like the Commodore VIC-20 and Timex/Sinclair 1000. Telephone modem technology was starting to be used to connect to online information services and bulletin board systems. Many computers were designed to directly connect to a television for audio/video output. One of the trends which was relatively short-lived was to make video game systems which could be upgraded into computer systems. Another of the trends which extended from the late '70s through the mid '80s was that a large number of computer owners learned the "BASIC" programming language (it was built-in on many computers) and could create their own programs; many computer manuals (Commodore, T/S 1000, Atari 800) provided detailed information on learning it.