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Timeline of computing 1990–1999
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==1990== {| class="wikitable sortable" ! Date ! class="unsortable" | Event |- valign="top" | 1990 | [[Motorola]] releases the [[Motorola 68040|68040]] capable of 35 MIPS and integrated a far superior FPU. The 68040 was included in some of the Apple Macintosh and Commodore Amiga lineup. |- valign="top" | March 19 | [[Macintosh IIfx]] released. Based on a 40 MHz version of the 68030 it achieved 10 [[Million instructions per second|MIPS]]. It also had a faster [[SCSI]] adapter, which could transfer 3.0 Mbit/s. |- valign="top" | May 22 | Introduction of [[Windows 3.0]] by [[Microsoft]].<ref>{{cite book |title=The Making of Microsoft: How Bill Gates and His Team Created the World's Most Successful Software Company |date=1991 |publisher=[[Prima Publishing]] |isbn=1-55958-071-2 |page=239 |chapter=Vision for the Future |access-date=January 14, 2020 |chapter-url=https://archive.org/details/makingofmicrosof00ichb/}}</ref> It is a multitasking system that maintains compatibility with [[MS-DOS]], allowing several MS-DOS tasks to be run at once on an 80386 or above. This created a real threat to the Macintosh and despite a similar product, IBM's OS/2, it was very successful. |- valign="top" | June | [[Commodore International|Commodore]] releases the [[Amiga 3000]], the first [[32-bit]] Amiga. It used a [[Motorola 68030]] processor and the upgraded ECS chipset. [[Amiga OS]] 2.0 was released with the launch of the A3000, which exploited its 32-bit architecture. Later variants included the Amiga 3000UX, launched as a low end UNIX workstation, running [[UNIX System V]]. The A3000T was the first Amiga to use a [[Computer case|tower]] form factor, which increased expansion potential. |- valign="top" | October 1 | [[Microsoft Office]] released.<ref>{{Cite AV media |url=https://channel9.msdn.com/Series/History/The-History-of-Microsoft-1990 |title=The History of Microsoft - 1990 |language=en |access-date=2025-02-14 |archive-url=http://web.archive.org/web/20211003213427/https://channel9.msdn.com/Series/History/The-History-of-Microsoft-1990 |archive-date=2021-10-03}}</ref> |- valign="top" | October 15 | [[Macintosh Classic]] released,<ref name="specs">{{Cite web |date=July 26, 2017 |title=Macintosh Classic: Technical Specifications |url=http://support.apple.com/kb/SP198 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130612075028/http://support.apple.com/kb/SP198 |archive-date=June 12, 2013 |access-date=September 13, 2022 |website=support.apple.com}}</ref> an identical replacement to the Macintosh Plus of January 1986. Also came the Macintosh IIsi which ran a 68030 processor at 20 MHz to achieve 5.0 [[million instructions per second|MIPS]], and also a 256 colour video adapter. |- valign="top" | November 12 | [[Tim Berners-Lee]] submitted a proposal to the management at [[CERN]] which coined the term [[World Wide Web|WorldWideWeb]].<ref>{{cite web |last1=Berners-Lee |first1=Tim |author-link1=Tim Berners-Lee |last2=Cailliau |first2=Robert |author-link2=Robert Cailliau |date=12 November 1990 |title=WorldWideWeb: Proposal for a HyperText Project |url=http://w3.org/Proposal.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150502080527/http://www.w3.org/Proposal.html |archive-date=2 May 2015 |access-date=16 February 2025}}</ref> |- valign="top" |November |Macintosh LC released. This ran a 68020 processor at 16 MHz to achieve 2.6 [[million instructions per second|MIPS]], it had a slightly improved SCSI adapter and a 256 colour video adapter. |- valign="top" | 1990 | [[Multimedia PC]] (MPC) Level 1 specification published by a council of companies including Microsoft and Creative Labs. This specified the minimum standards for a Multimedia IBM PC. The MPC level 1 specification originally required a 12 MHz [[80286]] microprocessor, but this was later revised to require a 16 MHz [[80386SX]] microprocessor as the 80286 was realised to be inadequate. It also required a [[CD-ROM]] drive capable of 150 kB/s (single speed) and also of Audio CD output. Companies can, after paying a fee, use the MPC logo on their product. |}
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