Semi-Automatic Ground Environment (Sage)

Sage was developed in the USA in the 1950s as a defense against bomber attacks. 23 locations were connected via telephone lines. By the time it was finished, this solution proved to be redundant.

In 1957, Russia launches Sputnik

The Americans felt that they had lost their edge with this and established the Advanced Research Projects Agency (ARPA). (D)ARPA was to provide better connection of universities that worked for defense.

ARPAnet founded in 1969

September 12, 1969, the University of California at Los Angeles (UCLA) connected the first two machines (UCLA and Stanford University in Palo Alto) to ARPAnet. Then on October 29, 1969, the first message was exchanged between the two nodes.

Opening of ARPAnet

In 1971 the first email was sent, which also introduced the @-sign. There are now 24 hosts connected to the ARPAnet including the Pentagon, National Science Foundation and NASA.

In 1974, the Transmission Control Protocol / Internet Protocol (TCP/IP).

The first spam in 1978

The ad message landed in all 400 mailboxes. The perpetrator was tracked down.

Vicus director Luuk Roovers writes his first computer program in 1978

The Netherlands connected to 'the Internet

The launch of Eunet (1982:) brought the Internet to Europe. Amsterdam was the most important node in this process. The Dutch part is called NLnet.

Internet now consists of 1,000 hosts. It was not until 1988 that the Netherlands Center for Mathematics and Computer Science was connected to NSFnet = 'the Internet'. Until then a purely text oriented solution.

First laptop came out in 1982

The world's first laptop had a modern shape and was the 16-bit Dulmont Magnum, designed by David Irwin and John Blair of Dulmison in 1979-80 and released in 1982. Enclosed in a magnesium casing, it introduced the now familiar clamshell design, in which the flat screen was folded against the keyboard to close.

The first Windows version came out in 1985

Windows 1.0 was released on November 20, 1985 as the first version of the Microsoft Windows on the market.

Emergence of websites and shops

With the development of the HTML hypertext system, the beginning of the World Wide Web began. Starting in 1993 (with the development of the Mosaic web browser), exponential growth followed as soon as web pages could be created and linked to each other.

Starting in 1994, things get really fun. The first online stores go online. Sky is the limit, and in the late 1990s, the Internet bubble bursts and the stock market collapses.

Between 1994 and 1999 the smart card is developed and from 1999 we can do internet banking.

The first web browsers in 1990

The first web browser, WorldWideWeb, was developed in 1990 by Tim Berners-Lee for the NeXT computer. This web browser was released in May 1991. shortly thereafter, Microsoft and Netscape entered the market and then the whole online world started.

The first web stores in the Netherlands 1999

In 1999 Bol.com started as an online bookstore. Bol.com is now the largest online store in the Netherlands. Coolblue starts as MP3man.nl, PDAshop.nl and Laptopshop.nl.

In 2010 Zalando enters the Dutch market. In the same year, the 100 millionth iDEAL transaction took place. According to the CBS, on January 1, 2010 the Netherlands had 7,100 online stores. In 2012 there were already 16,400. These numbers are getting higher and higher every year.

Smartphones makes internet mobile

With the introduction of the Nokia 9000 Communicator in 1996 and the popular BlackBerry in 1999, the need to connect mobile devices to the Internet is also growing. First for email but very soon also to surf the Internet.

In 1997, popular PDAs such as the Psion 5, the Palm 3 that can be connected to the cell phone via a separate cable also appear. HTC's phone device has a built-in slide-out keyboard.

IBM launches first smartwatch

Peble introduced the first smartwatch in 2012 (Peble has since been acquired by Fitbit, and today the news reported that Google is in the race to acquire Fitbit).

This was rapidly followed by many competitors with "smart" watches that often connect to cell phones via blue-tooth. Apple will release its first version of the Apple Watch in 2015.

What is happening now and in the future?

We foresee the following important developments:

• Voice search - searching and buying with your voice
• New payment options - including with smartwatch and digital currency
• Platformization and marketplaces - more sales through platforms (for bol.com already almost half of their sales).
• Development of logistics services
• Integration TV / internet stations
• Big data leads to profiling and personalization and thus appropriate online customer exeprience, but also more risk of fraud.
• Corporations gain more power than governments - affecting privacy but also providing more international opportunities

Do you also want to start a webshop and sell online? Please contact Vicus for a free quote.