1984
CD-ROM format introduced
Philips and Sony introduced the CD-ROMCompact disc read-only memory — a CD used as a non-writable data storage medium. read-only optical disc format in 1984 — extending audio CDCompact disc — an optical storage format for digital audio and data. technology to store hundreds of megabytes of computer data.
What it was for
CD-ROMCompact disc read-only memory — a CD used as a non-writable data storage medium.s shipped encyclopedias, games, and software in the 1980s–90s before broadband made downloads practical. The format bridged physical media and hypertextText with links to other documents — clicking links instead of linear reading was the core idea behind the web. — much early web content was ported straight from CD-ROMCompact disc read-only memory — a CD used as a non-writable data storage medium. titles.
Why it's here
CD-ROMCompact disc read-only memory — a CD used as a non-writable data storage medium. brought cheap, high-capacity read-only storage to personal computers.
Why it mattered
It enabled multimedia software distribution before the web could carry large binaries.
What it solved
floppy diskRemovable magnetic storage on a flexible disk — the main way PCs exchanged files before USB and the web.s could not hold encyclopedias, operating systems, or rich media collections.
Media
- ImageCD-ROM
Sony and Phillips, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
Related
- IBM PC 5150 releasedAugust 12, 1981
- WorldWideWeb — first web browserDecember 1990