25 random facts about computers, tech sector

1. The first personal computer was the Berkeley Enterprises "Simon" which sold for $300 in 1950.
   
2. Seagate Technology STX +0.37% was originally named Shugart Technology.
   
3. The precision quartz clock in a computer cannot keep accurate time.
   
4. Windows was originally named Interface Manager.
   
5. IBM IBM +0.74% , which stands for International Business Machines, was an exaggerated name derived from NCR, National Cash Register.
   
6. Floppy disks in the late 1970s were 8 inches in diameter.
   
7. The VIC-20 computer from Commodore sold for $299 in 1980 with 5K of RAM.
   
8. The world's first one gigabyte disk drive was announced in 1980. It weighed 550 pounds and had a price tag of $40,000.
   
9. Many consider the Burroughs B-5000 (circa 1955) to be the single greatest computer ever designed.
   
10. IP means both Internet Protocol and Intellectual Property. Thus when you say a company is involved with IP, nobody will know what you are talking about.
    
11. The ticker symbol for Sun Microsystems was changed from SUNW to JAVA and the company has been struggling ever since.
    
12. SanDisk SNDK +0.10% used to be called SunDisk.
    
13. Apple AAPL +1.19% popularized the laser printer.
    
14. Adobe Photoshop ADBE -1.17% was originally called Display, then ImagePro. It was not developed by Adobe, but licensed from a college student named Thomas Knoll in 1988.
    
15. Ink jet ink costs $5000 per gallon.
    
16. The precursor to today's GPS car navigation system was released in 1985. It was the ETAK Navigator and used a computer with a dead reckoning program to navigate.