DIGITAL logo
    Information Research Services Updated: 24 November 1997
         
             
                 
              1977:
DIGITAL is the first computer company to connect to the
ARPAnet. The connection is made via a PDP-10.
                 
                1983:
DIGITAL establishes Internet connectivity. Initial e-mail, FTP archive and USENET news hub are established.
                 
              September 1985:
DIGITAL is the first computer company to register an Internet domain.
                 
              1986:
DIGITAL creates the first Internet firewall and establishes
http://gatekeeper.dec.com as a major FTP site on the Internet.
                 
              1990:
DIGITAL software engineers begin to participate in USENET newsgroups such as comp.sys.dec to provide informal customer support over the Internet.
                 
              1991:
DIGITAL is the first in the industry to offer an Internet tunnel product.
                     
              1992:
DIGITAL installs the industry's first commercial Internet firewall.
                     
              DIGITAL logo October 1993:
DIGITAL becomes the the first Fortune 500 company with a corporate website on the internet (
www.digital.com). Earlier in the year, DIGITAL established its first departmental web server on the Internet.
                 
              1994:
The Network Systems Laboratory at DIGITAL built and deployed the State of California Election Server which delivered the first live
election returns over the Internet during a state-wide election.
                 
              December 1995:
DIGITAL introduces
AltaVista, the Internet's first "super spider" software.
                 
              April 1996:
DIGITAL is the first information technology sponsor for the 100th running of the
Boston Marathon.
                     
              May 1996:
At a worldwide customer event broadcast live via Internet audio and video, DIGITAL announces its strategy to accelerate the growth of the
Internet as the environment of choice for cyberworkers.
                 
              July 1996:
DIGITAL becomes the first computer company to operate an Internet Network Access Point (NAP) when it opens the
DIGITAL Internet Exchange in Palo Alto, California.
                 
              February 1997:
DIGITAL AltaVista Internet Software, Inc. announces a major new technology enhancement to the
AltaVista Search service on the World Wide Web.
                 
              March 1997:
DIGITAL announces
Millicent, the first cybercommerce system that will allow millions of users to buy and sell information profitably down to fractions of a cent.
                 
              June 1997:
With more than one million
Microsoft Exchange seats under contract, DIGITAL becomes the world’s leading provider of mail and messaging solutions to large global accounts.
                     
              July 1997:
DIGITAL's
Mars Landing website provides the world's first live streaming webcast to over 1,000,000 viewers.