November 20

1985: Microsoft ships Microsoft Windows version 1.01 for the IBM PC, for US$100. It is delivered two years after the initial announcement of the product.

1996: Libya issues two postage stamps (100 and 200 dinar) depicting personal computers.

1998: Sierra releases the Half-Life computer game for Windows-based computers in the US.

1998: At the Comdex trade show, Sony unveils the Memory Stick memory drive and storage devices. An 8 MB storage unit measures 1.5 inches long, and is priced at US$40.

2000: At the Comdex trade show, Intel introduces the Pentium 4 processor, at speeds of 1.4 and 1.5 GHz. It features 8 kB Level 1 data cache, 12 kB Level 1 instruction cache, 256 kB Level 2 cache, 400 MHz system bus, NetBurst micro-architecture. The processor requires Rambus memory be used with it. The processor includes MMX and SSE instructions, and adds 144 new multimedia instructions: Streaming SIMD Extensions 2 (SSE2). The processor incorporates 42 million transistors in a 0.18-micron process. Code-name during development was Willamette. Prices are US$819 (1.5 GHz) and US$644 (1.4 GHz) in 1000-unit quantities.

2000: At the Comdex trade show, several major American personal computer manufacturers release desktop computers using the Pentium 4 processor, including Dell Computer, Compaq Computer, Gateway, and IBM.

2002: Intel releases 2.1 and 2.2 GHz Celeron processors. They include 128 kB level 2 cache and 400 MHz system bus. Prices are US$89 and US$103 respectively, in 1000-unit quantities.

2003: Microsoft drops the price of the Xbox in Japan from 24800 yen to 16800 yen (about US$155).

2004: Apple Computer opens its first European Apple Store, in London, England.

2005: Microsoft hosts a 30-hour "Zero Hour" launch party for the Xbox 360 in Palmdale, California. 500 Xbox 360 systems are available for the over 2000 invited fans to try the eighteen launch titles.

2007: Nintendo unveils two special editions of its DS handheld gaming unit. One version will be colored gold and come with the epic adventure game The Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass while a metallic pink model will come with puppy training title Nintendogs. The new bundles will go on sale in the United States on November 23.

2007: Square Enix releases the Final Fantasy XI: Revenant Wings video game for the Nintendo DS in the US.

2007: Electronic Arts releases the Rock Band video game for the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 in the USA.

2007: The magazine PlayStation: The Official Magazine first goes on sale in the USA.

2007: Sony CEA releases the Unchartered: Drake's Fortune video game for the PlayStation 3 in the US.