Programming Languages
Learning this computer language is no cup of coffee, but it's very in-demand due to its many uses in e-commerce, finance, and app development. Many college level computer intro to CS classes use this language.
Java
Ada Lovelace lived from 1815 to 1852, but she is largely recognized as a pioneer of computer science. A modern cryptocurrency, Cardano, even named their token ADA after her. She is credited with being the first person to see machines as capable of doing more than simple calculations. She wrote the very first instructions for a computer to solve a problem, better known as what.
An algorithm
The “other” Steve partnered with Steve Jobs to form Apple in 1976. He is largely responsible for developing the Apple II, one of the first successful personal computers (and the machine your teacher learned to code on!). He left the company in 1985. What is Steve's last name?
Steve Wozniak
Super Mario Brothers, released by Nintendo in 1985 remains one of the most popular games of all time. Before assuming celebrity status in the world of video games, Mario and Luigi did this for a living.
Plumbing
This Disney Movie from 1982 features a computer programmer who is transported into a video game world centered around light cycles. It’s also the name of Disney’s newest popular ride.
Tron
Snaking its way into the #2 spot on many lists is this language developed by Dutch programmer Guido Van Rossum. The language is highly popular for back-end development, data science, and app development.
Python
This NASA employee was responsible for calculating trajectories and entry windows during the space race. During her 33-year career with NASA, she earned a reputation for mastering complex manual calculations and helped pioneer the use of computers to perform the tasks. She died in 2020 at the age of 101.
Katherine Johnson
According to Forbes magazine, this founder of Microsoft has been included on the list of “world’s wealthiest people” since 1987. He has gradually decreased his involvement with Microsoft since the year 2000 and is now primarily concerned with his charitable foundation.
Bill Gates
Released by Epic Games in 2017, this video game title was accused of stealing dance moves from urban dances. The dancers haven’t fared particularly well in court as the characters bare little physical resemblance.
Fortnite
War Games, a 1983 movie about a teenage hacker that nearly starts World War 3 as a result of his desire to hack into an unreleased game, stars this 80’s actor who is also known for Ferris Bueller’s Day Off and is the voice of Simba in the Lion King.
Matthew Broderick
Samuel Quinten Ledbetter isn’t a real person, but if he was, he’d probably use this programming language that is ideal for database management, sales reports, and business management.
mySQL
Adele Goldberg was instrumental in developing the computer language, Smalltalk-80. This language was an important step in moving toward modern object-oriented programming where code is written for the objects on a screen. Most of her work was done while employed by this company, who is most famous for copy machines.
Xerox
Considered by some to be the father of the computer, Charles Babbage is credited with inventing the first mechanical computer in 1822. He also used letter frequency to crack a common cipher at the time called the Vigenere cipher, making him a genius of his time in this field of computer science.
Cryptography
Atari released this game in 1977, and it became the first widely popular home arcade game. While it is considered a very simple game compared to modern games, the ability for both players to control their paddles was revolutionary (and addictive) at the time.
Pong
The Imitation Game is a 2014 release about computer scientist Alan Turing's efforts in codebreaking during World War 2. Turing is played by Benedict Cumberbatch, who is also famous for playing the lead character in this 2016 Marvel movie.
Doctor Strange
You don’t have to be super sharp, even an average student in school can probably pick up this language with enough hard work. It’s great for web development, virtual reality, and desktop, web, or mobile apps.
C
Grace Hopper is credited with developing the first machine independent computer programming language, allowing programs to be moved to various different computers and still maintain their compatibility. She earned a PhD in mathematics and mathematical physics from this prestigious Ivy League School.
Yale
Linus Torvalds is a Finnish (like from Finland) software engineer. He is credited with developing this 5th most popular operating system in the world, trailing Windows, Apple MacOs, Google Android, and Apple iOS.
Linux
It comes as little surprise that TikTok and Instagram were the top 2 apps of 2022, but the third most popular app of 2022 is this chat app that uses your internet connection rather than your phone line, opening chat to millions of users around the world that don’t have phone data.
Disney released its 52nd animated feature film in 2012, which tells the story of an arcade game villain who rebels against his "bad-guy" role and dreams of becoming a hero.
Wreck-It Ralph
If you look at enough web addresses, you’ll probably see that this is one of the most common four-letter sequences you’ll run across. Created by Tim Berners-Lee, it’s incredibly useful for web documents, web development and website maintenance.
Carol Shaw was one of the first and only women to find success as a video game developer. Her most popular title was River Raid, a scrolling shooter game developed in the late 1970’s for this video game giant.
Atari
This computer scientist is often called the father of the Internet. His work with NASA and IBM enabled him and his partner Bob Kahn to develop the framework for the modern internet. Lately, he’s been working with code.org to produce videos designed to educate the future computer scientists of the world.
Vint Cerf
The seventh most popular app of 2022 is this endless runner mobile game where the main character, Jake, collects coins and various upgrades while trying not to get caught for vandalism.
Subway Surfers
This movie, released in 2010 is based on the book titled “Accidental Billionaires” and stars Jesse Eisenberg and Justin Timberlake. It was nominated for 8 academy awards, including best picture.
The Social Network