The Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) is one of the very few long-term attempts to successfully create a continuity between multiple movies, shows and genres under a single franchise. While the “experiment” has got audiences deeply invested in the ongoing storyline, it can be difficult to keep track of all those connections, especially since many films and shows feature flashbacks and references outside of the linear narrative. Plus, there are also a few story inconsistences here and there.

With the abundance of Marvel films released lately and planned for the next few years, the MCU is only getting bigger and much more confusing for those who aren’t die-hard fans. To help viewers who wish to dive into the Marvel world, let’s take a brief look at the MCU chronology.

The Marvel Cinematic Universe Timeline illustrates connected MCU movies and series displayed in the recommended viewing order, so as to make the most sense of the intertwined narratives and the overall storyline. For better clarity and simplicity, the graphic does not include short films or other granular Marvel properties, keeping mostly to major releases, including movies that will premiere in the next couple of years. Since the franchise has plenty other films and series planned, it is likely that the timeline will change in the future.

The Marvel chronology was created with the help of Office Timeline, an add-in for PowerPoint that allows users to quickly build timelines and Gantt charts for business or academic communications. The tool is available in two versions, Free and Plus. While the free edition is fully functional and great for creating and editing simple visuals fast, the paid version comes with powerful extra features, such as the ability to import data from Excel, update it instantly, and customize graphics down to the smallest detail.

Download the Marvel Universe Timeline for PowerPoint here.

Founded on May 6, 1911, originally under the name of CTR (Computing Tabulating Recording Company), IBM has survived and thrived for over a century. Throughout the years, the company has not only witnessed major historical events – it’s actually made history. A pioneer of information technology, the International Business Machines Corporation has been constantly bringing innovations to the field, and it now stands at the forefront of a global industry that’s revolutionizing the way people, businesses and organizations operate and thrive. To celebrate the giant’s 106th anniversary, let’s take a look back in time and see how it all started.

The IBM History Timeline illustrates some of the major milestones and accomplishments in the vast history of the company, as well as important innovations and developments it’s brought to the computing industry. From developing the first hard drive and the floppy disk to aiding space exploration and introducing the Watson supercomputer to the world, the corporation has shaped technology as we know it today – no wonder its researchers have earned 5 Nobel Prizes, 6 Turing awards, and 10 National Medals of Technology, to name just a few.

The IBM History illustration was built using the Office Timeline PowerPoint add-in and is free to copy, modify and distribute for private or public use. To build similar visuals fast and easily, we recommend using the Plus version of the app, a simple but powerful tool ideal for business and academic presentations.

Download the IBM History Timeline for PowerPoint here.

Held every year on June 8, World Oceans Day is a UN-recognized celebration dedicated to honoring, protecting and conserving the Earth’s oceans, as well as raising global awareness of the current challenges they are facing. The campaign features a different theme every year, and the day is marked in a variety of ways, from launching new initiatives and developments to educational programs, conservation projects, beach and water cleanups, film festivals, and more.

The World Oceans Day theme for 2017 is “Our Oceans, Our Future,” with a focus on preventing marine litter and managing plastic pollution. Hundreds of events are planned worldwide, and everyone is invited to attend the festivities and programs in their area or even organize their own. To celebrate World Oceans Day, let’s take a brief look at the history of the campaign.

The World Oceans Day Timeline marks major achievements in the history of the event and illustrates all themes explored from 2009 to present day. While the celebration was first proposed and observed unofficially in 1992, the UN recognized it formally only in late 2008. The first official World Oceans Day took place on June 8, 2009, and has since seen impressive growth in terms of awareness and participation. While the first official observance saw approximately 200 events worldwide, by 2015, the number increased to nearly 1,000. Although it didn’t fare as well in terms of on-site involvement compared to 2015, the 2016 edition enjoyed unprecedented online popularity, trending second on Twitter and reaching over 65 million people through the social network.

The World Oceans Day chronology was built in Microsoft PowerPoint with the help of Office Timeline, an add-in that allows users to easily build eye-catching timelines, Gantt charts and other visuals for personal, academic or business purposes. The visual is free to copy, modify and reproduce and can be edited or updated quickly using the free edition of Office Timeline. To create similar graphics fast, we recommend using the Plus version of the app, which comes with more advanced features and customization options.

Download the World Oceans Day Timeline for PowerPoint here.

Google has just made available the public beta of Android O during its I/O 2017 conference held between May 17 and 19, which means everyone with a compatible device can now check out the new features before the official launch. Although an exact release date hasn’t been announced yet, Google stated that O will be coming later this summer. In the meantime, let’s take a closer look at the other Android releases and see what they have been up to.

The Android Timeline illustrates all major versions of the mobile OS and their release dates, as well as an overview of their distribution among Android users, as reported by Google at the beginning of May. Variants with a market share lower than 0.1% were not included in the chart. As can be seen from the graphic, Lollipop and Marshmallow are the most popular platforms, each with a share of over 30%, while the relatively new Nougat reaches only 7.10%. Although Nougat’s percentage seems low, it is a considerable increase compared to the 4.10% it had in April 2017.

The illustration was built in PowerPoint with the help of Office Timeline, an add-in that allows users to quickly create beautiful timelines, Gantt charts and other graphics. The image is free to copy, reproduce and distribute for private or public use. To create similar visuals effortlessly, we recommend using Office Timeline Plus.

An easily editable Android Timeline PowerPoint slide is available here.

Beginning on May 12, 2017, a new cyberattack has wreaked havoc around the world, infecting over 200,000 machines in 150 countries. The culprit is the so-called WannaCry (a.k.a. WannaCrypt) ransomware and it has affected hospitals, banks, oil companies and other organizations worldwide. Usually contained within email attachments, the malicious software exploits a critical vulnerability in Windows and spreads rapidly across networks, locking away files and demanding payment in Bitcoins to decrypt the data. Fortunately, users can easily protect their machines by installing the latest Windows updates and ensuring their anti-virus software is up to date.

However worrisome the WannaCry attack is, it’s certainly not the only one of its kind. Cryptoviral extortion has been around for quite a while, and such cyberattacks have spiked considerably in the last few years. As a reminder of how important PC security is, let’s take a look into the history of ransomware.

The Ransomware Timeline illustrates the most infamous cryptoviral extortion attacks throughout history, starting from Archiveus, discovered in 2006, to the recent WannaCry malware. While Archiveus was not the first ransomware case ever, it was the first strain to use asymmetric encryption, making it unprecedentedly invasive and difficult to remove. The Trojan encrypted all files in the My Documents folder and demanded victims to make purchases from an online pharmacy to receive the password that would unlock their data.

As can be seen from the timeline, ransomware attacks have increased exponentially since 2011, when an unnamed Trojan was the first to leverage mainstream adoption of anonymous payment systems. Most importantly, according to recent IBM reports, cryptoviral extortion cases spiked 6,000% in 2016 compared to 2015. Considering these facts and the latest WannaCry attack, now it is more important than ever to take precautionary measures and increase PC security.

The Ransomware chronology was created with Office Timeline, a PowerPoint plug-in that allows users to build beautiful charts and other visuals in just a few minutes. The image is free to copy, modify and redistribute and can be easily edited or updated using the free edition of the add-in. For advanced customization requirements or to create professional timelines and Gantt Charts, we recommend using Office Timeline Plus.

The Ransomware Timeline PowerPoint slide can be downloaded safely from here.