Computing
A Concise History
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4.3 • 3 Ratings
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- $13.99
Publisher Description
Discover the history of computing through 4 major threads of development in this compact, accessible history covering punch cards, Silicon Valley, smartphones, and much more.
In an accessible style, computer historian Paul Ceruzzi offers a broad though detailed history of computing, from the first use of the word “digital” in 1942 to the development of punch cards and the first general purpose computer, to the internet, Silicon Valley, and smartphones and social networking.
Ceruzzi identifies 4 major threads that run throughout all of computing’s technological development:
• Digitization: the coding of information, computation, and control in binary form
• The convergence of multiple streams of techniques, devices, and machines
• The steady advance of electronic technology, as characterized famously by “Moore's Law”
• Human-machine interface
The history of computing could be told as the story of hardware and software, or the story of the Internet, or the story of “smart” hand-held devices. In this concise and accessible account of the invention and development of digital technology, Ceruzzi offers a general and more useful perspective for students of computer science and history.
Customer Reviews
Concise but Comprehensive
I was concerned upon starting this book that the Author would neglect the early attempts at inventing calculating machines that were the real roots of the Computers we know. I was happy to find out that he does refer to these devices, successful and unsuccessful though they were, in looking backward in his early chapters.
Since my career in Computing began with the IBM 360 Series in 1969, I found his coverage of Computing’s History since WWII very accurate. It was useful to me as a trip down Memory Lane, but I would recommend it to a General Public whose World is dominated by Amazon, Google and TikTok, who might benefit from remembering the role of AOL, Blackberry, and The Source.
Highly readable and thorough I’d give this work Four Stars. ****