Computing: A Concise History (The MIT Press Essential Knowledge Series)

Paul E. Ceruzzi (Curator of Aerospace Electronics and Computing, National Air & Space Museum Smithsonian Institution)

ISBN 10: 0262517671 / ISBN 13: 9780262517676

Editore: MIT Press Ltd, United States, 2012

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A compact and accessible history, from punch cards and calculators to UNIVAC and ENIAC, the personal computer, Silicon Valley, and the Internet. 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, with subplots involving IBM, Microsoft, Apple, Facebook, and Twitter. In this concise and accessible account of the invention and development of digital technology, computer historian Paul Ceruzzi offers a broader and more useful perspective. He identifies four major threads that run throughout all of computing's technological development: digitizationthe coding of information, computation, and control in binary form, ones and zeros; the convergence of multiple streams of techniques, devices, and machines, yielding more than the sum of their parts; the steady advance of electronic technology, as characterized famously by "Moore's Law"; and the human-machine interface. Ceruzzi guides us through computing history, telling how a Bell Labs mathematician coined the word "digital" in 1942 (to describe a high-speed method of calculating used in anti-aircraft devices), and recounting the development of the punch card (for use in the 1890 U.S. Census). He describes the ENIAC, built for scientific and military applications; the UNIVAC, the first general purpose computer; and ARPANET, the Internet's precursor. Ceruzzi's account traces the world-changing evolution of the computer from a room-size ensemble of machinery to a "minicomputer" to a desktop computer to a pocket-sized smart phone. He describes the development of the silicon chip, which could store ever-increasing amounts of data and enabled ever-decreasing device size. He visits that hotbed of innovation, Silicon Valley, and brings the story up to the present with the Internet, the World Wide Web, and social networking. The book has been read, but is in excellent condition. Pages are intact and not marred by notes or highlighting. The spine remains undamaged.

Codice articolo GOR006341315

Dati bibliografici

• Titolo: Computing: A Concise History (The MIT Press Essential Knowledge Series)
• Editore: MIT Press Ltd, United States
• Data di pubblicazione: 2012
• Lingua: Inglese
• ISBN 10: 0262517671
• ISBN 13: 9780262517676
• Rilegatura: Paperback
• Condizione: Very Good
• Peso: 177 grammi

Descrizione articolo

Riassunto

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.

Informazioni sull?autore

Paul E. Ceruzzi is Curator at the National Air and Space Museum at the Smithsonian Institution. He is the author of Computing: A Concise History, A History of Modern Computing, and Internet Alley: High Technology in Tysons Corner, 1945–2005, all published by the MIT Press, and other books.