A History of Modern Computing, 2/e
暫譯: 現代計算機史，第二版

Description:

This engaging history covers modern computing from the development of the first electronic digital computer through the dot-com crash. The author concentrates on five key moments of transition: the transformation of the computer in the late 1940s from a specialized scientific instrument to a commercial product; the emergence of small systems in the late 1960s; the beginning of personal computing in the 1970s; the spread of networking after 1985; and, in a chapter written for this edition, the period 1995-2001. The new material focuses on the Microsoft antitrust suit, the rise and fall of the dot-coms, and the advent of open source software, particularly Linux.

Within the chronological narrative, the book traces several overlapping threads: the evolution of the computer's internal design; the effect of economic trends and the Cold War; the long-term role of IBM as a player and as a target for upstart entrepreneurs; the growth of software from a hidden element to a major character in the story of computing; and the recurring issue of the place of information and computing in a democratic society. The focus is on the United States (though Europe and Japan enter the story at crucial points), on computing per se rather than on applications such as artificial intelligence, and on systems that were sold commercially and installed in quantities.

Paul E. Ceruzzi is Curator of Aerospace Electronics and Computing at the National Air and Space Museum.

 

Table of Contents:

 

Dedication	v
	Preface to the Second Edition	ix
	Acknowledgments	xiii
	Introduction: Defining "Computer"	1
1	The Advent of Commercial Computing, 1945-1956	13
2	Computing Comes of Age, 1956-1964	47
3	The Early History of Software, 1952-1968	79
4	From Mainframe to Minicomputer, 1959-1969	109
5	The "Go-Go" Years and the System/360, 1961-1975	143
6	The Chip and Its Impact, 1965-1975	177
7	The Personal Computer, 1972-1977	207
8	Augmenting Human Intellect, 1975-1985	243
9	Workstations, UNIX, and the Net, 1981-1995	281
10	"Internet Time," 1995-2001	307
	Conclusion: The Digitization of the World Picture	345
	Notes	351
	Bibliography	415
	Index	431