Computer
by Martin Campbell-Kelly, William Aspray · first published 1996
75% recommend25% neutral
Blending strong narrative history and a fascinating look at the interface of business and technology, Computer: A History of the Information Machine traces the dramatic story of the invention of the computer. Earlier histories of the computer have depicted it as a tool both created by and to be used by scientists to solve their own number-crunching problems - as late as 1949 it was thought by some that the world would never need more than a dozen machines. This book suggests a richer story behind the computer's creation, one that shows how business and government were the first to explore the
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Computer: A History of the Information Machine by Martin Campbell-Kelly et al. has some interesting chapters on pre-computer data processing in the 19th and early 20th centuries.
on “Computing Before Computers (1990)” ↗Computing: A Concise History by Paul E. Ceruzzi From Airline Reservations to Sonic the Hedgehog: A History of the Software Industry by Martin Campbell-Kelly/ The Computer History Museum is in Mountain View, CA, part of Silicon Valley, close to the Googleplex and Microsoft SV. It has the second, working Babbage Difference Engine. Also a youtube channel of lectures.
on “Ask HN: Good books on the history of computer science?” ↗I enjoyed this book recently: Computer: A History of the Information Machine by Martin Campbell-Kelly, William Aspray But this is a first of all a history book. But nonetheless I learned a lot of things!
on “Ask HN: Best way to learn about computing history?” ↗I think I first read about this in the 2nd edition of Computer: A History of the Information Machine[1]. Still fascinating [1] https://www.amazon.com/Computer-History-Information-Machine-...
on “The Night a Computer Predicted the Next President (2012)” ↗