Discover the birth of the technological world we now live in through the origins of 12 influential computers built between 1939 and 1950.In 1940, a computer was someone who ploughed through grueling calculations each day. A decade later, a computer was a buzzing machine that filled a room. This book tells the story of how our world was reshaped by a dozen such computers — and the geniuses that brought them into being, from Alan Turing to John von Neumann.Th...

The home computer boom of the 1980s brought with it now-iconic machines such as the ZX Spectrum, BBC Micro, and Commodore 64. Those machines would inspire a generation and foster the creation of a booming British software industry that continues to this day.With the help of hefty government discounts, computers worked their way into primary and secondary schools around the country. Millions more computers appeared in living rooms and bedrooms around the country. Fo...

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 net...

There is a companion web site asssociated with the book (http://vsicomputer.wordpress.com/). It contains chapter summaries, links to relevant material and posts about items of news relevant to the book's contents. Computers have changed so much since the room-filling, bulky magnetic tape running monsters of the mid 20th century. They now form a vital part of most people's lives. And they are more ubiquitous than might be thought - you may have more than 30 computers in your home: not just ...

Exploring the often-overlooked history and technological innovations of the world's first true multimedia computer.Long ago, in 1985, personal computers came in two general categories: the friendly, childish game machine used for fun (exemplified by Atari and Commodore products); and the boring, beige adult box used for business (exemplified by products from IBM). The game machines became fascinating technical and artistic platforms that were of limited real-world ...

" Enigma's 'forgotten genius' . . . [the] story of Alan Turing's spymaster boss who led the team that cracked Hitler's WWII codes" ( Daily Mail).The Official Secrets Act and the passing of time have prevented the Bletchley Park story from being told by many of its key participants. Here at last is a book that allows some of them to speak for the first time. Gordon Welchman was one of the Park's most important figures. Like Alan Turing, his pioneer...

At last - the secrets of Bletchley Park's powerful codebreaking computers.This is a history of Colossus, the world's first fully-functioning electronic digital computer. Colossus was used during the Second World War at the Government Code and Cypher School at Bletchley Park, where it played an invaluable role cracking enemy codes. Until very recently, much about the Colossus machine was shrouded in secrecy, largely because the codes that were employed remained in use by the British securit...

How did computers take over the world? In late 1945, a small group of brilliant engineers and mathematicians gathered at the newly created Institute for Advanced Study in Princeton, New Jersey. Their ostensible goal was to build a computer which would be instrumental in the US government's race to create a hydrogen bomb. The mathematicians themselves, however, saw their project as the realization of Alan Turing's theoretical 'universal machine.'In Turing's Cathedral, Georg...

The successful 30-Seco****nd series tackles coding, the science of programming the technology which operates in almost every aspect of modern life.Computer code operates behind nearly everything we do – from small calculations in the home to complex executions that drive the global economy. It influences who we see, follow, and like online and describes the websites we visit, the connections between them, the sounds heard on Spotify and videos watc...

Read the amazing life of this English mathematician and logician, Alan Turing, who helps crack the Enigma code during World War II. Now in theaters with "The imitation Game" film.

**A Financial Times Best Summer Book 2023**Out now: a gripping look at the rise of the microchip and the British tech company behind the blueprint to it all.'A gripping and inspiring read.' Sir James Dyson'A revealing and insightful biography of the company whose blueprints define the digital world.' Chris Miller, author of CHIP WAR: The Fight for the World's Most Critical Technology

**The dramatic, untold story of the brilliant team whose feats of innovation and engineering created the world’s first digital electronic computer—decrypting the Nazis’ toughest code, helping bring an end to WWII, and ushering in the information age.• Winner, Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers Middleton Award for "a book ... that both exemplifies exceptional scholarship and reaches beyond academic communities toward a broad public audience." • A Kirkus Best Book of 2...