A History of Modern Computing

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.

From the first digital computer to the dot-com crash—a story of individuals, institutions, and the forces that led to a series of dramatic transformations.

Library Journal

Published in 1998, the first edition of this history took readers from the development of the first electronic digital computer to the advent of the World Wide Web. Several significant developments have happened since then, and in this edition Ceruzzi, curator of Aerospace Electronics and Computing at the National Air and Space Museum, has added a new chapter in which he examines three of them at length. They are the Microsoft antitrust suit and subsequent trial, the ascent and crash of the dot-com companies, and the rise of the "open source" software movement, particularly the growth and acceptance of the Linux operating system. Ceruzzi maintains a chronological narrative to represent several major turning points in computing history, including 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 beginnings of personal computing in the 1970s, and the spread of networking after 1985. His last chapter, "Internet Time, 1995-2001," covers the recent developments mentioned above. With an engaging style, Ceruzzi breathes life into what is usually perceived as a mundane topic. Recommended to a broad audience, especially where there is demand for such historical treatments.-Joe J. Accardi, Harper Coll. Lib., Palatine, IL Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information.

Paul E. Ceruzzi is Curator of the National Air and Space Museum, Smithsonian Institution, Washington DC. He is the author of A History of Modern Computing (second edition, MIT Press, 2003) and other books, and coeditor of The Internet and American Business (MIT Press, 2008).