Bücher der Reihe History of Computing

This engaging volume celebrates the life and work of Theodor Holm "Ted" Nelson, a pioneer and legendary figure from the history of early computing.

The contentious history of the computer programmers who developed the software that made the computer revolution possible.

This is a volume of chapters on the historical study of information, computing, and society written by seven of the most senior, distinguished members of the History of Computing field.

This is a volume of chapters on the historical study of information, computing, and society written by seven of the most senior, distinguished members of the History of Computing field.

Although it is popularly assumed that the history of computing before the second half of the 20th century was unimportant, in fact the Industrial Revolution was made possible and even sustained by a parallel revolution in computing technology. An examination and historiographical assessment of key developments helps to show how the era of modern electronic computing proceeded from a continual computing revolution that had arisen during the mechanical and the electrical ages.This unique volume introduces the history of computing during the ¿first¿ (steam) and ¿second¿ (electricity) segments of the Industrial Revolution, revealing how this history was pivotal to the emergence of electronic computing and what many historians see as signifying a shift to a post-industrial society. It delves into critical developments before the electronic era, focusing on those of the mechanical era (from the emergence of the steam engine to that of the electric power network) and the electrical era (from the emergence of the electric power network to that of electronic computing). In so doing, it provides due attention to the demarcations between¿and associated classifications of¿artifacts for calculation during these respective eras. In turn, it emphasizes the history of comparisons between these artifacts.Topics and Features:motivates exposition through a firm historiographical argument of important developmentsexplores the history of the slide rule and its use in the context of electrificationexamines the roles of analyzers, graphs, and a whole range of computing artifacts hitherto placed under the allegedly inferior class of analog computersshows how the analog and the digital are really inseparable, with perceptions thereof depending on either a full or a restricted view of the computing processinvestigates socially situated comparisons of computing history, including the effects of a political economy of computing (one that takes into account cost and ownership of computing artifacts)assesses concealment of analog-machine labor through encasement (¿black-boxing¿)Historians of computing, as well as those of technology and science (especially, energy), will find this well-argued and presented history of calculation and computation in the mechanical and electrical eras an indispensable resource. The work is a natural textbook companion for history of computing courses, and will also appeal to the broader readership of curious computer scientists and engineers, as well as those who generally just have a yearn to learn the contextual background to the current digital age."In this fascinating, original work, Tympas indispensably intertwines the histories of analog and digital computing, showing them to be inseparable from the evolution of social and economic conditions. " Prof. David Mindell, MIT

How productivity culture and technology became emblematic of the American economic system in pre- and postwar Germany.The concept of productivity originated in a statistical measure of output per worker or per work-hour, calculated by the US Bureau of Labor Statistics. A broader productivity culture emerged in 1920s America, as Henry Ford and others linked methods of mass production and consumption to high wages and low prices. These ideas were studied eagerly by a Germany in search of economic recovery after World War I, and, decades later, the Marshall Plan promoted productivity in its efforts to help post-World War II Europe rebuild. In Productivity Machines, Corinna Schlombs examines the transatlantic history of productivity technology and culture in the two decades before and after World War II. She argues for the interpretive flexibility of productivity: different groups viewed productivity differently at different times. Although it began as an objective measure, productivity came to be emblematic of the American economic system; post-World War II West Germany, however, adapted these ideas to its own political and economic values. Schlombs explains that West German unionists cast a doubtful eye on productivity's embrace of plant-level collective bargaining; unions fought for codetermination—the right to participate in corporate decisions. After describing German responses to US productivity, Schlombs offers an in-depth look at labor relations in one American company in Germany—that icon of corporate America, IBM. Finally, Schlombs considers the emergence of computer technology—seen by some as a new symbol of productivity but by others as the means to automate workers out of their jobs.

Changes in the present challenge us to reinterpret the past, but historians have not yet come to grips with the convergence of computing, media, and communications technology. Today these things are inextricably intertwined, in technologies such as the smartphone and internet, in convergent industries, and in social practices. Yet they remain three distinct historical subfields, tilled by different groups of scholars using different tools. We often call this conglomeration "the digital," recognizing its deep connection to the technology of digital computing. Unfortunately, interdisciplinary studies of digital practices, digital methods, or digital humanities have rarely been informed by deep engagement with the history of computing.Contributors to this volume have come together to reexamine an apparently familiar era in the history of computing through new lenses, exploring early digital computing and engineering practice as digital phenomena rather than as engines of mathematics and logic. Most focus on the period 1945 to 1960, the era in which the first electronic digital computers were created and the computer industry began to develop. Because digitality is first and foremost a way of reading objects and encoding information within them, we are foregrounding topics that have until now been viewed as peripheral in the history of computing: betting odds calculators, card file systems, program and data storage, programmable calculators, and digital circuit design practices. Reconceptualizing the "history of computing" as study of the "early digital" decenters the stored program computer, repositioning it as one of many digital technologies.

This important volume examines European perspectives on the historical relations that women have maintained with information and communication technologies (ICTs), since the telegraph. presents a comparative study of women in computing in France, Finland and the UK, revealing similar gender divisions within the ICT professions of these countries;

This engaging volume celebrates the life and work of Theodor Holm "Ted" Nelson, a pioneer and legendary figure from the history of early computing.

This important volume examines European perspectives on the historical relations that women have maintained with information and communication technologies (ICTs), since the telegraph. presents a comparative study of women in computing in France, Finland and the UK, revealing similar gender divisions within the ICT professions of these countries;

Local hacker communities appropriated the computer and forged new cultures around it like the hackers in Yugoslavia, Poland and Finland, who showed off their tricks and creating distinct "demoscenes." Together the essays reflect a diverse palette of cultural practices by which European users domesticated computer technologies.

In this engrossing biography, Dorothy Stein strips away the many layers of myth to reveal a story far more dramatic and fascinating than previous accounts have indicated.

The story of the U.S. Department of Defense's extraordinary effort, in the period from 1983 to 1993, to achieve machine intelligence.

The 16th-Century intellectual Robert Recorde is chiefly remembered for introducing the equals sign into algebra, yet the greater significance of his work is often overlooked. This book details the man, his achievements and his historical importance.

Highlights how the history of programming is distinct from the history of the computer, despite the close relationship between the two in the 20th century. This book discusses how the development of programming languages is related to disparate fields which attempted to give a mechanical account of language and a linguistic account of machines.

This book investigates the technologies, the concepts, and the applications of analog computing. The book suggests a new interpretation of the history of analog computing, and argues that analog computing can be thought of as a modeling technology.

This book describes and analyzes a project collecting the stories of some 700 people on how computing transformed Swedish society between 1950 and 1980; explores the interaction of computing with broad transformation in economies, cultures, and societies.

The effect of a commercialized Internet on American business, from the boom in e-commerce and adjustments by bricks-and-mortar businesses to file-sharing and community building.

concludes with a review of tantalizing unsolved mysteries in cryptology, such as the Voynich Manuscript, the Beale Ciphers, and the Kryptos sculpture. This engaging work is ideal as both a primary text for courses on the history of cryptology, and as a supplementary text for advanced undergraduate courses on computer security.

Local hacker communities appropriated the computer and forged new cultures around it like the hackers in Yugoslavia, Poland and Finland, who showed off their tricks and creating distinct "demoscenes." Together the essays reflect a diverse palette of cultural practices by which European users domesticated computer technologies.

Electronic Value Exchange examines the transformation of the VISA electronic payment system from a collection of non-integrated, localized, paper-based bank credit card programs into the cooperative, global, electronic value exchange network it is today.

It examines how the dawn of the digital computer age in Britain took place for different applications, from early government-sponsored work on secret defence projects, to the growth of the market for Elliott computers for civil applications. examines early Elliott digital computers designed for classified military applications and for GCHQ;

The untold history of women and computing: how pioneering women succeeded in a field shaped by gender biases.