 The magazine of the Melbourne PC User Group Book Review: Greatest technology stories of all time Tony Stevenson |
Jeffrey Young's book Forbes Greatest Technology Stories is subtitled "Inspiring Tales of the Entrepreneurs and Inventors Who Revolutionized Modern Business". When you read it you won't be disappointed.
The easiest, and quickest, way to describe the book's contents is to list the titles of its eleven chapters, along with a brief summary of each.
1. "Pioneers & Pirates: Calculators & Computers"
This is where the story starts. The development of computers, along with other technologies like radar, tape recording, and nuclear power, was significantly advanced as a direct result of the Second World War. In fact, the origin of modern computing can be traced way back to a classified project at the University of Pennsylvania called ENIAC (Electronic Numerical Integrator and Computer).
2. "Big Blue: The Mainframe Computer"
For years commercial computing was dominated by IBM (International Business Machines). This section of the book discusses how business was irrevocably changed with the introduction of the mainframe computer, which, according to the author, can be regarded as "the single most potent product of the late twentieth century".
3. "Quantum Leap: Transistors & Semiconductors"
The discovery and subsequent development of transistors and semiconductors was nothing less than revolutionary, and it heralded in a new era of technological innovation and progress.
4. "Bits: Memory, Mini-computers & the Mouse"
Here you can read about Jay Forrester, inventor of the modern memory system for the Whirlwind computer; DARPA, the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, accredited with developing the first truly interactive computer, as well as DRAM (Dynamic Random Access Memory). You can also find out how Digital Equipment Corporation (DEC) was the first company to introduce the world to small computers.
5. "Chips: Integrated Circuits & Microprocessors"
In October 1957, Americans were shocked to discover that the Russians had beaten them into space with the launch of "Sputnik", an unmanned satellite. The United States reacted by adding more science and mathematics to school curriculums throughout the country. A few years later, a direct consequence of this action was the development
of the chip, which Young refers to as "the pivotal component of the digital age".
6. "Mechanics: Kits & Microcomputers"
In January 1975, the world's first mini-computer kit to rival commercial models, the "Altair 8800", was featured on the front cover of Popular Electronics magazine. This development was just the start of many more exciting changes to emerge in personal computing over the next decade.
7. "Wireheads: The Apple Computer"
In this chapter, you can read the engrossing story of the two Steves--Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak, and their company "Apple Computer". Young points out they had chosen that name "in honor of both the communal life in Oregon and the Beatles, who had chosen the same name for their recording label".
8. "PCs: The IBM Personal Computer"
As intriguing and exciting as personal computing was to the fanatics, it never took off until IBM stepped in and dominated the market (at least for a while).
9. "Hard Core: Windows"
Here you can read about Microsoft's business strategy, and how Bill Gates achieved worldwide dominance with Windows.
10. "Airwaves: MCI & Cell Phones"
Rapid advances in telecommunications have drastically altered the way we conduct both our personal and business lives. And all of this originated when a band of entrepreneurs took on the establishment and won.
11. "Webs: Networks & the Internet"
No book covering the greatest technology stories would be complete without a chapter on the Internet and World Wide Web, and the enormous impact it's currently having on all of us.
For anyone who loves computing (and you must do otherwise you wouldn't be reading this magazine), Forbes Greatest Technology Stories is a "must have" book. It's both an insightful and entertaining look at the technology that has shaped what Young so
aptly calls the "Digital Age".
| Jeffrey Young Forbes Greatest Technology Stories ISBN 0 471 24374 4 368 pages (hardcover) Published by John Wiley & Sons, Inc Distributed in Australia by Jacaranda Wiley RRP: $45.00 |
Reprinted from the March 1999 issue of PC Update, the magazine of Melbourne PC User Group, Australia
