Before the Computer: Ibm, Ncr, Burroughs, and Remington Rand and the Industry They Created, 1865-1956

by James W. Cortada

Book Overview

Before the Computer fully explores the data processing industry in the United States from its nineteenth-century inception down to the period when the computer became its primary tool. As James Cortada describes what was once called the "office appliance industry," he challenges our view of the digital computer as a revolutionary technology. Cortada interprets reliance on computers as a development within an important segment of the American economy...

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0691050457
• ISBN13: 9780691050454
• Release Date: March 2000
• Publisher: Princeton University Press
• Length: 402 Pages
• Weight: 1.40 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.0" x 7.8" x 10.0"

Customer Reviews

Before the Computer

As a graduate instructor for technology courseware I was please to find such a good resource for the history of the computer industry. This is a great resource for those in the industry who wish to learn more about the early evolution of computers. It also captures the length that our society has used computers and puts a framework around what people "think" is a 10 - 20 year old industry. It definately should be a part of anyone's library who has a role in the computer industry and wishes to understand the past and how it relates to the future.