This compact history traces the computer industry from 1950s mainframes, through establishment of standards beginning in 1965, to personal computing in the 1980s and the Internet’s explosive growth since 1995. Martin Campbell-Kelly and Daniel Garcia-Swartz describe a steady trend toward miniaturization and explain its consequences.
This compact history traces the computer industry from its origins in 1950s mainframes, through the establishment of standards beginning in 1965 and the introduction of personal computing in the 1980s. It concludes with the Internet’s explosive growth since 1995. Across these four periods, Martin Campbell-Kelly and Daniel Garcia-Swartz describe the steady trend toward miniaturization and explain its consequences for the bundles of interacting components that make up a computer system. With miniaturization, the price of computation fell and entry into the industry became less costly. Companies supplying different components learned to cooperate even as they competed with other businesses for market share. Simultaneously with miniaturization—and equally consequential—the core of the computer industry shifted from hardware to software and services. Companies that failed to adapt to this trend were left behind. Governments did not turn a blind eye to the activities of entrepreneurs. The U.S. government was the major customer for computers in the early years. Several European governments subsidized private corporations, and Japan fostered R&D in private firms while protecting its domestic market from foreign competition. From Mainframes to Smartphones is international in scope and broad in its purview of this revolutionary industry.
A history of one of the most influential American companies of the last century. For decades, IBM shaped the way the world did business. IBM products were in every large organization, and IBM corporate culture established a management style that was imitated by companies around the globe. It was “Big Blue, ” an icon. And yet over the years, IBM has gone through both failure and success, surviving flatlining revenue and forced reinvention. The company almost went out of business in the early 1990s, then came back strong with new business strategies and an emphasis on artificial intelligence. In this authoritative, monumental history, James Cortada tells the story of one of the most influential American companies of the last century. Cortada, a historian who worked at IBM for many years, describes IBM's technology breakthroughs, including the development of the punch card (used for automatic tabulation in the 1890 census), the calculation and printing of the first Social Security checks in the 1930s, the introduction of the PC to a mass audience in the 1980s, and the company's shift in focus from hardware to software. He discusses IBM's business culture and its orientation toward employees and customers; its global expansion; regulatory and legal issues, including antitrust litigation; and the track records of its CEOs. The secret to IBM's unequalled longevity in the information technology market, Cortada shows, is its capacity to adapt to changing circumstances and technologies.
The Handbook introduces, contextualises, critiques, and discusses a range of perspectives associated with the concept of the circular economy. These perspectives span an array of subjects including economics, environmental policymaking, sociology, environmental science, environmental and industrial engineering, management, international development, and human geography. A fundamental underpinning of the Handbook is that it takes account of a wide range of sectors, as well as geographical perspectives that incorporate both a Global North and Global South world context. This approach is crucial because it is only within such a holistic perspective that the circular economy concept can truly be examined. In addition, these issues are examined both from a theoretical as well as a practical perspective, using real-world case studies for illustration. Given its wide subject, sectoral, and geographical areas of focus, the Handbook should be of value not only for those undertaking research in the field of circular economy, but also stakeholders involved in policymaking, as well as decision-making on the front line.
Digital history is an emerging field that draws on digital technology and computational methods. A global enterprise that invites scholars worldwide to join forces, it presents exciting and novel ways we might explore, understand and represent the past. Hannu Salmi provides the most compelling introduction to digital history to date. Beginning with an examination of the origins of the digital study of history, he goes on to discuss the question of how history exists in a digitized form. He introduces basic concepts and ideas in digital history, including databases and archives, interdisciplinarity and public engagement. Outlining the problems and methods in the study of big data, both textual and visual, particular attention is paid to the born-digital era: the contemporary age that exists primarily in digital form. What is Digital History? is essential reading for students of history and other humanities fields, as well as anyone interested in how digitization and digital cultures are transforming the study of history.
A new perspective on United States software development, seen through the patent battles that shaped our technological landscape This first comprehensive history of software patenting explores how patent law made software development the powerful industry that it is today. Historian Gerardo Con Díaz reveals how patent law has transformed the ways computing firms make, own, and profit from software. He shows that securing patent protection for computer programs has been a central concern among computer developers since the 1950s and traces how patents and copyrights became inseparable from software development in the Internet age. Software patents, he argues, facilitated the emergence of software as a product and a technology, enabled firms to challenge each other’s place in the computing industry, and expanded the range of creations for which American intellectual property law provides protection. Powerful market forces, aggressive litigation strategies, and new cultures of computing usage and development transformed software into one of the most controversial technologies ever to encounter the American patent system.
Tracks the evolution of the international cellular industry from the late 1970s to the present. The development of the mobile-phone industry into what we know today required remarkable cooperation between companies, governments, and industrial sectors. Companies developing cellular infrastructure, cellular devices, cellular network services, and eventually software and mobile semiconductors had to cooperate, not simply compete, with each other. In this global history of the mobile-phone industry, Daniel D. Garcia-Swartz and Martin Campbell-Kelly examine its development in the United States, Europe, Japan, and several emerging economies, including China and India. They present the evolution of mobile phones from the perspective of vendors of telephone equipment and network operators, users whose lives have been transformed by mobile phones, and governments that have fostered specific mobile-phone standards. Cellular covers the technical aspects of the cellphone, as well as its social and political impact. Beginning with the 1980s, the authors trace the development of closed (proprietary) and open (available to all) cellular standards, the impact of network effects as cellular adoption increased, major technological changes affecting mobile phone hardware, and the role of national governments in shaping the industry. The authors also consider the changing roles that cellular phones have played in the everyday lives of people around the world and the implications 5G technology may have for the future. Finally, they offer statistics on how quickly the cellular industry grew in different regions of the world and how firms competed in those various markets. Cellular is published in the History of Computing Series. This distinguished series has played a major role in defining scholarship in the history of computing. Hallmarks of the series are its technical detail and interpretation of primary source materials.
Technology and Oligopoly Capitalism is a major contribution to our understanding of how technology oligopolies are shaping America’s social, economic, and political reality. Technology oligopolies are the most powerful socioeconomic entities in America. From cradle to grave, the decisions they make affect the most intimate aspects of our lives, how we work, what we eat, our health, how we communicate, what we know and believe, whom we elect, and how we relate to one another and to nature. Their power over markets, trade, regulation, and most every aspect of our governance is more intrusive and farther-reaching than ever. They benefit from tax breaks, government guarantees, and bailouts that we must pay for and have no control over. Their accumulation of capital creates immense wealth for a minuscule elite, deepening disparities while politics and governance become ever more subservient to their power. They determine our skills and transform employment through the tools and services they create, as no other organizations can. They produce a vast array of goods and services with labor, marketing, and research that are more intrusively controlled than ever, as workplace rights and job security are curtailed or disappear. Our consumption of their products—and their capacity to promote wants—is deep and far reaching, while the waste they generate raises concerns about the survival of life on our planet. And their links to geopolitics and the martial domain are stronger than ever, as they influence how warfare is waged and who will be vanquished. Technology and Oligopoly Capitalism’s critical, multidisciplinary perspective provides a systemic vision of how oligopolistic power shapes these forces and phenomena. An inclusive approach spans the spectrum of technology oligopolies and the ways in which they deploy their power. Numerous, previously unpublished ideas expand the repertory of established work on the topics covered, advancing explanatory quality—to elucidate how and why technology oligopolies operate as they do, the dysfunctions that accompany their power, and their effects on society and nature. This book has no peers in the literature, in its scope, the unprecedented amount and diversity of documentation, the breadth of concepts, and the vast number of examples it provides. Its premises deserve to be taken into account by every student, researcher, policymaker, and author interested in the socioeconomic and political dimensions of technology in America.
This book provides a comprehensive treatment of the rapidly changing world of Web-based business technologies and their often-disruptive innovations. The history of the Web is a short one. Indeed many college graduates today were not even born when the Web first emerged. It is therefore an opportune time to view the Web as having reached the point of graduation. The Web has led to new ways in which businesses connect and operate, and how individuals communicate and socialize; related technologies include cloud computing, social commerce, crowd sourcing, and the Internet of Things, to name but a few. These developments, including their technological foundations and business impacts, are at the heart of the book. It contextualizes these topics by providing a brief history of the World Wide Web, both in terms of the technological evolution and its resultant business impacts. The book was written for a broad audience, including technology managers and students in higher education. It is also intended as a guide for people who grew up with a background in business administration or engineering or a related area but who, in the course of their career paths, have reached a point where IT-related decisions have become their daily business, e.g., in digital transformation. The book describes the most important Web technologies and related business applications, and especially focuses on the business implications of these technologies. As such, it offers a solid technology- and business-focused view on the impact of the Web, and balances rules and approaches for strategy development and decision making with a certain technical understanding of what goes on “behind the scenes.”
"[T]he authors recognize the role the nurse has in empowering patients to take charge of their health by using social media responsibly... the information presented in this book can be useful to nurses in a variety of settings and with different levels of understanding regarding social media. The authors masterfully present information on Web 2.0 and Health 2.0 applications for nurses at the point of care, educators, advanced practice practitioners, administrators, and nursing students." -- Michelle E. Block, RN, PhD, Nursing Science Quarterly This book clearly and comprehensively presents the knowledge and skills nurses and health professionals need in order to effectively use the Internet and interactive social media to educate health consumers. By understanding and using Web 2.0 and Health 2.0 applications and technology, nurses will have access to a critical tool for improving the health of individuals, families, and communities, as well as enhancing their own professional development. The different types of health care information sites available on the Internet are addressed along with criteria for evaluating them. The text provides a framework for understanding the devices that support social media and depicts the many scenarios in which social media can be used to promote health. Also included are examples of research studies related to health care informatics. Each chapter begins with clear and concise learning objectives and explanations of related terms. A theoretical foundation for understanding the concepts in the chapter is included, along with web-based resources that support additional in-depth learning. Discussion questions and exercises stimulate the development of critical thinking skills and promote point-of-care applications. Advances in technology and point-of-care use expected to come in the near future are woven throughout. The text will be of value for all nurse education and practice settings. Key Features: Provides easily understood information on interactive social media applications and their implications for nursing and health delivery Illustrates how to use social networking tools and sites effectively Describes the types of health care information websites available and how to evaluate them Addresses the many devices that support social media and when to use them Includes a database of tools and resources to assist educators, students, administrators, and practitioners in their use of the Internet and social media
