C. 2500 BCE: Sumerian abacus -- c. 700 BC: Scytale -- c. 150: Antikythera mechanism -- c. 60: Programmable robot -- c. 850: "On Deciphering Cryptographic Messages ...

The first electronic computer was built during the 1940s by John Vincent Atanasoff, a professor of physics and mathematics at Iowa State University, and one of his students, Clifford E. Berry. But the ...

Throughout the history of computers, one aspect has plagued and restricted its growth more than any other: permanent storage. From the very first computers that used punched cards and tape for input ...

In 1979, two M.I.T. computer-science alumni and a Harvard Business School graduate launched a new piece of computer software for the Apple II machine, an early home computer. Called VisiCalc, short ...

A New History of Modern Computing by Thomas Haigh and Paul E. Ceruzzi is a must-read for investors, entrepreneurs, executives, and anyone interested in understanding the technology that is embedded in ...

Hard disk drives sure have come a long way, baby. In the 1950s, storage hardware was measured in feet — and in tons. Back then, the era’s state-of-the-art computer drive was found in IBM’s RAMAC 305; ...

Introduction -- Film and television at the dawn of the digital revolution -- Analog dreams : bohemians, beatniks, and the Whitneys -- Spook work : the government and the military -- Academia -- Xerox ...