Quote
J. Müller, The computer. Cologne: Taschen, 2023.
Content
The development of the machines of the computer age is a story of groundbreaking innovation. From the early beginnings of computer technology to bulky mainframes and the era of personal computers, more than 300 years of technological history have led to our almost completely digitalized world today.
"The Computer" takes us from the first analog calculating machines in the 19th century to early experiments with autonomous driving in the 1920s and oversized office computers of the 1950s to the laptops and wearables of today. With more than 1000 illustrations, Jens Müller creates an incomparable visual understanding of the rise of the information age. Documentary photos, snapshots from the media of the time, historical documents and detailed explanations tell the story of tech visionaries, pioneers and entrepreneurs whose inventiveness in hardware and software development led to milestones in computer history.
Discover groundbreaking innovations by Ada Lovelace, Charles Babbage, Alan Turing, Grace Hopper, Bill Gates and Steve Jobs, including not only classics such as the Apple Macintosh and the Sony PlayStation, but also now-forgotten gadgets, prototypes and strokes of genius in the development of software, video games and the WWW. Infographics explain basic technical concepts such as wireless communication, while rare photos and advertising campaigns bring to life the history of companies such as IBM, Apple, Microsoft, Atari, Amazon and Google.
This fascinating read recognizes the computer's tremendous achievement and its impact on the social and political landscape. For technology enthusiasts and anyone with an interest in culture, Business Studies, politics and science, this journey into the past illustrates how we can not only ask better questions of the future, but perhaps answer them better too.
Keywords
Computer
Corporate Design
Design history
Communication design
Product design