Research Catalog

The computer : a very short introduction

Title
The computer : a very short introduction / Darrel Ince.
Author
Ince, D. (Darrel)
Publication
Oxford ; New York : Oxford University Press, 2011.

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StatusFormatAccessCall NumberItem Location
Book/TextUse in library QA76.17 .I53 2011Off-site

Details

Description
139 pages : illustrations; 18 cm.
Summary
Computers have changed so much since the room-filling, bulky magnetic tape running monsters of the mid 20th century. They now form a vital part of most people's lives. And they are more ubiquitous than might be thought - you may have more than 30 computers in your home: not just the desktop and laptop but think of the television, the fridge, the microwave. But what is the basic nature of the modern computer? How does it work? How has it been possible to squeeze so much power into increasingly small machines? And what will the next generations of computers look like? In this introduction, the author looks at the basic concepts behind all computers; the changes in hardware and software that allowed computers to become so small and commonplace; the challenges produced by the computer revolution - especially whole new modes of cybercrime and security issues; the Internet and the advent of 'cloud computing'; and the promise of whole new horizons opening up with quantum computing, and even computing using DNA.
Series Statement
Very short introductions ; 292
Uniform Title
Very short introductions ; 292.
Subject
  • Computers
  • Computers > History
  • Computer science
  • Computer science > History
  • Computers
  • Electronic Data Processing
  • computers
  • Ordinateurs
  • Histoire
  • Société de l'information
  • Sciences de l'information
  • Manuels
  • Computer
  • Computer
  • Informatik
  • Datorer
  • Datavetenskap
  • Datavetenskap > historia
Genre/Form
History.
Bibliography (note)
  • Includes bibliographical references (p. 131-133) and index.
Contents
1. The naked computer; 2. The small computer; 3. The ubiquitous computer; 4. The global computer; 5. The insecure computer; 6. The disruptive computer; 7. The cloud computer; 8. The next computer.
ISBN
  • 9780199586592
  • 0199586594
LCCN
2012359588
OCLC
  • ocn761374747
  • 761374747
  • SCSB-9165248
Owning Institutions
Princeton University Library