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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Status	Format	Access	Call Number	Item Location
Request for On-site Use Request Scan How do I pick up this item and when will it be ready?	Book/Text	Use in library	QA76.17 .I53 2011	Off-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

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