Computers: The Life Story of a Technology (Intro - pg. 83)

I know this blog is extremely late, but I got this book a week ago and it took me forever to get through all of it! So anyways, here's what I thought about the book...


Eric Swedin and David Ferro's book Computers goes through the many stages in the development of technology and computers starting from the very beginning. To be completely honest, I found the book to be too factual and detailed, and nothing seemed to completely grasp my interest at all. However, there are some good points made throughout the book, such as when the need for technological advances came about. "World War II, was fought on battlefields and in the laboratory. Never had a war been so dependent on research in science and technology." The war had summoned a new era, where this understanding of science had brought upon the invention of radar, computers, jets, airplanes, missiles, and the atomic bomb (pg. 47). It's ironic to think that the beginning of our country's technological revolution was caused by such a catastrophic event. However, with the onset of the war, it created jobs for people, and to keep up with our enemies technological advances, it also paved the way for new and better inventions. From then on, the constant desire for better technology and new innovations just kept on increasing. Businesses, such as banks, insurance companies, and government agencies had already started to become dependent on computers that had specialized processing systems and applications (pg. 52). Computers that were invented during this era were used as useful tools to alleviate tedious tasks in the scientific and business world. Even during present day, computers are still used for the same reasons, but are capable of doing many other things as well at a faster speed. Our workforce has become incredibly dependent on the use of computers, from small businesses to large companies, neither one could survive without computers. Then finally, "in the 1970s the microprocessor became the key technology that enabled the computer to shrink to fit the home" (pg. 83). Looking back on it now, this was most likely the key invention that had impacted and lead our society to what it has become today.