Pillars of Computing

This accessible compendium examines a collection of significant technology firms that have helped to shape the field of computing and its impact on society. Each company is introduced with a brief account of its history, followed by a concise account of its key contributions. The selection covers a diverse range of historical and contemporary organizations from pioneers of e-commerce to influential social media companies. Features: presents information on early computer manufacturers; reviews important mainframe and minicomputer companies; examines the contributions to the field of semiconductors made by certain companies; describes companies that have been active in developing home and personal computers; surveys notable research centers; discusses the impact of telecommunications companies and those involved in the area of enterprise software and business computing; considers the achievements of e-commerce companies; provides a review of social media companies.

Provides an overview of a selection of technology firms that have made important contributions to the field of computing Presents the key contributions and brief historical information on companies from a range of relevant industry sectors Highlights the many areas of business touched by the field of computer science and the wealth of contributions made by historical and contemporary computing entrepreneurs

Autorentext

Dr. Gerard O'Regan is a CMMI software process improvement consultant with research interests including software quality and software process improvement, mathematical approaches to software quality, and the history of computing. He is the author of such Springer titles as Giants of Computing , Mathematics in Computing , A Brief History of Computing , Introduction to Software Quality , Introduction to Software Process Improvement , and Mathematical Approaches to Software Quality .

Klappentext

This accessible compendium serves as a companion to the title Giants of Computing , examining a collection of significant technology firms that have helped to shape the field of computing and its impact on society. Each company is introduced with a brief account of its history, followed by a concise account of its key contributions. The selection covers a diverse range of historical and contemporary organizations from pioneers of e-commerce to influential social media companies.

Topics and features:

• Presents information on early computer manufacturers, such as EMCC / Sperry / Unisys, Leo Computers, and Zuse KG
• Reviews important mainframe and minicomputer companies, including IBM, Amdahl, and DEC
• Examines the contributions to the field of semiconductors made by Intel, Texas Instruments, and Motorola
• Describes companies that have been active in developing home and personal computers, such as Sinclair Research, Commodore, Apple, Atari, and Dell
• Surveys the notable research centers Bell Labs, Xerox PARC, and the Software Engineering Institute
• Discusses the impact of Ericsson and Motorola in the field of telecommunications, and of SAP and Oracle in the area of enterprise software and business computing
• Considers the achievements of the e-commerce companies Amazon and eBay, as well as the browser wars between Microsoft and Netscape
• Provides a review of the social media companies Facebook andTwitter

• Includes coverage of such prominent companies as Adobe, Cisco, Google, HP, and Unimation Suitable for the general reader, this concise and easy-to-read reference will be of interest to anyone curious about the important role played by different technology firms in forming today's digital world.

  Inhalt

Background.- Adobe Systems.- Amazon.com.- Amdahl Corporation.- Apple Inc.- Atari Inc.- Bell Labs.- Cisco Systems.- Commodore Business Machines.- Dell Inc.- Digital Equipment Corporation.- Digital Research Inc.- eBay Inc.- EMCC, Sperry and Unisys.- Ericsson.- Facebook.- Google.- HP.- IBM.- Intel.- LEO Computers Ltd.- Microsoft.- Motorola.- Netscape Communications.- Oracle Corporation.- Philips.- Rational Software.- Samsung.- SAP SE.- Software Engineering Institute (SEI).- Sinclair Research Ltd.- Texas Instruments.- Twitter.- Unimation.- Xerox PARC.- Zuse KG.- Epilogue.