Pillars of Computing: A Compendium of Select, Pivotal Technology Firms - Hardcover

O'Regan, Gerard

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 3319214632 ISBN 13: 9783319214634

Publisher: Springer, 2015

Synopsis

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.

About this title

From the Back Cover

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 and Twitter
• 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. 

About the Author

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.

Edition details

• Publisher: Springer
• Publication date: 2015
• ISBN 10: 3319214632
• ISBN 13: 9783319214634
• Binding: Hardcover
• Language: English
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 280