The Universal Machine : From the Dawn of Computing to Digital Consciousness

Question: who invented the computer?

Hint: not Bill Gates or Steve Jobs.

Would you be surprised to know that the computer was conceived in Victorian times?

The Universal Machine's history is as colorful as the people who created it. They include an aristocratic lady whose talents and lifestyle were quite scandalous at the time, the tragic Alan Turing, whose genius helped win WWII, and a rag-tag bunch of dropouts who not only shaped the PC, but gave birth to the counter-culture that drives Silicon Valley today. To understand the pivotal role that computers play in our lives, you must get to know these people to see how their innovative thinking changed our lives irrevocably, and made and lost fortunes overnight.

This book also tracks some of the more intriguing (if not baffling) developments, from hacking to social networking, and demonstrates how the computer has become central to everything we do.

So, take the plunge. Learn how the Analytical Engine became a Universal Machine, and shrank from a monster that required a room of its own, to something that fits into your pocket and one day soon will be part of you.

Ian Watson is an Associate Professor of Computer Science at the University of Auckland, New Zealand. He has published two textbooks and over one hundred scientific papers, on various aspects of artificial intelligence and is a regular speaker at computer science conferences worldwide. He also makes regular contributions to the popular NZ computer magazine NetGuide.