I read one technology-related book this summer. Jacquard's Web: How a Hand-Loom Led to the Birth of the Information Age by James Essinger. The author traces the history of modern computing from Jacquard's invention of a better silk loom to today'. He focuses on the contributions of six key figures:
- Joseph-Marie Jacquard invented a loom that ran with punched cards in the early 1800s. This loom allowed weavers to make complex patterned fabrics 24 times faster. The cards allowed them to easily replicate patterns
- Charles Babbage tried to invent a mechanical cogwheel based calculator in the mid 1800s. He then tried to built on Jacquard's idea and create an "Analytic Engine." He outlined the key concepts of the modern computer, but was unable to built it. He lacked the precision machining equipment and the interpersonal skills to pull it off.
- Ada Lovelace attempted to spread Babbage's ideas by explaining them to others and expanding upon them.
- Herman Hollerith took the Jacquard's punched card idea and set about making tabulating equipment in the late 1800s and early 1900s.
- Hollerith's company eventually became part of Thomas Watson's IBM. Watson new how to sell this equipment and refine it through a modern R&D organization.
- Howard Aiken went back to Babbage's ideas and used more modern electric technology to build an early computer during World War II. Watson implemented his Aiken's ideas and improved on them.
Essinger's book is definitely worth reading if you're interested in learning about how computers evolved into what they are today.
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