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Bit by Bit
Front Matter
Preface
Table of Contents
Title Pages
Chapter One
1.1 Introduction
1.2 From the abacus to Hindu-Arabic numerals
1.3 Napier’s logs and Napier’s rods
1.4 The slide rule
1.5 Digital vs. Analog
1.6 Shickard’s Calculating Clock
1.7 Pascal and the Pascaline
1.8 Leibniz and the Stepped Reckoner
1.9 The Binary System
Reference
Chapter Two
2.1 The Arithmometer and numerical tables
2.2 The theory behind the Difference Engine
2.3 Babbage’s Early Life
2.4 The Difference Engine
2.5 The Difference Engine’s machinery
2.6 The Scheutzes’ Tabulating Machine
2.7 The Analytical Engine
2.8 The Analytical Engine’s machinery
2.9 Babbage’s Later Life
Reference
Chapter Three
3.1 Hollerith’s punchcard machine
3.2 Hollerith and the Census
3.3 Mechanical calculators
3.4 Differential Analyzer Machines
3.5 Zuse and Boolean Logic
3.6 Zuse’s program-controlled calculators
3.7 The Z-4 machine
Reference
Chapter Four
4.1 Stibitz calculators at Bell Labs
4.2 Aiken and the Mark I
4.3 The Ballistics Research Laboratory and Firing Tables
4.4 Mauchly’s Memo
4.5 The electronic calculator
4.6 The Atanasoff-Berry Computer
4.7 Mauchly and Eckert at the Moore School
4.8 Project PX and the ENIAC
4.9 ENIAC’s hydrogen bomb calculations
Reference
Chapter Five
5.1 Stored-program computing
5.2 John von Neumann and the “Report on the EDVAC”
5.3 Turing and the Turing Machine
5.4 Logic theory and Hilbert’s decision problem
5.5 Breaking the Enigma Machine
5.6 Postwar developments in British computers
5.7 Patent Quarrel at the Moore School
5.8 The IAS computer
5.9 UNIVAC, Part I: Development
5.10 UNIVAC, Part II: Commercialization
Reference
Chapter Six
6.1 Overview of IBM
6.2 Watson and the National Cash Register Company
6.3 The Computing-Tabulating-Recording Company (CTR)
6.4 From CTR to IBM, Part I
6.5 From CTR to IBM, Part II
6.6 The Rise of IBM
6.7 Watson, Jr.
6.8 Building the first IBM computers
Reference
Chapter Seven
7.1 Flight Simulators
7.2 The Whirlwind Project
7.3 SAGE (Semi-Automatic Ground-Environment Computers)
7.4 IBM 650
7.5 Assembly Language Programming
7.6 FORTRAN compiler
7.7 UNIVAC falls to IBM
7.8 The Honeywell-Sperry Case
Reference
Chapter Eight
8.1 Early research in electronics
8.2 The point-contact transistor
8.3 Miniaturization and standardization
8.4 Kilby comes to TI
8.5 Kilby’s integrated circuit
8.6 Noyce’s integrated circuit
8.7 Commercial development of the IC
Reference
Chapter Nine
9.1 Computer Usability Problems
9.2 Olsen, DEC, and the Microcomputer
9.3 Intel is born
9.4 Development of the microprocessor
9.5 Ahl advocates for the personal computer
9.6 Titus and the Mark-8
9.7 Roberts and MITS
9.8 The Altair 8800
9.9 Apple
Reference
End Matter
Acknowledgments
Appendix: The FBI Dossier of John William Mauchly
Chronology of the History of Computers
Epilogue: The Lesson of History
Index
A
B
C
D
E
F
G
H
I
J
K
L
M
N
O
P
Q
R
S
T
U
V
W
Y
Z
Resources
Chapter 1
Abacus
Antikythera Mechanism
Binary System
Digital vs. Analog
Hindu-Arabic Numerals
Leibniz and the Stepped Reckoner
Logarithms
Napier’s Bones
Pascal’s Pascaline
Roman Numerals
Schickard and the Calculating Clock
Slide Rules
Chapter 2
Analytical Engine
Arithmometer
Babbage
Difference Engine
Jacquard’s Loom
Lovelace
Scheutzes’ Tabulating Machine
Chapter 3
Boolean Logic
Bush and the Differential Analyzer
Hollerith and the Census
Kelvin and the Tide Predictor
Mechanical Calculators
Memex
Z4 Machine
Zuse and the Z Computers
Chapter 4
Aiken and Mark I
Atanasoff, Berry, and the ABC
Ballistics Research Labs
Eckert and Mauchly
ENIAC
Female ENIAC Programmers
Human Computers
Moore School and Aberdeen Proving Ground
Stibitz and Bell Labs
Vacuum Tubes
Chapter 5
EDSAC
EDVAC
Enigma Machine
Hilbert’s Decision Problem
IAS Parallel Processor Machine
Patent Quarrel at the Moore School
SSEM (Baby) and the Manchester Mark I
Turing and the Turing Machine
UNIVAC
von Neumann
Chapter 6
IBM 603
IBM 701
IBM and Nazi Germany
Rise of IBM
SSEC
Watson Jr.
Watson Sr. and the Early Days of IBM
Chapter 7
Assembly Language Programming
BASIC
COBOL
Core Memory
FORTRAN
Honeywell-Sperry Suit
Hopper and the Compiler
IBM 650
IBM Wins the Industry
SAGE
Whirlwind Project
Chapter 8
Circuit Board
Commercial Development of the IC
IBM System/360
Integrated Circuit
Kilby and his IC
Moore’s Law
Noyce and his IC
RAM
Semiconductors
Transistor
Chapter 9
Apple II
Gates and Microsoft
Homebrew Computer Club
IBM PC
Intel and Microprocessors
Jobs, Woz, and Apple Computers
MITS and the Altair 8800
Olson, DEC, and the Minicomputer
Other Early PCs
Time-Sharing
Titus and the Mark-8
Print Resources
A History of Computing Technology
A History of Modern Computing
Computer: a history of the information machine
Computing: A Human Activity
History of Computing Slides
Labs
About this site
Chapter 4
A course resource for the History of Mechanized Thought
