The Computer - Hardcover

From the tiniest gadget to vast scientific simulators, computers are integral to our lives, and are developing at ever-increasing speed. The Computer traces the evolution of this vital machine from its earliest roots through its exciting application in code-breaking during the Second World War, and from its initial use in the workplace and home to its current status as a totally indispensable - and increasingly portable - part of twenty-first century life. Along the way, the author examines some colourful moments in the computer's development. Highly illustrated, the book brings home the rapid reduction in computer size and growth in capacity, and its vast range of uses.

Mark Frauenfelder is a former editor of Wired magazine, the cutting-edge and award-winning US magazine launched in 1993 to cover the digital revolution, and was the founding editor-in-chief of Wired Online. In 1988 he and his wife co-founded Boing Boing, a magazine about pop culture and fun with technology. For three years Mark wrote a monthly column for Playboy called "Living Online". He was co-editor of The Happy Mutant Handbook (Putnam-Berkley 1995), a do-it-yourself handbook for enjoying and exploiting our media-saturated world, and is the author of The Mad Professor (Chronicle Books 2002). His numerous articles about technology and culture have appeared in Wired, The New York Times Magazine, Popular Science, MIT Technology Review, Playboy, Business 2.0 and The Industry Standard. Mark Frauenfelder is a former editor of Wired magazine, the cutting-edge and award-winning US magazine launched in 1993 to cover the digital revolution, and was the founding editor-in-chief of Wired Online. In 1988 he and his wife co-founded Boing Boing, a magazine about pop culture and fun with technology. For three years Mark wrote a monthly column for Playboy called "Living Online". He was co-editor of The Happy Mutant Handbook (Putnam-Berkley 1995), a do-it-yourself handbook for enjoying and exploiting our media-saturated world, and is the author of The Mad Professor (Chronicle Books 2002). His numerous articles about technology and culture have appeared in Wired, The New York Times Magazine, Popular Science, MIT Technology Review, Playboy, Business 2.0 and The Industry Standard.