Dream Machine: Exploring the Computer Age (Paperback)

~ Jon Palfreman (Author), Doron Swade (Author)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description

Published to tie in with a BBC2 series starting in September 1991, of which Jon Palfreman is the Executive Producer, this book explores the extraordinary rise of a new technology and the remarkable people behind it. It examines the past, present and future of computers - the machines that have dramatically changed the way in which people live, work, learn, make decisions and spend their leisure time. The first computers were massive and expensive machines that did little more than calculate and record census data. Today, on small desktop computers, it is possible to generate complex graphics, diagnose diseases and tap into libraries of information - all at the push of a button. Here, the authors chronicle the remarkable, and sometimes sinister, advances in computer technology. They also relate the human stories behind the machines - the colourful visionaries, brilliant scientists and engineers, industrial pioneers, college drop-outs and corporate malcontents whose entrepreneurial spirit gave the world a machine that holds infinite possibilities. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Product Details

• Paperback: 105 pages
• Publisher: BBC Books (May 1993)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0563369922
• ISBN-13: 978-0563369929
• Product Dimensions: 9.7 x 7.5 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #1,812,311 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5.0 out of 5 stars A trip down memory lane for computer buffs, April 11, 2007

By	J. Simone (Lake Worth, FL USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This is the book that that spawned the PBS series "The Machine that Changed the World" airing in America around 1992. It was a five part series that closely matched this book, on which it was based. With this book you will gain an appreciation for the history of the modern computer and get an excellent historical perspective. The 5 part TV series with episodes taken from chapters of this book were titled:

1) Great Brains
2) Inventing the Future
3) The Paperback Computer
3) The Thinking Machine
4) The World At Your Fingertips

The book was written before the the invention of the internet and the world wide web, but you can see it coming. Industry giants such as the Alan Kay, Doug Lenat, Steve Jobs, Steve Wozniak, Alan Touring, Robert Noyce, Charles Babbage, George Boole, Jon Von Neumann and many others are all mentioned and their contributions are put into a modern (for the day) perspective.

I would recommend this book to any student of computer science or computers as a hobby. Though the book is well over 15 years old, it has a timeless quality that takes you back to the beginning of the computer age and leads you gently into the modern era.

4 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Informative book on the evolution of the computer, February 7, 1999

By A Customer

The Dream Machine provides a plethora of information to the reader. It gives specific detials of the evolution of the computer. Including: many people, companies (IBM, Remington Rand), the languages of programming, the personal computer and more...