Customer Reviews

A History of the Personal Computer: The People and the Technology

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So short a time. Seems like yesterday when Jobs and Wozniak kicked off Apple Computer in 1977. Or, just two years earlier, when Gates and Allen started Microsoft in New Mexico, before moving it to Seattle. The field has come so far. Now larger than mainframes. And Microsoft and Intel having larger market caps than IBM, who gave them the crucial original contracts for the IBM PC in the early 80s.

All these are discussed in this timely book. Though actually, it also mentions efforts in personal computing that predate Microsoft and Apple. Often ignored in other accounts. Which shows the good level of research done by the author. Of course, other companies, like Compaq and Dell, get a mention. Plus, influential magazines like the late Byte and the ongoing Wired.

You might find this book useful for its sweep and the ability to explain the gist of computing concepts clearly to a layman. It's not really a technical computing book. The emphasis is more on describing the significance of the main events, as would be seen by a historian.

You want "A History of Modern Computing" by Paul Ceruzzi. THAT is a good book on the same subject. Buy that instead. And "Hackers" by Steven Levy.

This one has the literary quality of a high school assignment. It is even printed in fixed font. Seems to be self-published; I'd bet many publishers rejected this. With good reason.