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Modern Marvels - The Creation of the Computer (History Channel)
 
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Modern Marvels - The Creation of the Computer (History Channel) (2005)

Series: Modern Marvels Rating: NR (Not Rated) Format: DVD
4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (8 customer reviews)

List Price: $24.95
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Modern Marvels - The Creation of the Computer (History Channel) + Modern Marvels - Computers (History Channel) + Pirates of Silicon Valley
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Modern Marvels - The Creation of the Computer (History Channel)
65% buy the item featured on this page:
Modern Marvels - The Creation of the Computer (History Channel) 4.0 out of 5 stars (8)
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Modern Marvels - Computers (History Channel)
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Modern Marvels - Computers (History Channel) 4.4 out of 5 stars (5)
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Product Details

  • Actors: Artist Not Provided
  • Format: Closed-captioned, Color, DVD, NTSC
  • Language: English
  • Region: Region 1 (U.S. and Canada only. Read more about DVD formats.)
  • Aspect Ratio: 1.33:1
  • Number of discs: 1
  • Rating: NR (Not Rated)
  • Studio: A&E Home Video
  • DVD Release Date: December 27, 2005
  • Run Time: 50 minutes
  • Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
  • ASIN: B000BF0CMK
  • Amazon.com Sales Rank: #35,824 in Movies & TV (See Bestsellers in Movies & TV)

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    #33 in  Movies & TV > Documentary > Series & Studios > Modern Marvels

Editorial Reviews

Product Description

The machines at the center of the information age have revolutionized our lives and digitalized our world, making previously unthinkable tasks automatic and linking people from around the planet. MODERN MARVELS® presents a fascinating exploration into the history of the computer. See Charles Babbage's Victorian "counting machine," a mechanical computer that produced perfect results for any mathematical problem of six figures or less, and discover how IBM was launched through a punch-card counting machine built to accelerate the 1890 census. Trace the technological advancements that led to the first modern computers and witness the rapid progress that allowed them to shrink from room-sized monsters to the desktop units that revolutionized life in the '90s. THE CREATION OF THE COMPUTER journeys into the fast-paced world of technology and innovation to expose the phenomenal history of the most influential invention of modern times. DVD Features: Interactive Menus; Scene Selection

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Customer Reviews

8 Reviews
5 star:
 (4)
4 star:
 (1)
3 star:
 (2)
2 star:
 (1)
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Average Customer Review
4.0 out of 5 stars (8 customer reviews)
 
 
 
 
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

 
5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars Interesting but DATED, May 15, 2007
This video was somewhat interesting. However, be warned that it is actually from 1995, not from 2005. It is extremely dated and goes over many things that would seem silly to most viewers today, such as the difference between hardware and software. Many close-ups of aged hardware (i.e., early 1990s) take away from the more interesting, earlier events -- although the historical development of computing is covered well.
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3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars good history of comptuers, but dated info, September 27, 2008
I used this video for many years in my introductory computer class at the high school level. The history of computers portrayed is interesting, and I like that the development of the technology is put into a social perspective. I ask my students to identify key social/cultural developments that led to the development or advancement of the computer, and this video shows many: counting the census, artillery firing tables for war, breaking the Enigma Machine in WWII, the Space Race, election predictions, and more. However, the non-history parts were getting dated. The newer compilation from the History Channel called "Computers" includes some of the same history footage, but substantially condensed, as well as more about future computer developments. This version has better history if that is your primary interest.
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1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars Good Overview of an Important Topic!, July 3, 2008
"The Creation of the Computer" takes viewers from pre-computer days (hand-calculated tables of tides, logarithms, artillery calculations) through early developments by visionaries such as Charles Babbage's "Difference Engine" (working model available in 1832), to Herman Hollerith's punched cards developed in 1880s responding to the Census Bureau's overload, to WWII's use of an early computer to break the Nazi's Enigma code, to the eye-opening (for business applications) 1952 Univac computer that quickly predicted the 1952 election outcome.

Computers at this point weighed tons and required extensive maintenance and cooling - not helpful for applications such as space flight. Fortunately, 1947 brought the development of the transistor, then came the integrated circuit, followed by the microprocessor invented at Intel in response to a Japanese firms request for calculator circuits.

Apple then assembled a package that introduced the desktop computer, this was refined per Xerox' development of the mouse and graphical interface, Bill Gates added Microsoft's operating system, and the personal computer soon became omnipresent.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews

5.0 out of 5 stars Wonderful
Very informative! It gave us a good idea of where we came from and how we got to where we are today....
Published 2 months ago by Sandy O.

2.0 out of 5 stars Computer Review
The movie was below expectations. I thought it would provide more information that would be more interesting. Read more
Published 2 months ago by M. K.

5.0 out of 5 stars Reaaly fun.
It is a really fun video with great information. It gives a lot of insight into why the computer works the way that it does today. Read more
Published 22 months ago by G. Stuart

3.0 out of 5 stars Get the Computers version instead
This is 95% identical to The History Channel "Computers" but I like the other one better than this because it goes more into PC's. Read more
Published on August 16, 2007 by Andrew Manikas

5.0 out of 5 stars A great overview of a fascinating topic
Great overall review of computer history. Covers eary concept in Charles Dickens era London. Then Early special purpose computer for the Census in the Teddy Rosevelt era. Read more
Published on May 6, 2007 by John Arnold

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