From Mainframes to Smartphones

A History of the International Computer Industry

Martin Campbell-Kelly, Daniel D. Garcia-Swartz

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Hardback

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English

Harvard University Press
08 June 2015

Information technology industries

This compact history traces the computer industry from its origins in 1950s mainframes, through the establishment of standards beginning in 1965 and the introduction of personal computing in the 1980s. It concludes with the Internet's explosive growth since 1995. Across these four periods, Martin Campbell-Kelly and Daniel Garcia-Swartz describe the steady trend toward miniaturization and explain its consequences for the bundles of interacting components that make up a computer system. With miniaturization, the price of computation fell and entry into the industry became less costly. Companies supplying different components learned to cooperate even as they competed with other businesses for market share. Simultaneously with miniaturization-and equally consequential-the core of the computer industry shifted from hardware to software and services. Companies that failed to adapt to this trend were left behind.

Governments did not turn a blind eye to the activities of entrepreneurs. The U.S. government was the major customer for computers in the early years. Several European governments subsidized private corporations, and Japan fostered R&D in private firms while protecting its domestic market from foreign competition. From Mainframes to Smartphones is international in scope and broad in its purview of this revolutionary industry.

By: Martin Campbell-Kelly, Daniel D. Garcia-Swartz
Imprint: Harvard University Press
Country of Publication: United States
Edition: 1
Volume: 1
Dimensions: Height: 235mm, Width: 156mm, Spine: 23mm
Weight: 499g
ISBN: 9780674729063
ISBN 10: 0674729064
Pages: 248
Publication Date: 08 June 2015
Audience: College/higher education , Professional and scholarly , Primary , Undergraduate
Format: Hardback
Publisher's Status: Active

Martin Campbell-Kelly is Professor Emeritus of Computer Science at the University of Warwick. Daniel D. Garcia-Swartz is an economist with Charles River Associates in Chicago.

Reviews for From Mainframes to Smartphones: A History of the International Computer Industry

A clear-eyed view of the international computer industry and its leading firms across time. The authors have a good grasp of how the landscape changed and a sensible take on the forces that drove those changes.--Steven W. Usselman, Georgia Institute of Technology The history presented is sweeping in its scope.--Thomas W. Hazlett International Journal of the Economics of Business (09/08/2016) Offers a concise history of the companies that created the computer industry...This book is a worthy addition to the literature of the history of computing.--J. Rodzvilla Choice (10/01/2015) The authors have written a short, well-informed history of how computing became a business and a global industry. While aimed at business and economic historians, it has much to teach historians of technology too...This is a well-executed, mature, and knowledgeable study that should be of interest to historians of technology and not just essential to those studying the history of computing.--James W. Cortada Technology and Culture (07/01/2016) An insightful and fascinating short history of the international computer industry.--Jeffrey R. Yost, University of Minnesota An insightful and fascinating short history of the international computer industry.--Jeffrey R. Yost, University of Minnesota