A History of Computing in Three Parts
This program will explore the history of computing from three novel standpoints. Jonathan Bowen reflects on the life and work of Alan Turing. Martin Campbell-Kelly reconstructs a history of computing from colour depictions. And Doron Swade will give a lecture tracing the origins of the core concepts of modern computing.
(from gresham.ac.uk)
1. The History of Computing in Colour
Only looking at coloured imagery leads to new viewpoints and narratives for otherwise well-known histories, and the history of computing is no exception. Martin Campbell-Kelly reconstructs a history of computing from surprisingly rarely-seen colour images.
2. Alan Turing: The Founder of Computer Science
Professor Jonathan Bowen reflects on the brilliant work and tragic life of Alan Turing, the founder of computer science.
3. The Grand Narrative of the History of Computing
A discussion of the core concepts of modern computing and their basis in history. Dr. Doron Swade offers a new analysis of the history of computing, suggesting that instead of a linear progression from one phase to the next, it can be better understood as a series of separate computational functions diverging and converging.
| Related Links |
| The Machine That Changed the World The Machine That Changed the World is a 1992 documentary series on the history of electronic digital computers, from the dawn of the computer in the 1800s to the early 1990s. |
| Living in a Cyber-Enabled World An exploration of the state of software today, how we got to where we are, and what we shall need to do to shore up the foundations of a digital society that is increasingly built on sand. |
| Computer Pioneers and Pioneer Computers Computer pioneer Gordon Bell hosts this two-part program on the evolution of electronic computing from its pre-World War II origins through the development of the first commercial computers. |
| Charles Babbage and Ada Lovelace The central figure of 19th-century computing was Charles Babbage (1791-1871), who may be said to have pioneered the modern computer age with his 'difference engines' and his 'analytical engine'. |
| Turing and von Neumann Alan Turing (1912-1954) and John von Neumann (1903-1957) had an enormous range of interests not only in pure mathematics but also in practical applications. |
| Triumph of the Nerds: The Rise of Accidental Empires This is a PBS documentary series hosted by Bob Cringely, telling a history of personal computers from its beginning in the 1970s to the release of Windows 95 in the mid 1990s. |