The Computing Universe: A Journey Through a Revolution
- 13h 2m
- Gyuri Pápay, Tony Hey
- Cambridge University Press
- 2015
Computers now impact almost every aspect of our lives, from our social interactions to the safety and performance of our cars. How did this happen in such a short time? And this is just the beginning. . . . In this book, Tony Hey and Gyuri Pápay lead us on a journey from the early days of computers in the 1930s to the cutting-edge research of the present day that will shape computing in the coming decades. Along the way, they explain the ideas behind hardware, software, algorithms, Moore's Law, the birth of the personal computer, the Internet and the Web, the Turing Test, Jeopardy's Watson, World of Warcraft, spyware, Google, Facebook, and quantum computing. This book also introduces the fascinating cast of dreamers and inventors who brought these great technological developments into every corner of the modern world. This exciting and accessible introduction will open up the universe of computing to anyone who has ever wondered where his or her smartphone came from.
- Explains in an engaging, non-technical way how computers work, how the world of computing came to be this way, and where it is going in the future
- Contains numerous anecdotes and photos of key events and personalities involved with the development of the industry
- Features chapters on Moore's Law, video games, malware and cryptography, machine learning, Artificial Intelligence and consciousness
- Shows how students have been able to make major contributions to computing and why young people should be interested in helping shape the future
In this Book
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A Quick Tour Through the Book
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Prologue—Blog Entry from Jonathan Hey
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Beginnings of a Revolution
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The Hardware
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The Software is in the Holes
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Programming Languages and Software Engineering
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Algorithmics
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Mr. Turing's Amazing Machines
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Moore's Law and the Silicon Revolution
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Computing Gets Personal
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Computer Games
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Licklider's Intergalactic Computer Network
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Weaving the World Wide Web
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The Dark Side of the Web
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Artificial Intelligence and Neural Networks
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Machine Learning and Natural Language Processing
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The End of Moore's Law
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The Third Age of Computing
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Computers and Science Fiction – an Essay
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Epilogue—From Turing's Padlocked Mug to the Present Day
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How to Read This Book
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Notes
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Suggested Reading
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Figure Credits
