The Universal Machine: From The Dawn Of Computing To Digital Consciousness

Description

The computer unlike other inventions is universal; you can use a computer for many tasks: writing, composing music, designing buildings, creating movies, inhabiting virtual worlds, communicating... This popular science history isn't just about technology but introduces the pioneers: Babbage, Turing, Apple's Wozniak and Jobs, Bill Gates, Tim Berners-Lee, Mark Zuckerberg. This story is about people and the changes computers have caused. In the future ubiquitous computing, AI, quantum and molecular computing could even make us immortal. The computer has been a radical invention. In less than a single human life computers are transforming economies and societies like no human invention before. From the Dawn of Computing to Digital Consciousness ......Page 4 Preface......Page 8 Contents......Page 12 Chapter 1: Introduction......Page 16 The Difference Engine......Page 23 The First Computers......Page 26 The Grandfather of Computing......Page 29 Babbage Goes Public......Page 35 The Analytical Engine......Page 40 The Enchantress of Numbers......Page 45 The Difference Engine No.2......Page 49 A Swedish DoppelgÄnger......Page 50 Babbage´s Legacy......Page 52 We the People......Page 55 Soldiers and Secretaries......Page 57 The Sound of Money......Page 60 Weighing, Counting, Timing and Tabulating......Page 63 Chapter 4: Computers Go to War......Page 64 The Turing Machine......Page 65 Total War......Page 74 Chasing an Enigma......Page 77 Hitler´s Secret Writer......Page 87 Colossus......Page 89 Calculating Space......Page 92 The Turing Test......Page 93 To Die Perchance to Sleep......Page 97 Turing´s Legacy......Page 98 Chapter 5: Computers and Big Business......Page 102 ENIAC......Page 103 EDVAC......Page 104 The Mainframe......Page 106 The Lyons Electronic Office......Page 111 Electronic Recording Machine-Accounting......Page 114 Fly the American Way......Page 115 Chapter 6: Deadheads and Propeller Heads......Page 117 Augmenting Human Intellect......Page 119 Stanford University and Silicon Valley......Page 120 SAIL......Page 126 Playing in the PARC......Page 128 Inventing the Future......Page 130 Chapter 7: The Computer Gets Personal......Page 136 Woz......Page 137 Phreaking, Jokes and Jobs......Page 141 Homebrew and the Birth of Apple......Page 145 A PC on Every Desk......Page 151 Killer Apps......Page 157 It´s All About the Software......Page 159 Pirates and Entrepreneurs......Page 163 The Deal of the Century......Page 165 1984......Page 167 Chapter 8: Weaving the Web......Page 171 Vague But Exciting......Page 172 Explosive Growth......Page 176 A Network of Networks......Page 177 You´ve Got Mail!......Page 184 An Electronic Notice Board......Page 185 The Browser Wars......Page 187 A Needle in a Million Haystacks......Page 190 Chapter 9: Dotcom......Page 192 Power to the People......Page 193 Search and You Will Find......Page 194 Everything from A to Z......Page 199 I Collect Broken Laser Pointers!......Page 202 It´s Good to Share......Page 204 The Dotcom Bubble......Page 207 Chapter 10: The Second Coming......Page 210 Stay Hungry, Stay Foolish......Page 211 Change the World......Page 216 What´s NeXT......Page 219 Some Light Entertainment......Page 222 Act II......Page 225 All Your Music in Your Pocket......Page 228 I Wanted One so Much it Hurt?......Page 231 Post-PC......Page 236 RIP......Page 241 Chapter 11: Web 2.0......Page 244 Let Me Share with You......Page 246 Harvard´s Face Books......Page 247 Identical Twins......Page 250 The Next Big Thing......Page 252 Ambient Intimacy......Page 256 LOLcats......Page 259 Citizen Journalism......Page 261 140 Characters or Less......Page 264 All the World´s Knowledge......Page 266 Chapter 12: Digital Underworld......Page 268 The Birth of Hacking......Page 270 Captain Crunch......Page 271 Cyberpunks......Page 273 The Hacker Manifesto......Page 277 Worms, Viruses and Trojans......Page 281 Good Guys and Bad Guys......Page 283 Hacktivism......Page 285 Cyberwar......Page 289 Chapter 13: Machines of Loving Grace......Page 293 How Far Is the Future?......Page 295 Moore´s Law......Page 297 The Near Future......Page 301 Cloud Computing......Page 302 Computing as a Utility......Page 304 Hands-Free......Page 307 Augmented Reality......Page 309 A Grand Challenge......Page 310 Chapter 14: Digital Consciousness ......Page 315 The Imitation Game......Page 316 The Chinese Room......Page 320 The Robots Are Coming......Page 322 Governing Lethal Behavior in Autonomous Robots......Page 325 Resistance is Futile......Page 328 Spooky Action......Page 330 Reverse Engineering the Brain......Page 333 Epilogue......Page 336 From the Dawn of Computing to Digital Consciousness ......Page 340 Preface......Page 344 Contents......Page 348 Remarks of the Prime Minister Gordon Brown......Page 352 Where Are They Now?......Page 355 Further Reading......Page 363 Chapter 3 - Marvelous Machines......Page 364 Chapter 4 - Computers Go to War......Page 365 Chapter 6 - Deadheads and Propeller Heads......Page 367 Chapter 8 - Weaving the Web......Page 368 Chapter 9 - Dotcom......Page 369 Chapter 10 - The Second Coming......Page 370 Chapter 12 - The Digital Underworld......Page 371 Chapters 13 - Machines of Loving Grace and 14 - Digital Consciousness......Page 372