Computers: An Illustrated History

The computer as calculating aide, as military wonder weapon, as electronic data processor that rationalises workplaces, as plaything & partner, as the tool for creativity & communication, as a memory & intelligence booster, & finally as a super- or hyper-medium - the computer has been accorded all of these roles & claims during its brief history. Its potential as a universally configurable machine & tool for other tools appears unfathomable. Yet precisely this versatility & the enormous variety of its allotted tasks & functions emphasise the necessity of tapping them & being using them purposefully & effectively, which makes ease of use the key criterion of a computer. The interface between the computer & the human being is not simply a kind of space, surface or point for interacting with the computer, but also the locus where the two historical dimensions of its usage, programming & applications, grew closer & closer until they finally merged. This publication will be the first book ever to tackle the history of this interface - from the perspective of both the computer & the design. A detailed text & a wealth of illustrations forge the appropriate link between art & technology. The work can be used as a scientific reference book, but equally enjoyed as a book on design & photography, & its layout & structure will do justice to both these purposes. With its approximately one thousand illustrations, the book not only describes the constantly altering concepts & situations for that determine computer use; it also serves as a precise & vivid record of people's continuously changing surroundings in their working & private lives, whilst simultaneously highlighting the design, fashion & photography of their times...