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Serious Machines: The Story of the Computers That Built the Modern World

2024

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Synopsis

Computers fill our world, but for most of us, we own, use, and interact with just one type: computers designed for consumers. We use these at home to balance our checkbooks. We play online games with our friends. We catch up on our work email late at night. These home computers expand our world, but they’re only one segment of the market.

This book is about the “other” computers. The serious machines. The machines that run computer-aided design to build our modern world. The machines that simulate how the fastest fighter jets will fly. The ones that help us predict the weather and run our air traffic control systems.

Most consumers don’t understand the true power of computation. Yet with Generative AI and the power of large language models behind applications like ChatGPT, individual users are beginning to get a taste for what serious computers can do. They are getting a sneak peek at the hallowed halls of the mainframe room…the data center…the lab filled with workstations.

The pages of this book take a look at where computing began. They examine where it is now. And they note where it’s going in the future. The world is expanding, and the power of computing is right there behind it, driving it all.

Suggested Reading

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The Evolution of Mainframes: A Journey Through Time

In the annals of computing history, the mainframe stands as a towering testament to human ingenuity, a relentless pursuit of technological advancement, and the indomitable spirit of innovation. This book, "The Evolution of Mainframes: A Journey Through Time," is an homage to the remarkable journey o...

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