- Paperback: 528 pages
- Publisher: Prentice Hall; 1 edition (1 Aug 2000)
- Language English
- ISBN-10: 0130194697
- ISBN-13: 978-0130194695
- Product Dimensions: 17.8 x 2.3 x 23.5 cm
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 1,324,797 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- See Complete Table of Contents
Did you know you can trade in your old books for an Amazon.co.uk Gift Card to spend on the things you want? Plus, get an extra £5 Gift Certificate when you trade in books worth £10 or more before June 30, 2012. Visit the Books Trade-In Store for more details. |
Product details |
More About the Author
Product Description
Amazon.co.uk Review
Lots of circumstances conspired to make information technology what it is today. Business decisions (both wise and foolish), scientific discoveries (old and recent), marketing campaigns (founded in truth and otherwise), and plenty of random chance have played parts in defining the industrial, social and cultural phenomena that personal and business computing have become.
The Essential Guide to Computing: The Story of Information Technology tells the technical, commercial and social story behind the electronic computer and related technologies, such as telecommunications and software development. Along the way, author E. Garrison Walters reveals a lot of general knowledge about computers.
As you read this book, you can't avoid picking up the little technical facts that have become part of our culture, particularly its younger parts. What's an embedded operating system? What's object-oriented programming? What is the open-source movement? Walters teaches you enough about these subjects--and the ways they fit together--to enable you to speak intelligently about them and perform further research as your needs require.
You will enjoy this book regardless of your level of computer expertise or your area of specialisation. It's essentially a general-interest non-fiction book, and a good one at that. --David Wall
Product Description
The Essential Guide to Computers is an intelligent, thorough, friendly, and up-to-date explanation of computer technology. It's perfect for smart professionals who want to understand the technology -- but don't have computer science or engineering degrees! Learn how computers have evolved from early, room-sized monoliths to PCs to tomorrow's "information appliances." Understand each key hardware component of a contemporary computer, including microprocessors, memory, storage, I/O, and displays. Understand the role of systems architecture in the orderly evolution of computing technology; then learn what operating systems are and how they compare. Understand the role of programming languages and what they try to achieve; including the basics of object-orientation, today's leading approach to software development. Next, learn how computers can be organized into many kinds of networks, from LANs to the Internet; and how this enables new kinds of software and applications, including e-commerce. For anyone who wants to understand the fundamentals of how computers and networks work.
Inside This Book
(Learn More)
Tag this product(What's this?)Think of a tag as a keyword or label you consider is strongly related to this product.
Tags will help all customers organise and find favourite items. |
Sell a Digital Version of This Book in the Kindle Store
If you are a publisher or author and hold the digital rights to a book, you can sell a digital version of it in our Kindle Store.
Learn more
Customer Reviews
There are no customer reviews yet on Amazon.co.uk.
5 star
4 star
3 star
2 star
1 star
Most Helpful Customer Reviews on Amazon.com (beta)
Amazon.com:
11 reviews
6 of 6 people found the following review helpful
Computer 101: It Doesn't Get Much Better Than This
9 Sep 2000
Format:Paperback
Finally, an IT book for the rest of us. Walters is lucid, concise, engaging, informative, and funny, and manages to do so without insulting your intelligence. He lays out the contours of the development of the computer industry, its successes, its failures, and why, and most importantly, what that means for the the computer systems and software that are available in the market. For me, computer literate, but no computer engineer, the Essential Guide to Comuting helped me determine what kind of computer configuration (memory, chip speed, graphic card, video card, etc.,)best met my needs. I highly recommend EGC.
6 of 7 people found the following review helpful
Great coverage of the IT field
6 Dec 2002
Format:Paperback
There is a great breadth of information presented in a very lucid fashion. The material is easy to understand, and the author adds a great sense of humor.
However, with the rapid advancements in technology, the book is a bit dated. I would highly recommend this book to anyone who wants a gain a great breadth of knowledge in the field of Information technology, in a short period of time.
However, with the rapid advancements in technology, the book is a bit dated. I would highly recommend this book to anyone who wants a gain a great breadth of knowledge in the field of Information technology, in a short period of time.
6 of 7 people found the following review helpful
A REMARKABLE FIND !
13 Mar 2002
Format:Paperback
THE ESSENTIAL GUIDE TO COMPUTING is simply an extraordinary achievement. It reflects a breadth of knowledge and clarity of presentation that is remarkable. It makes every effort to distill knowledge about computers and computing in an easy, reader-friendly, memorable way. For computer users everywhere -- in organizations, schools, colleges and universities, and individuals -- this volume gives multiple ways of getting to know more about computing in its fast changing environment. First, you get to know the foundations of how computers and computing works in practical, everyday language. Second, you get a reference book that explains key terms, key workings, and key interconnections among the parts.
The most noteworthy aspect of the book is its superb coherence in presenting vast amounts of computing knowledge arranged in for easy understanding. Information and explanations in one chapter are referenced in subsequent ones, never failing to explain connections among them, with a view to present an overall picture of how computers and computing works.
Each chapter highlights technical terms related to computing and information technology, provides an overview of specific aspects as for example "An Overview of How Storage Works" (Chapter 2, p.40), and highlights in grey explanations of widely used terms such as "Disks From a User's Perspective" (p. 56). Each chapter also ends with a summary list of questions that focus on self-evaluating one's grasp of the chapter's contents.
E. Garrison Walters' book will continue to enrich the understanding of all who enjoy working with computers at work or for pleasure. I wish this book had been available to guide me in computing long before I found it, and, that I had written it ! It is a remarkable achievement!
Were these reviews helpful?
Let us know
Listmania!
Look for similar items by category
Look for similar items by subject
Feedback
- Would you like to update product info or give feedback on images?
- I am the Author, and I want to comment on my book.
- I am the Publisher, and I want to comment on this book.
|
