This accessible compendium serves as a companion to the title Giants of
Computing, examining a collection of significant technology firms that
have helped to shape the field of computing and its impact on society.
Each company is introduced with a brief account of its history, followed
by a concise account of its key contributions. The selection covers a
diverse range of historical and contemporary organizations from pioneers
of e-commerce to influential social media companies.
Topics and features: presents information on early computer
manufacturers, such as EMCC / Sperry / Unisys, Leo Computers, and Zuse
KG; reviews important mainframe and minicomputer companies, including
IBM, Amdahl, and DEC; examines the contributions to the field of
semiconductors made by Intel, Texas Instruments, and Motorola; describes
companies that have been active in developing home and personal
computers, such as Sinclair Research, Commodore, Apple, Atari, and Dell;
surveys the notable research centers Bell Labs, Xerox PARC, and the
Software Engineering Institute; discusses the impact of Ericsson and
Motorola in the field of telecommunications, and of SAP and Oracle in
the area of enterprise software and business computing; considers the
achievements of the e-commerce companies Amazon and eBay, as well as the
browser wars between Microsoft and Netscape; provides a review of the
social media companies Facebook and Twitter; includes coverage of such
prominent companies as Adobe, Cisco, Google, HP, and Unimation.
Suitable for the general reader, this concise and easy-to-read reference
will be of interest to anyone curious about the important role played by
different technology firms in forming today's digital world.
