The Innovators

Mooi toegankelijk en genuanceerd geschreven geschiedenis van de pc / internet. Vanaf Ada Lovelace tot Google. Twee dingen die vaak terugkwamen:

- Innovatie ontstaat waar verschillende mensen samenwerken.
- Uitvindingen zijn zelden toe te schrijven aan één iemand.

Boek was dik 500 pagina's, maar las als een trein.

This book deserves all the hype and myriad accolades touted in the press - it's a GREAT READ.

Accessible, clear, simple and compelling, “The Innovators” is a great historical survey of the names and personalities behind many of the big technological advances of our time, particularly in computer science.

Ever wonder why it's called Silicon Valley? Curious if Al Gore really DID invent the Internet? Want to know who made the first computer? It's all in there, along with some interesting insights for managers and leaders (if on the lookout). Highly recommended!

Excellent compilation of the history of digital technology. It starts in the 1800's, which Ada Lovelace and Babbage, going through Vacuum Tubes, Capacitors, Alan Turing, Grace Hopper, John von Neumann, the breakthrough invention of transistors, Bell Labs, Intel, Texas Instruments, Hacker culture, Video Games, Xerox, ARPANet, BBS, the Altair 8800 computer, Internet, Blogs, Wikipedia, Microsoft, Apple, Google.
It is a detailed exploration of how innovation is driven by collaboration and all advances are built on top of the past experiences. There is no one genius creator, innovation is most vibrant where there is room for idea sharing between communities. And the Internet allowed for a new level of collaborative process, the author calls it “the collective wisdom of crowds”.
I loved that he closes with a reflection on Ada Lovelace's ideas of integrating Arts and Humanities with Math and Physics, resulting in what she called “Poetical Science”.
A must read to understand where we are and how we got here.

Executive Summary: A very well written and fascinating look at the rise history of computers and the internet and those who helped to shape it.Audiobook: For any nonfiction book I simply want a narrator who reads at a good pace and tone and is mostly unremarkable. Dennis Boutsikaris was that for me. He did a good job at keeping me focused on the history and not his narration.Full ReviewI added this book to my list after listening to Mr. Isaacson better know work: [b:Steve Jobs 11084145 Steve Jobs Walter Isaacson https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1511288482s/11084145.jpg 16005831]. Jobs was fascinating and that book was well written, but I always feel like he gets way too much credit as an innovator.This book was a nice counter to that. While Jobs is mentioned as appropriate, he focuses mostly on the people whose technical knowledge led to the personal computer, the internet and eventually the smart phone.That said, he does spend time talking about the important of those like Jobs. People who are are to recognize, nurture and market a good idea so it has a chance to make an impact. In fact one of his main themes in this book was how much better innovation works in a team setting than it does with a lone genius.The book is pretty extensive in its coverage. It starts back with Eda Lovelace and ends with the rise of smart phones and social media. There were a lot of details and people I was already familiar with from other computer history books I've read, but there was a lot of material in this book that was new to me.I'm awful at names, so I can't rattle off all the key people, but the way Mr. Isaacson's went about telling the history worked really well for me. I love that he spent time on both the hardware and software and even did a brief chapter on video games. Overall I found this an excellent book both for people completely unaware of computer history or for people like me who are looking for a deeper dive than some other books on the subject.

This is a fantastic history of what we currently think of as the tech industry. Walter Isaacson's history is extremely well written and eminently entertaining. As a nerdy kid who grew up loving computers in the late 70's and throughout the 80's, I had heard some of these stories before in part, but in each substory covered, Isaacson dives much deeper.

Starting with the stories of Charles Babbage (inventor of the Difference Engine and Analytical Engine) and Lady Ada (the first programmer, Mr. Isaacson follows the progression of the development of the computer. Alan Turing's entertaining yet tragic story is covered in detail as are his counterparts across the pond in America who are working on similar breakthroughs. The creation of Eniac and it's role in the Cold War. The early history of the personal computer is covered in detail. The foundations of Intel and the 8008 processor. Xerox Parc being 15 years ahead of their time (probably more). Hewlett and Packard starting up their company in a garage. The home-brew computer club. Pre-Apple computers. Apple computer's garage start up with Woz and Jobs. The foundation of Microsoft with Bill Gates, Paul Allen and Steve Ballmer. There's even a bit of coverage of the evolution of the internet from early ARPAnet to BBSes and Compuserve to AOL and then the web in general. This is pretty much a skim discussion as you could do whole books on most of these things. Still, it helps bring it all together and makes for a pretty satisfying end.