Why Computers Are Computers: A Personal Account of how an Early Computer Was like Today's PC

WHY COMPUTERS ARE COMPUTERS describes in everyday language what makes a computer a computer. The mystery behind the keyboards & video screen of your PC is revealed for all to understand & appreciate. Strange as it may seem, your PC uses the same principle, the STORED PROGRAM CONCEPT, that was invented 50 years ago. This principle is simply explained by telling, for the first time, the story of the first computer built in the western U.S., the SWAC. Built at UCLA by the National Bureau of Standards, it was finished in 1950 & was then the fastest computer in the world. The author, an engineer on the SWAC project, relates the history first hand & tells of how & why it was built & of the man responsible for its design & construction, Harry D. Huskey. As the SWAC story unfolds, the similarity between the new & the old, the PC & the SWAC, becomes apparent. Without technical jargon, WHY COMPUTERS ARE COMPUTERS will give everyone a new appreciation for their PC. It makes an important contribution to the history of computers & why & how they were invented. Available from Wren Publishers, P.O. Box 1084, Philomath, OR 97370; 503-929-4498.Rutland, David is the author of 'Why Computers Are Computers: A Personal Account of how an Early Computer Was like Today's PC', published 1995 under ISBN 9781885391056 and ISBN 1885391056.