Information Technology Reference
In-Depth Information
II clearly accelerated the need for faster calculations for ballistics, decryption, and
other military purposes.
Hoover's Business Guides;
www.hoovers.com
For readers interested in some of the specific companies cited in this topic, the
collection of corporate data contained in the Hoover's Guides is recommended.
Hoover's materials cover not only individual companies but also more than 900
industry segments. The Hoover's data also include historical trends over time. The
Hoover's Guides were used as background information in this topic as a resource
for showing the context of software use by industry and company over time.
IBM Corporate Archives;
www.ibm.com/ibm/history
IBM is the only company cited in this topic that has lasted more than 100 years.
As a result, the IBM archives present a long and varied history of IBM inven-
tions and business changes. The IBM archives were used in several chapters of
this topic, starting with the chapter on the 1930s when IBM as well as other com-
panies were in the grip of the Great Depression. Indeed, if Thomas J. Watson, the
founder of IBM, had not been ready to help the federal government handle Social
Security processing when the law was passed in 1935, IBM might not have sur-
vived or grown into the major corporation that it is today.
It is difficult to imagine the computer industry without IBM, but the Depression
from 1929 through 1935 was a close call for IBM. It is of social interest that IBM
did not have layoffs during the Depression and had even improved employee be-
nefits, as cited in the 1930s chapter of this topic.
Other companies have useful corporate histories, but not many companies have
been around as long as IBM or developed so many inventions and innovations that
became part of the computer and software industries.
IBM Math Timeline;
www.mindsofmath.com
In the 1960s, IBM produced a fascinating wall chart on the history of mathem-
atics. In commemoration of the centennial of Ray Eames, the chart has been turned
into an interactive application for iPads. Hopefully, the same application will be
ported to other platforms. For those interested in the close ties among mathem-
atics, computing devices, and later software packages such as Mathematica, this
timeline provides a fascinating picture. The new interactive version is a good ex-
ample of what touchscreens are good for.
IEEE Computer Society;
www.computer.org
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