Jacquard's web : how a hand-loom led to the birth of the information age / by James Essinger.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Essinger, James, 1957-

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Computing--History.

Computing.

Calculators.

Jacquard knitting machines.

Information technology--History.

Information technology.

Jacquard, Joseph-Marie, 1752-1834.

Jacquard, Joseph-Marie.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (315 p.)

Edition:

1st ed.

Place of Publication:

Oxford : Oxford University Press, 2007, c2004.

Language Note:

English

Summary:

Jacquard's Web tells one of the greatest untold stories of science: how a hand loom invented in Napoleonic France led to the birth of the modern computer age. James Essinger, a master storyteller, traces the 200-year evolution of Jacquard's idea from the studios of 18th century weavers, through the Industrial Revolution to the development of hi-tech computers and the information age today. - ;Jacquard's Web is the story of some of the most ingenious inventors the world has ever known, a fascinating account of how a hand-loom invented in Napoleonic France led to the development of the modern in

Contents:

Contents; List of illustrations; 1 The engraving that wasn't; 2 A better mousetrap; 3 The son of a master-weaver; 4 The Emperor's new clothes; 5 From weaving to computing; 6 The Difference Engine; 7 The Analytical Engine; 8 A question of faith and funding; 9 The lady who loved the Jacquard loom; 10 A crisis with the American Census; 11 The first Jacquard looms that wove information; 12 The birth of IBM; 13 The Thomas Watson phenomenon; 14 Howard Aiken dreams of a computer; 15 IBM and the Harvard Mark 1; 16 Weaving at the speed of light; 17 The future; Appendix 1: Charles Babbage's vindication

Appendix 2: Ada Lovelace's letter to Charles Babbage, 14 August 1843Appendix 3: How the Jacquard loom worked; Acknowledgements; Notes on sources; Bibliography; Index;

Notes:

First published: 2004.

Includes bibliographical references (p. 289-293) and index.

Description based on metadata supplied by the publisher and other sources.

ISBN:

0-19-150114-X

0-19-280577-0

1-281-34654-3

0-19-151725-9

OCLC:

476260169