Christophe Lécuyer, David C. Brock: Makers of the Microchip: A Documentary History of Fairchild Semiconductor (2010)
Filed under book | Tags: · computing, electronics, history of computing, history of technology, photolitography, technology
In the first three and a half years of its existence, Fairchild Semiconductor developed, produced, and marketed the device that would become the fundamental building block of the digital world: the microchip. Founded in 1957 by eight former employees of the Shockley Semiconductor Laboratory, Fairchild created the model for a successful Silicon Valley start-up: intense activity with a common goal, close collaboration, and a quick path to the market (Fairchild’s first device hit the market just ten months after the company’s founding). Fairchild Semiconductor was one of the first companies financed by venture capital, and its success inspired the establishment of venture capital firms in the San Francisco Bay area. These firms would finance the explosive growth of Silicon Valley over the next several decades.
This history of the early years of Fairchild Semiconductor examines the technological, business, and social dynamics behind its innovative products. The centerpiece of the book is a collection of documents, reproduced in facsimile, including the company’s first prospectus; ideas, sketches, and plans for the company’s products; and a notebook kept by cofounder Jay Last that records problems, schedules, and tasks discussed at weekly meetings. A historical overview, interpretive essays, and an introduction to semiconductor technology in the period accompany these primary documents.
Foreword by Jay Last
Publisher MIT Press, 2010
ISBN 0262014246, 9780262014243
312 pages
PDF (updated on 2012-7-25)
Comment (1)The Rutherford Journal, Vol 1-4, incl. Alan Turing web-book (2005-2012)
Filed under journal | Tags: · computing, history of computing, history of science, history of technology, philosophy of science, philosophy of technology, science, technology
The Rutherford Journal publishes invited articles from leading international scholars.
The New Zealand Journal for the History and Philosophy of Science and Technology
Editor Jack Copeland
Publisher Department of Philosophy, The University of Canterbury, New Zealand
ISSN 1177-1380
View online (HTML articles)
View online (Issue 4: Alan Turing web-book)
Lutz Dammbeck: Das Netz (2003) [German]
Filed under screenplay | Tags: · computing, critique of technology, cybernetics, history of computing, history of technology, machine, silicon valley, technology
“1930 erschüttert der Wiener Mathematiker Kurt Gödel mit seinen Unvollständigkeitssätzen die Grundlagen der Mathematik. 1968 arbeitet der Physiker und Ingenieur Heinz von Foerster in seinem Biological Lab an der Universität von Illinois an der Verschmelzung von digitalen und biologischen Systemen. 1995 verhaftet das FBI in der Wildnis Montanas den ehemaligen Mathematik- professor Theodore J. Kaczynski als den „Unabomber“. Was verbindet diese Personen, Orte und Ideen zu einem Netz? Die Suche nach einer Antwort führt zurück in die 40er bis 60er Jahre des vergangenen Jahrhunderts, wo sich in Wissenschaft, Kunst und Technologie die Horizonte nach allen Seiten zu öffnen scheinen. Mit Kybernetik, Multimediakunst und militärischer Forschung werden die Fundamente der Moderne neu gesetzt. Das wird die Basis für heute weltweit vernetzte Maschinensysteme, die von Mathematik, Logik und binären Codes bestimmt werden. „Das Netz“ zeigt Konstrukteure, Maschinisten und Agenten dieser Systeme. Einer steigt aus, und versucht die Maschinen zu stoppen. Aber um welchen Preis.”
28 pages
PDF (30 MB, updated on 2020-4-17)
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