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)International Journal of Communication, Vol. 6, with special sections: Info Capacity, Piracy Cultures (2012)
Filed under journal | Tags: · copyright, filesharing, information, intellectual property, internet, p2p, piracy, technology, web
The International Journal of Communication is an online, multi-media, academic journal that adheres to the highest standards of peer review and engages established and emerging scholars from anywhere in the world. The International Journal of Communication is an interdisciplinary journal that, while centered in communication, is open and welcoming to contributions from the many disciplines and approaches that meet at the crossroads that is communication study.
Special sections: Info Capacity, Piracy Cultures.
Features: Transnational Connections Symposium.
Editor: Larry Gross
Published by University of Southern California, Annenberg Press, Los Angeles, CA, 2012
PDF (PDF articles)
Comment (0)Speak Up, Speak Out: A Toolkit for Reporting on Human Rights Issues (2012)
Filed under handbook | Tags: · activism, civil society, human rights, journalism
This toolkit is both a human rights reference guide and a workbook for journalists and civic activists who want to improve their ability to report on human rights issues in a fair, accurate, and sensitive way.
Editor and Producer: Manisha Aryal
Publisher Internews, Washington DC, February 2012
Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License
174 pages