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Computers History

Inventing the PC

The MCM/70 Story

by (author) Zbigniew Stachniak

Publisher
McGill-Queen's University Press
Initial publish date
May 2011
Category
History
  • Hardback

    ISBN
    9780773538528
    Publish Date
    May 2011
    List Price
    $45.95
  • eBook

    ISBN
    9780773581470
    Publish Date
    May 2011
    List Price
    $39.95

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Description

Inventing the PC details the invention and design of the MCM/70 computer and the prolonged struggle to bring it to market. Zbigniew Stachniak offers an insider's view of events on the front lines of pioneering work on personal computers. He shows what information and options PC pioneers had, how well they understood what they were doing, and how that understanding - or lack thereof - shaped both their engineering ingenuity and the indecisiveness and over-reaching ambition that would ultimately turn a very promising venture into a missed opportunity.

Providing comprehensive historical background and rich photographic documentation, Inventing the PC tells the story of a Canadian company on the cutting-edge of the information age.

About the author

Zbigniew Stachniak is an associate professor of computer science, York University, and the curator of York University's Computer Museum.

Zbigniew Stachniak's profile page

Editorial Reviews

"Stachniak has written an entertaining, highly informative account of the struggle to create a useful and marketable desktop computer. Although far different from today's personal computer, MCM's early machines, such as the MCM/70, were remarkably innovative and on the market long before the fabled Apple II or the nearly useless Altair. Unfortunately, MCM was ahead of its time. Nonetheless, this is a great book and a must for any fan of the history of the modern computer. Highly recommended." CHOICE