Description
“Few books have captured the complexity and excitement of the last forty-some-odd years of advances in IT technology as effectively as Serious Machines.” —Bob Stearns, Cofounder and Managing Director, Sternhill Associates, Past Chief Technology Officer, Compaq Computer
You’re invited on a journey into the past, the present, and the future.
Computers fill our world, but for most of us, we own, use, and interact with just one type: computers designed for consumers. We use these at home to balance our checkbooks. We play online games with our friends. We catch up on our work email late at night. These home computers expand our world, but they’re only one segment of the market.
This book is about the “other” computers. The serious machines. The machines that run computer-aided design to build our modern world. The machines that simulate how the fastest fighter jets will fly. The ones that help us predict the weather and run our air traffic control systems.
Most consumers don’t understand the true power of computation. Yet with Generative AI and the power of large language models behind applications like ChatGPT, individual users are beginning to get a taste for what serious computers can do. They are getting a sneak peek at the hallowed halls of the mainframe room…the data center…the lab filled with workstations.
The pages of this book take a look at where computing began. They examine where it is now. And they note where it’s going in the future. The world is expanding, and the power of computing is right there behind it, driving it all.
The book covers key milestones in workstation history, including:
The transition from mainframes to workstations for individual users
Pioneering companies like Sun Microsystems, Silicon Graphics, and DEC
The rise of Unix and specialized software for workstations
How workstations enabled breakthroughs in areas like 3D animation and scientific modeling
Serious Machines, filled with dozens of beautiful, full-color images and photographs from the author’s personal vintage computer collection, is an essential read for technology enthusiasts, computer science students, and anyone interested in the hidden history behind the tools that built our modern digital world.
Best-selling author of The Sentient Machine and serial entrepreneur, Amir Husain takes readers on a fascinating journey through the development of powerful computational tools that revolutionized fields like engineering, science, and entertainment.
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Praise for Serious Machines
“Few books have captured the complexity and excitement of the last forty-some-odd years of advances in IT technology as effectively as Serious Machines. The author, a highly successful scientist, entrepreneur, and writer, traces in a highly accessible narrative, the evolution of the workstation...from its earliest roots in mainframe and minicomputer technologies, to its future incarnation as a powerful hybrid of a PC plus graphics processor unit. Along the way, Husain discusses the history and products of the key hardware and software players in the industry and traces the many important applications and uses for today’s powerful workstations in science, entertainment, and business. Perhaps most exciting of all is a fascinating look into the future...including quantum, optical, and neuromorphic computing, as well as other exciting possibilities actively being studied and developed.”
—Bob Stearns, Cofounder and Managing Director, Sternhill Associates, Past Chief Technology Officer, Compaq Computer
About the Author
Amir Husain is a serial entrepreneur, AI technologist, and author based in Austin, Texas. He has received widespread acclaim for his pioneering work, including Austin's Top Entrepreneur award and inclusion in Austin's 40 Under 40. His ventures have been lauded with CNBC's fastest growing company awards and numerous other international recognitions.Amir currently serves as the Chairman of WorldQuant Predictive, SpecFive, a mesh networking company, and Navigate, a decentralized data platform. He also serves on the University of Texas at Austin's President's Advisory Board, the Advisory Board of the Department of Computer Science, and the Board of Global Venture Bridge, fostering international entrepreneurial collaboration.Amir founded the defense technology company SGS, chaired by former Deputy Secretary of Defense, Robert Work, and served as Founder, CEO, and Board Director of SkyGrid, a joint venture with Boeing.An avid inventor, Amir has been awarded over 30 patents in AI and distributed systems. He has served on NATO's Innovation Advisory Board. His work has been featured in world-leading publications such as the BBC, Fortune, Forbes, and Proceedings from the U.S. Naval Institute. Under Amir's leadership, SparkCognition achieved a unicorn valuation, marking a significant milestone in its journey. As the Founder and Executive Board Member of this award-winning AI company, Amir led the firm from its inception until the end of 2023.He is the author of the best-selling books The Sentient Machine, Generative Art, and Generative AI for Leaders. He is a co-author of Hyperwar: Conflict and Competition in the AI Century and is a regular contributor to Forbes.
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