This book covers modern computing from the development of the first electronic digital computer through the dot-com crash. The author concentrates on five key moments of transition: the transformation of the computer in the late 1940s from a specialized scientific instrument to a commercial product; the emergence of small systems in the late 1960s; the beginning of personal computing in the 1970s; the spread of networking after 1985; and, in a chapter written for this edition, the period 1995-2001. The new material focuses on the Microsoft antitrust suit, the rise and fall of the dot-coms, and the advent of open source software, particularly Linux.

这本书涵盖了从第一台电子数字计算机的发展到网络崩溃的现代计算。作者集中讲述了五个关键的转变时刻：20世纪40年代末计算机从专门的科学仪器向商业产品的转变；20世纪60年代末小型系统的出现；20世纪70年代个人电脑的开始；1985年后网络的传播；在为本版编写的一章中，是1995-2001年。新材料的重点是微软的反垄断诉讼，网络公司的兴衰，以及开源软件，特别是Linux的出现。