Library > Computers & the Internet > Hardware

Computers: the Past, Present and Future

1999
The website we created aims to teach anyone, whether a beginner or and advanced user, about computers. The site focuses on how computers work, but also deals with the history and the future of computers. Our team interviewed a variety of influential people about their views on computers. Included in this list is Esther Dyson, a key computer visionary, and Tad Williams, a bestselling author known for his fantasy and science fiction novels. We also included a number of java applets that aim to teach the user through interaction. Our objective for the site was to take each visitor into parts of the computer that they had never seen or understood. Few people know about a BIOS or DMA channels, but our site aims to take these and other parts and explain their function without overwhelming the visitor. At the same time we teach the user how these parts were developed, and how things will change in the future. This site allows anyone to understand all the essentials of their computer, but the site goes beyond that by explaining why things are the way they are.