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Given the success of my business history lectures, my sponsors (AT&T Conference Center and the Herb Kelleher Center) have agreed to extend the series. On Wednesday night, June 9, I will give a talk on the history of the computer industry. There will be a reception at 6PM and my talk will begin at 7PM at the AT&T Executive Education and Conference Center, at MLK and Lavaca in Austin. If all goes as planned, I may repeat this talk during the school year, as well. All of my talks are online, and next Wed (3/31) I am telling the history of retailing just after 6PM, followed at 8PM by a rerun of my auto industry talk. See http://hooversworld.com/archives/3460?day=Friday.
The computer industry has become one of the most important ones in the world, laying the groundwork for the Internet, digital media, social networking, ecommerce, and many other wonders of modern life. But few people realize how the first wave of computer giants came about, the early battles they fought, and the roles of such amazing individuals as Herman Hollerith and Thomas Watson, Sr. During the 20th century we evolved from a world dominated by IBM to a diverse environment filled with names like Intel, Microsoft, Dell, and Hewlett-Packard. This talk will focus on the early history of the industry and the origins of the PC revolution.
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