Book Review: Electronic Brains: Stories from the Dawn of the Computer Age by Mike Hally
Written by Lawrence Woodman on 3rd June 2009
Tags: Books, History, Retro, Reviews


Amazon 		This is an interesting history of computer development around the world during the 1940s and 50s.  The book grew out of a radio series on BBS Radio 4 and contains lots of original material gained from interviews in 2001 and 2004.  It is very accessible as it focuses slightly more on the events and people involved than the technical details, although it has enough of the latter to show how the technology evolved.

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Book Review: The Mythical Man-Month: Essays on Software Engineering by Frederick P. Brooks‚ Jr.
Written by Lawrence Woodman on 26th January 2009
Tags: Books, Programming, Retro, Reviews


Amazon		 This book, written in 1975, offers a fascinating insight into the software engineering process used at that time.  The author draws from his experience as project manager for the IBM System/360 and OS/360, and in doing so also sheds light on how they were put together.  The 1995 edition, reviewed here, is particularly good as it presents the same 1975 text with only typographical alterations, followed by a couple of extra essays and reflection on the previous essays after 20 years.

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Book Review: Fundamentals of Operating Systems by A.M. Lister - Second Edition
Written by Lawrence Woodman on 7th October 2008
Tags: Books, Operating Systems, Retro, Reviews
It was fascinating to read this book from 1979 and see how operating system design was viewed then, compared to now.  The biggest change being the shift in importance from batch processing to the interactive use of computers.  Despite the advances since this book was written, it is surprising how many themes are just as relevant.

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