Second Edition

Amazon Review:
This is a very interesting book for anyone who is involved in today's world of IT but has been around to remember the days before PC's and Microsoft - back when computers were big mysterious devices most of us never saw and certainly didn't work with. The author begins the book with a discussion of just what is an 'automatic computer', what it can do, and how it can be of use to a company.

The computing industry was so small and limited at the time of this book's writing that a huge amount of the computer industry can be well-covered by it. It is hard to describe this book but it deals with everything from application to hardware to programming. It gives detailed specs for the various computers available at the time, right down to the address and phone number of the vendor. It tells whether each can be bought or leased, the physical specs of size and weight, the spare parts list, power requirements, and the amount of time it takes to get it in place and installed. The book covers operating systems, data storage, input and output devices. It tells how to introduce a computer into your company and to deal with the human fallout, how to shift people around in their jobs and keep their support. There are some photographs of vintage equipment and work areas which are really neat too.