1.) This film introduces you to the origins of the computer industry. It thus constitutes the first part of a key them in this course: the business history of computing. Consider some key factors as you hear about the history of the Eckart-Mauchly Computer Company, Remington Rand and UNIVAC, and then IBM: What problems did computers present in making a business out of them? Where was the market for computers and how did the technology develop in accordance with market forces? Which was more important in the early development of the computer industry: scientific innovation, federal government spending, or the forces of free-market capitalism? These are questions we will return to again and again so start thinking about them now.

2.) What was the significance of the 1952 Presidential Election in the history of the computer industry? How did this election shape the character of computers and the computer industry in the years that followed?

3.) Consider the corporate cultures to which the film introduces you, especially IBM. How would you compare these communities to others you have seen (eg. The Manhattan Project, Stanford University, etc.) What is the relationship between computers and the communities that form around them? Does the particular technology in play determine the community that forms around it, or do community values shape the character of the technology that is developed?

4.) How did the gendered character of the computer and computing change once computers became an industry?

5.) At the end of the movie you will be introduced to Bill Shockley and the invention of the transistor. We will study this history in detail in other films and readings, so for now ask yourself how the history of Shockleyís work connects to the history of the computer industry. Why was his work important? How did the computer industry respond (or fail to respond) to his innovations?

6.) At the end of the movie you will also be introduced to Robert Noyce, Jack Kilby and the invention of the integrated circuit ("IC"). We will study this history in detail in other films and readings, so for now ask yourself how the history of the "IC" connects to the history of the computer industry. Why was it an important invention? How did the computer industry respond (or fail to respond) to the innovation? Also, play close attention to the moment when Robert Noyce explains the connection between NASA and the Space Program and the rise of the "IC" industry in the 1960s. In what ways does he offer an answer to the final question posed in number 1 above (eg. Which was more important in the early development of the computer industry: scientific innovation, federal government spending, or the forces of free-market capitalism?).
 

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