Computer History: From The Antikythera Mechanism To The Modern Era

Epilogue

We mentioned some of the most important historical events that led to the modern computers and devices that we all use and enjoy. In many cases, we take modern technology for granted and we neglect to see the courage, knowledge and the hard work of some brilliant individuals who devoted their lives to advance the field of computer science. Today, computers are used everywhere, and most of us cannot even imagine a life without them. 

Just a few decades ago even the most optimistic person couldn't have imagined that today most modern families would have a home computer. And with technology advancing at such a rapid pace, we can't know for sure what the next decade will bring. Thankfully, there are many brilliant minds around the globe working hard to design and build new hardware and software. Some may argue that the future of computing lies in organic computing, while others may claim that the way to go is quantum circuits. In the computing world, scientists must work in parallel with visionaries to create truly innovative products that will bring drastic changes.

Despite the huge developments in the past several decades, there are still some areas of computing that haven't seen much advancement. For example, the standard peripherals for interacting with computers are still the keyboard and mouse. New ways of interacting with computer hardware need to be designed, but in order to accomplish things like this we must embrace the way the computer science pioneers thought, seeing beyond profit and marketing success.

As you might have noticed, some computers or hardware parts have managed to play a key role in history despite limited marketing success. For example the NeXT Cube was a market failure, but played a key role in the development of the first browser.

We hope future generations will visit the Computer History Museum and see the next decades of great success, failure, and progress.

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