CS 407H is a class offered at Oregon State University in fall 2011. The instructor is Dr. Kiri Wagstaff.

We will cover the origins and evolution of computing, beginning with early manual computation and going through today (when we even have computers on Mars!). We will follow the series of innovations and discoveries that led to the modern computer, the Internet, the Web, and new computing devices such as tablet computers and smart phones. Along the way we will meet several luminaries of the field, including Charles Babbage, Ada Lovelace, Alan Turing, Claude Shannon, Grace Hopper, John von Neumann, and others. We will discuss the role of computers in issues such as privacy, communication, job automation, warfare, artificial intelligence, and more.

Note: the leftmost image in the blog header is the work of Sydney Padua, 2Dgoggles, used with permission. The Napier’s Rods image is copyright 2010 by the University of South Florida, provided by FCIT for educational use. All other images are from the public domain or were unattributed.