ABSTRACT
The digital media are not only influenced by art from past centuries but depend on the labors of scientists and mathematicians dating back thousands of years. This chapter describes how the primary tool of digital media, the computer, was first conceived, its birth process, and its evolution. From such ancient and obscure beginnings as the abacus, the Pascaline, the Jacquard loom, Babbage’s computing engines, and Hollerith’s tabulating machine, modern computing was built step by step. With the development of early giant computers like ENIAC and UNIVAC, the first programming languages, as well as technological advances like the transistor, and the creation of a geographic hub in Silicon Valley, the pieces for a revolution came together. Huge mainframes gave way to personal computers, while the Internet and World Wide Web opened a universe of new possibilities for communication and commerce. As a result of all these developments, artists discovered a new medium for creativity.
