IT History (4)

Author: Fang Xingdong
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2004-03-01
Features: Fang Xingdong calmly depicts the rise and fall of the IT world, with his writings carrying a profound message. What is this enduring "way"? Is it "Digital Survival," or "Only the Madmen Can Survive"? It must be noted that survival or destruction is the dilemma facing every IT hero. They deeply experience the technological driving force of Moore's Law, pushing their personal energy to the limit in a state of constant anxiety. However, when soaring against the wind, they find that the cheese in their hands has been quietly snatched away by some new industry giant. In their drunken state, they examine their swords; they would strike the water with thousands of strokes; in their laughter, the masts and oars turn to dust; they exchange fleeting fame for light sips and low songs. They are scattered by the wind and rain; their success or failure turns to emptiness. Fang Xingdong and Wang Junxiu spent years meticulously crafting this work, which is the only authoritative history in the industry to date. IT records the history of 100 IT heroes worldwide, divided into four parts and spanning 1.3 million words. It is the most comprehensive global history of the information industry to date, centered on human figures, and can be considered an epic work of the information age. It also distinguishes itself from numerous other IT biographies that focus on industry and business perspectives. IT inherits the historical style pioneered by Shiji, primarily using the "biographies" () format to record history from a human-centered perspective, highlighting the role and significance of individuals in IT history. In Shiji, Sima Qian described emperors, feudal lords, peasant leaders, ministers, generals, empresses, eunuchs, writers, thinkers, assassins, wandering scholars, merchants, actors, physicians, and diviners, showcasing various aspects of human life. IT also embodies this style well, not only documenting technical geniuses, industry leaders, and corporate giants but also analyzing marketing experts, dissenting thinkers, hacker cowboys, and blog pioneers. The difference from Shiji is that IT follows a single "biographies" structure, categorized by industry and field. To address the complexity of IT field classification and the uneven weight of its century-long history, while also aiming to comprehensively reflect important IT figures, the authors conducted extensive research and decided to adopt a classification method of five verticals and five horizontals, totaling 10 categories. Each category includes 10 people, providing a panoramic view of the IT industry. It achieves a new balance between business and humanities, technology and management, and enterprises and ideas.
Five Verticals: Emphasize contemporary relevance, focusing on industries, especially the wave of industrialization in the past 20 years. Centered on five core fields of the IT industry—internet, personal computers, software, semiconductors, and network communications—the book particularly highlights the golden age of industrialization and commercialization since the 1980s.
Five Horizontals: Emphasize historical significance, spanning the entire century-long history of IT without limitations. It includes figures who have made significant contributions to the development of IT, categorized into five sections: Scientific Elite, Technical Genius, Entrepreneur Pioneer, Thought Hero, and Chinese Hero.