50 years ago, a computer could fill a room, notebooks consisted of paper and a pencil, an apple was just a fruit and by far the greatest store of information was a library.
Over the last five decades, we’ve seen numerous shifts in not only how we view technology, but in how we interact with it, use it in language and how it transforms our society and culture.
Now the Internet has evolved to over fourteen billion pages, electronic communication has long surpassed written or verbal, and for many of us computing now involves a steady stream of Apps, clouds and tweets.
On Thursday 13 June 2013, we celebrated 50 Years of Computing and enjoyed an interactive retrospective of technology over the last five decades. Drawing on the university archives and the recollections of our staff and former students, we invited guests from industry, academia and friends of the University to join us in rediscovering our history and explore how computing has evolved over the years.
Dedicated computer programmers making great programs but also innumerable syntax errors, mysterious program breaks, mixed up punch cards and corrupted disks.
Not only moving with technological change but also creating our own innovation and embracing some of the most advanced techniques available.
From 2mb hard drives to 64gb USB sticks, monochrome screens to auto stereoscopic displays, DMU has seen many changes.
Teaching has been at the front and centre of DMU's vision from the very beginning, shifting across academic disciplines as the needs of industry and culture change.