Semiconductor technology and the changing world of computing
The rapid development of the microprocessor has overshadowed developments in minicomputer and mainframe computer technology, and some commentators have forecast the eclipse of these older types of computer. However, significant developments are taking place in mini and mainframe computers, and an analysis of the needs of the three fundamental approaches to the use of computers suggests that there will always be a need for the three very different types of computer.
The article examines the general affirmation that communication networks and mobility are important to science by examining how these factors played a relevant role in one specific case, that is, research on the embryology of certain species of armadillos in the early twentieth century. As we show, access to pregnant females of the species and transport time from the wild to the laboratory were significant issues in the early days of such research. The strategies used to obtain field samples, the temporality of certain phenomena, the commercial circuits of which the organisms under study were a part, and the transformations they underwent in the laboratory all afford a glimpse at some aspects of how these scientists approached their work and what problems they faced in producing new knowledge.