Computers and computing - Past present Future

Computer science has had a fascinating history, dating back to the mid-19th century. Its most dramatic progress, of course, has been over the past two decades or so. Hardware development has been phenomenal during this latter period. We have now reached the stage where the major problem of large-scale-computer manufacturers is in the area of software development. It would appear that the ``speed frontier'' in computer technology has been crossed, but now we are faced with the much more difficult problem of a ``complexity barrier.''