Re: History of the IT industry

[Michael West <WestM -at- conwag -dot- com>]

Geoff Lane wrote:

> 
> On Saturday, May 31, 2008, Fred Ridder wrote;
> 
> > But if it's on the Web, it *MUST* be true, right???  So I guess 
> > Merriam-Webster must have got it wrong when they cited 1978 
> > as the origin of information technology. Does that mean we can
> > also discount their definition of the term, since they clearly got
> > the date wrong?
> ---
> 
> Webster must have got the date wrong if we are to believe it's
> definition: "the technology involving the development, maintenance,
> and use of computer systems, software, and networks for the processing
> and distribution of data".

No, Merriam-Webster's citation date is for the first documented use of the 
term in the sense given. Lexicographers date words and meanings, not 
events.

-- 
Mike West
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