Island Tinkerers - Innovation and Transformation in the Making of Taiwan s Computing

How Taiwan rose to global prominence in high tech manufacturing, from computer maker to the world’s leading chip manufacturer. How did Taiwan, a former Japanese colony and the last fortress of the defeated Chinese Nationalists, ascend to such heights in high tech manufacturing? In Defying the stereotype of “the West innovates, and the East imitates,” Tinn tells the story of Taiwanese technologists’ efforts over the past six decades. Beginning in the 1960s, they grappled with the “black-boxed” computers that were newly available through international technical aid programs. Shortly after, multinational corporations that outsourced transistor and integrated circuit assembly overseas began employing Taiwanese engineers and factory workers. Island tinkerers developed strategies to adapt, modify, assemble, and work with computers in an innovative manner. It was through this creative and ingenious tinkering with computers that they were able to gain a better understanding of the technology, opening the door to future manufacturing endeavors that now include Acer, Foxconn, Asus, and Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC).

About the author

Honghong Tinn

Product details

• Authors: Honghong Tinn
• Publisher: The MIT Press
• Languages: English
• Product format: Paperback / Softback
• Released: 07.01.2025
• EAN: 9780262549387
• ISBN: 978-0-262-54938-7
• No. of pages: 448
• Dimensions: 178 mm x 229 mm x 29 mm
• Series: History of Computing
• Subjects: Natural sciences, medicine, IT, technology > IT, data processing > General, dictionaries; HISTORY / Asia / General, TECHNOLOGY & ENGINEERING / History, COMPUTERS / History, Information technology: general issues, History of Computing, digital and information technologies