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Process—The Way Things Work Around Here

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Organizational Learning
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Abstract

In 1980 my daughter and I built a computer from a kit, the Heathkit H-8. The computer case was about 6 inches tall, 16 inches wide, and 17 inches deep and was powered from an electrical outlet, no batteries here. It had a sixteen-digit keypad for entering data and a light emitting diode numerical display. One of our most memorable discussions was about whether to upgrade from the standard 8k (8,192 storage locations or bytes) to the optional 16k of memory. This week Kelly and I looked at an Apple iPhone with 8 gigabytes (more than 8,000,000,000 bytes) of memory, 1 million times more than the computer she and I assembled in 1980. The iPhone is 1/300th the size of the H-8 (less than 5 cubic inches). It has an integrated touch keypad and a video display. It also contains a phone and a camera. It can store thousands of songs and I can listen to music for up to twenty-four hours without recharging the device.

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References

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© 2009 Jerry L. Wellman

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Wellman, J.L. (2009). Process—The Way Things Work Around Here. In: Organizational Learning. Palgrave Macmillan, New York. https://doi.org/10.1057/9780230621541_6

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