This paper argues that “A new computer class forms and approximately doubles each decade, establishing a new industry.” and names this “Bell’s Law”. This is a consequence of Moore’s Law decreasing the price of computer hardware and “intense, competitive entrepreneurial action.”
This is illustrated by the history of mainframes in the early ’50s, minicomputers in the late ’50s, supercomputers in the ’60s, home computers (initially based on 8-bit microprocessors) in the later ’70s, …
Papers related to Bell’s law for the birth and death of computer classes
- STARS: Rise and fall of minicomputers [scanning our past] [bell:procieee:2014]