How can Chinese—a language with tens of thousands of characters and no alphabet—be input on a QWERTY keyboard with only a few dozen keys? In his new book, The Chinese Computer, Stanford professor Thomas Mullaney dissects the history and evolution of Chinese language computing technology and explores the fascinating story of software programs that enable Chinese characters to be produced using alphanumeric symbols. Join us for a fireside chat with Mullaney as he discusses: • The profound impact this software had on the way Chinese is written. • How these advances helped computers gain traction in Asian countries. • The way culture informs computing and how computing, in turn, shapes culture.
