'The Tail on the Hardware Dog'. Historical Articulations of Computing Machinery, Software, and Services

Abstract

The emergence of service-oriented business models in the computer industry over the last 15 years is part of broader historical dynamics underlying the relations between hardware, software, and services. This article traces the changing configurations of this triad with a particular focus on the economic, technological, and social construction of “software” in exemplary contexts. The historical evidence opens analytical and critical perspectives on the current rearticulation of software in terms of “services.”