Best of
Technology

2015

Designing Data-Intensive Applications


Martin Kleppmann - 2015
    Difficult issues need to be figured out, such as scalability, consistency, reliability, efficiency, and maintainability. In addition, we have an overwhelming variety of tools, including relational databases, NoSQL datastores, stream or batch processors, and message brokers. What are the right choices for your application? How do you make sense of all these buzzwords?In this practical and comprehensive guide, author Martin Kleppmann helps you navigate this diverse landscape by examining the pros and cons of various technologies for processing and storing data. Software keeps changing, but the fundamental principles remain the same. With this book, software engineers and architects will learn how to apply those ideas in practice, and how to make full use of data in modern applications. Peer under the hood of the systems you already use, and learn how to use and operate them more effectively Make informed decisions by identifying the strengths and weaknesses of different tools Navigate the trade-offs around consistency, scalability, fault tolerance, and complexity Understand the distributed systems research upon which modern databases are built Peek behind the scenes of major online services, and learn from their architectures

The DevOps Handbook: How to Create World-Class Agility, Reliability, and Security in Technology Organizations


Gene Kim - 2015
    For decades, technology leaders have struggled to balance agility, reliability, and security. The consequences of failure have never been greater whether it's the healthcare.gov debacle, cardholder data breaches, or missing the boat with Big Data in the cloud.And yet, high performers using DevOps principles, such as Google, Amazon, Facebook, Etsy, and Netflix, are routinely and reliably deploying code into production hundreds, or even thousands, of times per day.Following in the footsteps of The Phoenix Project, The DevOps Handbook shows leaders how to replicate these incredible outcomes, by showing how to integrate Product Management, Development, QA, IT Operations, and Information Security to elevate your company and win in the marketplace."Table of contentsPrefaceSpreading the Aha! MomentIntroductionPART I: THE THREE WAYS1. Agile, continuous delivery and the three ways2. The First Way: The Principles of Flow3. The Second Way: The Principle of Feedback4. The Third Way: The Principles of Continual LearningPART II: WHERE TO START5. Selecting which value stream to start with6. Understanding the work in our value stream…7. How to design our organization and architecture8. How to get great outcomes by integrating operations into the daily work for developmentPART III: THE FIRST WAY: THE TECHNICAL PRACTICES OF FLOW9. Create the foundations of our deployment pipeline10. Enable fast and reliable automated testing11. Enable and practice continuous integration12. Automate and enable low-risk releases13. Architect for low-risk releasesPART IV: THE SECOND WAY: THE TECHNICAL PRACTICES OF FEEDBACK14*. Create telemetry to enable seeing abd solving problems15. Analyze telemetry to better anticipate problems16. Enable feedbackso development and operation can safely deploy code17. Integrate hypothesis-driven development and A/B testing into our daily work18. Create review and coordination processes to increase quality of our current workPART V: THE THRID WAY: THE TECHNICAL PRACTICES OF CONTINUAL LEARNING19. Enable and inject learning into daily work20. Convert local discoveries into global improvements21. Reserve time to create organizational learning22. Information security as everyone’s job, every day23. Protecting the deployment pipelinePART VI: CONCLUSIONA call to actionConclusion to the DevOps HandbookAPPENDICES1. The convergence of Devops2. The theory of constraints and core chronic conflicts3. Tabular form of downward spiral4. The dangers of handoffs and queues5. Myths of industrial safety6. The Toyota Andon Cord7. COTS Software8. Post-mortem meetings9. The Simian Army10. Transparent uptimeAdditional ResourcesEndnotes

The Go Programming Language


Alan A.A. Donovan - 2015
    It has been winning converts from dynamic language enthusiasts as well as users of traditional compiled languages. The former appreciate the robustness and efficiency that Go's lightweight type system brings to their code; the latter find Go's simplicity and fast tools a refreshing change. Thanks to its well-designed standard libraries and its excellent support for concurrent programming, Go is fast becoming the language of choice for distributed systems. The Go Programming Language is the definitive book on Go for the working programmer. It assumes no prior knowledge of Go, nor any other specific programming language, so you'll find it an accessible guide whether you come from JavaScript, Ruby, Python, Java, or C++. The book will quickly get you started using Go effectively from the beginning, and by the end, you will know how to use it well to write clear, idiomatic and efficient programs to solve real-world problems. You'll understand not just how to use its standard libraries, but how they work, and how to apply the same design techniques to your own projects. The earlier chapters will introduce you to the basic concepts of Go programming---numbers, strings, functions---while at the same time presenting important computer science concepts like recursion, and useful examples of graphics, UTF-8, and error handling. The chapters on methods and interfaces will show you a new way to think about object-oriented programming; the chapter on concurrency explains why concurrency is so important in modern programming, and how Go helps you handle it well. You'll also learn about Go's pragmatic but effective approach to testing; how to build, test, and manage projects using the go tool, and the art of metaprogramming using reflection. The book contains hundreds of interesting and practical examples that cover the whole language and a wide range of applications. The code samples from the book are available for download from gopl.io.

Elon Musk: Tesla, SpaceX, and the Quest for a Fantastic Future


Ashlee Vance - 2015
    Ashlee Vance captures the full spectacle and arc of the genius's life and work, from his tumultuous upbringing in South Africa and flight to the United States to his dramatic technical innovations and entrepreneurial pursuits. Vance uses Musk's story to explore one of the pressing questions of our age: can the nation of inventors and creators who led the modern world for a century still compete in an age of fierce global competition? He argues that Musk is an amalgam of legendary inventors and industrialists including Thomas Edison, Henry Ford, Howard Hughes, and Steve Jobs. More than any other entrepreneur today, Musk has dedicated his energies and his own vast fortune to inventing a future that is as rich and far-reaching as the visionaries of the golden age of science-fiction fantasy

How Music Got Free: The End of an Industry, the Turn of the Century, and the Patient Zero of Piracy


Stephen Richard Witt - 2015
    It’s about the greatest pirate in history, the most powerful executive in the music business, a revolutionary invention and an illegal website four times the size of the iTunes Music Store. Journalist Stephen Witt traces the secret history of digital music piracy, from the German audio engineers who invented the mp3, to a North Carolina compact-disc manufacturing plant where factory worker Dell Glover leaked nearly two thousand albums over the course of a decade, to the high-rises of midtown Manhattan where music executive Doug Morris cornered the global market on rap, and, finally, into the darkest recesses of the Internet.Through these interwoven narratives, Witt has written a thrilling book that depicts the moment in history when ordinary life became forever entwined with the world online — when, suddenly, all the music ever recorded was available for free. In the page-turning tradition of writers like Michael Lewis and Lawrence Wright, Witt’s deeply-reported first book introduces the unforgettable characters—inventors, executives, factory workers, and smugglers—who revolutionized an entire artform, and reveals for the first time the secret underworld of media pirates that transformed our digital lives.An irresistible never-before-told story of greed, cunning, genius, and deceit, How Music Got Free isn’t just a story of the music industry—it’s a must-read history of the Internet itself.

The AI Revolution: The Road to Superintelligence


Tim Urban - 2015
    The topic everyone in the world should be talking about.

The Effective Engineer: How to Leverage Your Efforts In Software Engineering to Make a Disproportionate and Meaningful Impact


Edmond Lau - 2015
    I'm going to share that mindset with you — along with hundreds of actionable techniques and proven habits — so you can shortcut those years.Introducing The Effective Engineer — the only book designed specifically for today's software engineers, based on extensive interviews with engineering leaders at top tech companies, and packed with hundreds of techniques to accelerate your career.For two years, I embarked on a quest seeking an answer to one question:How do the most effective engineers make their efforts, their teams, and their careers more successful?I interviewed and collected stories from engineering VPs, directors, managers, and other leaders at today's top software companies: established, household names like Google, Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn; rapidly growing mid-sized companies like Dropbox, Square, Box, Airbnb, and Etsy; and startups like Reddit, Stripe, Instagram, and Lyft.These leaders shared stories about the most valuable insights they've learned and the most common and costly mistakes that they've seen engineers — sometimes themselves — make.This is just a small sampling of the hard questions I posed to them:- What engineering qualities correlate with future success?- What have you done that has paid off the highest returns?- What separates the most effective engineers you've worked with from everyone else?- What's the most valuable lesson your team has learned in the past year?- What advice do you give to new engineers on your team? Everyone's story is different, but many of the lessons share common themes.You'll get to hear stories like:- How did Instagram's team of 5 engineers build and support a service that grew to over 40 million users by the time the company was acquired?- How and why did Quora deploy code to production 40 to 50 times per day?- How did the team behind Google Docs become the fastest acquisition to rewrite its software to run on Google's infrastructure?- How does Etsy use continuous experimentation to design features that are guaranteed to increase revenue at launch?- How did Facebook's small infrastructure team effectively operate thousands of database servers?- How did Dropbox go from barely hiring any new engineers to nearly tripling its team size year-over-year? What's more, I've distilled their stories into actionable habits and lessons that you can follow step-by-step to make your career and your team more successful.The skills used by effective engineers are all learnable.And I'll teach them to you. With The Effective Engineer, I'll teach you a unifying framework called leverage — the value produced per unit of time invested — that you can use to identify the activities that produce disproportionate results.Here's a sneak peek at some of the lessons you'll learn. You'll learn how to:- Prioritize the right projects and tasks to increase your impact.- Earn more leeway from your peers and managers on your projects.- Spend less time maintaining and fixing software and more time building and shipping new features.- Produce more accurate software estimates.- Validate your ideas cheaply to reduce wasted work.- Navigate organizational and people-related bottlenecks.- Find the appropriate level of code reviews, testing, abstraction, and technical debt to balance speed and quality.- Shorten your debugging workflow to increase your iteration speed.

Digital Gold: Bitcoin and the Inside Story of the Misfits and Millionaires Trying to Reinvent Money


Nathaniel Popper - 2015
    Believers from Beijing to Buenos Aires see the potential for a financial system free from banks and governments. More than just a tech industry fad, Bitcoin has threatened to decentralize some of society’s most basic institutions.An unusual tale of group invention, Digital Gold charts the rise of the Bitcoin technology through the eyes of the movement’s colorful central characters, including an Argentinian millionaire, a Chinese entrepreneur, Tyler and Cameron Winklevoss, and Bitcoin’s elusive creator, Satoshi Nakamoto. Already, Bitcoin has led to untold riches for some, and prison terms for others.

Dark Matters: On the Surveillance of Blackness


Simone Browne - 2015
    She shows how contemporary surveillance technologies and practices are informed by the long history of racial formation and by the methods of policing black life under slavery, such as branding, runaway slave notices, and lantern laws. Placing surveillance studies into conversation with the archive of transatlantic slavery and its afterlife, Browne draws from black feminist theory, sociology, and cultural studies to analyze texts as diverse as the methods of surveilling blackness she discusses: from the design of the eighteenth-century slave ship Brooks, Jeremy Bentham's Panopticon, and The Book of Negroes, to contemporary art, literature, biometrics, and post-9/11 airport security practices. Surveillance, Browne asserts, is both a discursive and material practice that reifies boundaries, borders, and bodies around racial lines, so much so that the surveillance of blackness has long been, and continues to be, a social and political norm.

Becoming Steve Jobs: The Evolution of a Reckless Upstart into a Visionary Leader


Brent Schlender - 2015
    But this book is different from all the others.Becoming Steve Jobs takes on and breaks down the existing myth and stereotypes about Steve Jobs. The conventional, one-dimensional view of Jobs is that he was half-genius, half-jerk from youth, an irascible and selfish leader who slighted friends and family alike. Becoming Steve Jobs answers the central question about the life and career of the Apple cofounder and CEO: How did a young man so reckless and arrogant that he was exiled from the company he founded become the most effective visionary business leader of our time, ultimately transforming the daily life of billions of people?Drawing on incredible and sometimes exclusive access, Schlender and Tetzeli tell a different story of a real human being who wrestled with his failings and learned to maximize his strengths over time. Their rich, compelling narrative is filled with stories never told before from the people who knew Jobs best, and who decided to open up to the authors, including his family, former inner circle executives, and top people at Apple, Pixar and Disney, most notably Tim Cook, Jony Ive, Eddy Cue, Ed Catmull, John Lasseter, Robert Iger and many others. In addition, Brent knew Jobs personally for 25 years and draws upon his many interviews with him, on and off the record, in writing the book. He and Rick humanize the man and explain, rather than simply describe, his behavior. Along the way, the book provides rich context about the technology revolution we all have lived through, and the ways in which Jobs changed our world.Schlender and Tetzeli make clear that Jobs's astounding success at Apple was far more complicated than simply picking the right products: he became more patient, he learned to trust his inner circle, and discovered the importance of growing the company incrementally rather than only shooting for dazzling game-changing products.A rich and revealing account that will change the way we view Jobs, Becoming Steve Jobs shows us how one of the most colorful and compelling figures of our times was able to combine his unchanging, relentless passion with a more mature management style to create one of the most valuable and beloved companies on the planet.

Hello, Startup: A Programmer's Guide to Building Products, Technologies, and Teams


Yevgeniy Brikman - 2015
    We are in the era of the high tech startup.This book is the "Hello, World" tutorial for building products, technologies, and teams in a startup environment. It's based on the experiences of the author, Yevgeniy Brikman, as well as interviews with programmers from some of the most successful startups of the last decade, including Google, Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, GitHub, Stripe, Instagram, AdMob, Pinterest, and many others.If you're at all interested in startups—whether you're a programmer at the beginning of your career, a seasoned developer bored with the politics of large companies, a manager trying to figure out how to motivate your engineers, or just someone trying to figure out what this startup thing is all about—this book is for you. For more info, see http: //www.hello-startup.net"

Two Scoops of Django: Best Practices for Django 1.8


Daniel Roy Greenfeld - 2015
    This book is chock-full of material that will help you with your Django projects.We’ll introduce you to various tips, tricks, patterns, code snippets, and techniques that we’ve picked up over the years.

Introduction to Networking: How the Internet Works


Charles Severance - 2015
     While very complex, the Internet operates on a few relatively simple concepts that anyone can understand. Networks and networked applications are embedded in our lives. Understanding how these technologies work is invaluable.  This book was written for everyone - no technical knowledge is required!While this book is not specifically about the Network+ or CCNA certifications, it as a way to give students interested in these certifications a starting point.

The Digital Doctor: Hope, Hype, and Harm at the Dawn of Medicine's Computer Age


Robert M. Wachter - 2015
    For the past few decades, technology has been touted as the cure for all of healthcare's ills.But medicine stubbornly resisted computerization - until now. Over the past five years, thanks largely to billions of dollars in federal incentives, healthcare has finally gone digital.Yet once clinicians started using computers to actually deliver care, it dawned on them that something was deeply wrong. Why were doctors no longer making eye contact with their patients? How could one of America's leading hospitals give a teenager a 39-fold overdose of a common antibiotic, despite a state-of-the-art computerized prescribing system? How could a recruiting ad for physicians tout the absence of an electronic medical record as a major selling point?Logically enough, we've pinned the problems on clunky software, flawed implementations, absurd regulations, and bad karma. It was all of those things, but it was also something far more complicated. And far more interesting . . .Written with a rare combination of compelling stories and hard-hitting analysis by one of the nation's most thoughtful physicians, The Digital Doctor examines healthcare at the dawn of its computer age. It tackles the hard questions, from how technology is changing care at the bedside to whether government intervention has been useful or destructive. And it does so with clarity, insight, humor, and compassion. Ultimately, it is a hopeful story."We need to recognize that computers in healthcare don't simply replace my doctor's scrawl with Helvetica 12," writes the author Dr. Robert Wachter. "Instead, they transform the work, the people who do it, and their relationships with each other and with patients. . . . Sure, we should have thought of this sooner. But it's not too late to get it right."This riveting book offers the prescription for getting it right, making it essential reading for everyone - patient and provider alike - who cares about our healthcare system.

Ansible for DevOps


Jeff Geerling - 2015
    This book will help those familiar the command line and basic shell scripting start using Ansible to provision and manage anywhere from one to thousands of servers.The book begins with fundamentals, like installing Ansible, setting up a basic inventory file, and basic concepts, then guides you through Ansible's many uses, including ad-hoc commands, basic and advanced playbooks, application deployments, custom modules, and special cases like running ansible in 'pull' mode when you have thousands of servers to manage (or more). Everything is explained with pertinent real-world examples, often using Vagrant-managed virtual machines.

Platform Scale: How an emerging business model helps startups build large empires with minimum investment


Sangeet Paul Choudary - 2015
    Today's massively scaling startups - which rapidly grow to millions of users and billions in valuation - do not sell a product or service. Instead, they build a platform on which others can create and exchange value.The many manifestations of the platform business model - social media, the peer economy, cryptocurrencies, APIs and developer ecosystems, the Internet of things, crowdsourcing models, and many others - are becoming increasingly relevant.Yet, most new platform ideas fail because the business design and growth strategies involved in building platforms are not well understood.Platform Scale lays out a structured approach to designing and growing a platform business model and addresses the key factors leading to the success and failure of these businesses.Six core concepts for successful platform business model design1. Re-imagine your business for platform scaleThe mechanism by which these new business models scale so rapidly. Understand the shift in thinking needed to manage businesses with platform scale and the impact of network effects, virality, behavior design and data."We are not in the business of building software. We are in the business of enabling interactions."2. Leverage interaction-first designHow detailed consideration around designing the producer-consumer core interaction is critical for building business models that leverage platform scale."The design of the platform business model involves the design of a core interaction followed by the design of an open infrastructure that will enable and govern this interaction."3. Build cumulative value and minimize interaction failureKnow the key managerial decisions to focus on while managing platform scale businesses, all geared towards maximizing the ability of these businesses to enable interactions by scaling producer participation and minimizing interaction failure."Platform scale is achieved by maximizing the repeatability and efficiency of the platform's core interaction."4. Solve chicken and egg problemsPlatform business models face an all too familiar catch-22 chicken and egg problem on the way to scaling. This can be overcome by designing the conditions for sparking interactions."The solution to the chicken-and-egg problem requires a bait that can break the vicious cycle of no activity."5. Design viral enginesUnderstand the drivers of viral growth in a world of networks and apply the viral canvas design-first approach to viral growth."Virality is a business design problem, not a marketing or engineering effort. It requires design before optimization."6. Account for reverse network effectsConsider the counter view on platform scale and be on the lookout for conditions where scale can be detrimental to platform businesses."The goal of platform scale is to ensure the simultaneous scaling of quantity and quality, of interactions."Platform Scale is a maker's guide for entrepreneurs, innovators and educators looking to understand and implement the inner workings of highly scalable platform business models.

Amplify: Digital Teaching and Learning in the K-6 Classroom


Katie Muhtaris - 2015
    "It's not the tools-it's what we do with them that counts.Katie and Kristin start with our most important educational goals-literacy, independence, and critical thinking-and helps you connect them to the technology available in your classroom or school. You'll help students dig into texts, research their questions, and create powerful learning communities by using digital tools effectively, responsibly, and in combination with trusted artifacts and print resources.Amplify does exactly what the title implies. "When introducing technological tools, we often apply the same practices and strategies we use in our daily teaching, but amplify their power with technology," write Katie and Kristin. "We model what we want students to do with the technology, guide them to try it out with us, provide time for practice, then share as a class." They help amplify your literacy curriculum with lessons and guidance for:explicitly teaching kids how to be effective digital readers and thinkers giving students practice with closely reading images, infographics, and video emphasizing student ownership and creativity Whether you are in a 1:1 school, want to squeeze everything you can out of the one device in your classroom, or your school is encouraging you to use more digital tools, read Amplify. You'll discover how to gradually release responsibility to empower students as you-and your students-make the most of any technology.

The Hacker Playbook 2: Practical Guide To Penetration Testing


Peter Kim - 2015
    The Hacker Playbook provides them their own game plans. Written by a longtime security professional and CEO of Secure Planet, LLC, this step-by-step guide to the “game” of penetration hacking features hands-on examples and helpful advice from the top of the field.Through a series of football-style “plays,” this straightforward guide gets to the root of many of the roadblocks people may face while penetration testing—including attacking different types of networks, pivoting through security controls, privilege escalation, and evading antivirus software.From “Pregame” research to “The Drive” and “The Lateral Pass,” the practical plays listed can be read in order or referenced as needed. Either way, the valuable advice within will put you in the mindset of a penetration tester of a Fortune 500 company, regardless of your career or level of experience.This second version of The Hacker Playbook takes all the best "plays" from the original book and incorporates the latest attacks, tools, and lessons learned. Double the content compared to its predecessor, this guide further outlines building a lab, walks through test cases for attacks, and provides more customized code.Whether you’re downing energy drinks while desperately looking for an exploit, or preparing for an exciting new job in IT security, this guide is an essential part of any ethical hacker’s library—so there’s no reason not to get in the game.

The Typewriter Revolution: A Typist's Companion for the 21st Century


Richard Polt - 2015
    The Typewriter Revolution documents the movement and provides practical advice on how to choose a typewriter, how to care for it, and what to do with it—from National Novel Writing Month to letter-writing socials, from type-ins to typewritten blogs, from custom-painted typewriters to typewriter tattoos. It celebrates the unique quality of everything typewriter, fully-illustrated with vintage photographs, postcards, manuals, and more. 50 color photographs

The Boy Who Could Change the World: The Writings of Aaron Swartz


Aaron Swartz - 2015
    His tragic suicide in 2013 at the age of twenty-six after being aggressively prosecuted for copyright infringement shocked the nation and the world.Here for the first time in print is revealed the quintessential Aaron Swartz: besides being a technical genius and a passionate activist, he was also an insightful, compelling, and cutting essayist. With a technical understanding of the Internet and of intellectual property law surpassing that of many seasoned professionals, he wrote thoughtfully and humorously about intellectual property, copyright, and the architecture of the Internet. He wrote as well about unexpected topics such as pop culture, politics both electoral and idealistic, dieting, and lifehacking. Including three in-depth and previously unpublished essays about education, governance, and cities, The Boy Who Could Change the World contains the life’s work of one of the most original minds of our time.

CUNNING PLANS: Talks By Warren Ellis


Warren Ellis - 2015
    CUNNING PLANS collects several of NYT-bestselling author Warren Ellis' lectures on the nature of the haunted future and the secrets of deep history, given in recent years at events in London, New York, Los Angeles and Berlin.

CISSP (ISC)2 Certified Information Systems Security Professional Official Study Guide


James Michael Stewart - 2015
    This bestselling Sybex study guide covers 100% of all exam objectives. You'll prepare for the exam smarter and faster with Sybex thanks to expert content, real-world examples, advice on passing each section of the exam, access to the Sybex online interactive learning environment, and much more. Reinforce what you've learned with key topic exam essentials and chapter review questions. Along with the book, you also get access to Sybex's superior online interactive learning environment that includes: Four unique 250 question practice exams to help you identify where you need to study more. Get more than 90 percent of the answers correct, and you're ready to take the certification exam. More than 650 Electronic Flashcards to reinforce your learning and give you last-minute test prep before the exam A searchable glossary in PDF to give you instant access to the key terms you need to know for the exam Coverage of all of the exam topics in the book means you'll be ready for: Security and Risk Management Asset Security Security Engineering Communication and Network Security Identity and Access Management Security Assessment and Testing Security Operations Software Development Security

Infrastructure as Code: Managing Servers in the Cloud


Kief Morris - 2015
    But many organizations adopting these technologies have found that it only leads to a faster-growing sprawl of unmanageable systems. This is where infrastructure as code can help. With this practical guide, author Kief Morris of ThoughtWorks shows you how to effectively use principles, practices, and patterns pioneered through the DevOps movement to manage cloud age infrastructure.Ideal for system administrators, infrastructure engineers, team leads, and architects, this book demonstrates various tools, techniques, and patterns you can use to implement infrastructure as code. In three parts, you'll learn about the platforms and tooling involved in creating and configuring infrastructure elements, patterns for using these tools, and practices for making infrastructure as code work in your environment.Examine the pitfalls that organizations fall into when adopting the new generation of infrastructure technologiesUnderstand the capabilities and service models of dynamic infrastructure platformsLearn about tools that provide, provision, and configure core infrastructure resourcesExplore services and tools for managing a dynamic infrastructureLearn specific patterns and practices for provisioning servers, building server templates, and updating running servers

Web Scraping with Python: Collecting Data from the Modern Web


Ryan Mitchell - 2015
    With this practical guide, you’ll learn how to use Python scripts and web APIs to gather and process data from thousands—or even millions—of web pages at once. Ideal for programmers, security professionals, and web administrators familiar with Python, this book not only teaches basic web scraping mechanics, but also delves into more advanced topics, such as analyzing raw data or using scrapers for frontend website testing. Code samples are available to help you understand the concepts in practice. Learn how to parse complicated HTML pages Traverse multiple pages and sites Get a general overview of APIs and how they work Learn several methods for storing the data you scrape Download, read, and extract data from documents Use tools and techniques to clean badly formatted data Read and write natural languages Crawl through forms and logins Understand how to scrape JavaScript Learn image processing and text recognition

The Network: The Battle for the Airwaves and the Birth of the Communications Age


Scott Woolley - 2015
    Sarnoff was convinced that Armstrong’s inventions had the power to change the way societies communicated with each other forever. He would become a visionary captain of the media industry, even predicting the advent of the Internet. In the mid-1930s, however, when Armstrong suspected Sarnoff of orchestrating a cadre of government officials to seize control of the FM airwaves, he committed suicide. Sarnoff had a very different view of who his friend’s enemies were. Many corrupt politicians and corporations saw in Armstrong’s inventions the opportunity to commodify our most ubiquitous natural resource—the air. This early alliance between high tech and business set the precedent for countless legal and industrial battles over broadband and licensing bandwidth, many of which continue to influence policy and debate today.

The Complete Book of the SR-71 Blackbird


Richard Graham - 2015
    The Lockheed SR-71 Blackbird spy plane flew more than three-and-a-half times the speed of sound--so fast that no other aircraft could catch it. Above 80,000 feet, its pilots had to wear full-pressure flight suits similar to what was used aboard the space shuttle.Developed by the renowned Lockheed Skunk Works, the SR-71 was an awesome aircraft in every respect. It was withdrawn from use in 1998, when it was superseded by satellite technology. Twelve of the thirty-two aircraft were destroyed in accidents, but none were ever lost to enemy action.Throughout its thirty-four-year career, the SR-71 was the world's fastest and highest-flying operational manned aircraft. It set world records for altitude and speed: an absolute altitude record of 85,069 feet and an absolute speed record of 2,193.2 miles per hour.The Complete Book of the SR-71 Blackbird covers every aspect of the SR-71's development, manufacture, modification, and active service from the insider's perspective of one of its pilots and is lavishly illustrated with more than 400 photos. Former pilot and author Richard Graham also examines each of the fifty planes that came out the SR-71 program (fifteen A-12s; three YF-12s; and thirty-two SR-71s) and tells each plane's history, its unique specifications, and where each currently resides.

Shell Scripting: How to Automate Command Line Tasks Using Bash Scripting and Shell Programming


Jason Cannon - 2015
    My name is Jason Cannon and I'm the author of Linux for Beginners, Python Programming for Beginners, and an instructor to thousands of satisfied students. I started my IT career in the late 1990's as a Unix and Linux System Engineer and I'll be sharing my real-world shell scripting and bash programming experience with you throughout this book.By the end of this book you will be able to create shell scripts with ease. You'll learn how to take tedious and repetitive tasks and turn them into programs that will save you time and simplify your life on Linux, Unix, or MAC systems. Here is what you will get and learn by reading this Shell Scripting ebook: A step-by-step process of writing shell scripts that solve real-world problems. The #1 thing you must do every time you create a shell script. How to quickly find and fix the most shell scripting errors. How to accept input from a user and then make decisions on that input. How to accept and process command line arguments. What special variables are available, how to use them in your shell scripts, and when to do so. A shell script creation check list -- You'll never have to guess what to include in each of your shell scripts again. Just use this simple check list. A shell script template (boilerplate). Use this format for each of your shell scripts. It shows exactly what to include and where everything goes. Eliminate guesswork! Practice exercises with solutions so you can start using what you learn right away. Real-world examples of shell scripts from my personal collection. A download that contains the scripts used in the book and lessons. You'll be able to look at and experiment with everything you're learning. Learn to Program Using Any Shell Scirpting Language What you learn in this book can be applied to any shell, however the focus is on the bash shell and you'll learn some really advanced bash features. Again, whether you're using bash, bourne (sh), KornShell (ksh), C shell (csh), Z shell (zsh), or even the tcsh shell, you'll be able to put what you learn in this book to good use. Perfect for Linux, Unix, Mac and More! Also, you'll be able to use these scripts on any Linux environment including Ubuntu, Debian, Linux Mint, RedHat, Fedora, OpenSUSE, Slackware, Kali Linux and more. You're scripts will even run on other operating systems such as Apple's Mac OS X, Oracle's Solaris, IBM's AIX, HP's HP-UX, FreeBSD, NetBSD, and OpenBSD. Scroll up, click the Buy Now With 1 Click button and get started learning Linux today!

Breaking Smart - Season 1


Venkatesh G. Rao - 2015
    Season 1, comprising 20 essays totaling approximately 30,000 words, is written by Venkatesh Rao and illustrated by Grace Witherell. This inaugural season is an in-depth exploration of Marc Andreessen’s observation that “software is eating the world.”

I Am Error: The Nintendo Family Computer / Entertainment System Platform


Nathan Altice - 2015
    In the 1987 Nintendo Entertainment System videogame Zelda II: The Adventure of Link, a character famously declared: I AM ERROR. Puzzled players assumed that this cryptic mesage was a programming flaw, but it was actually a clumsy Japanese-English translation of "My Name is Error," a benign programmer's joke. In I AM ERROR Nathan Altice explores the complex material histories of the Nintendo Entertainment System (and its Japanese predecessor, the Family Computer), offering a detailed analysis of its programming and engineering, its expressive affordances, and its cultural significance.Nintendo games were rife with mistranslated texts, but, as Altice explains, Nintendo's translation challenges were not just linguistic but also material, with consequences beyond simple misinterpretation. Emphasizing the technical and material evolution of Nintendo's first cartridge-based platform, Altice describes the development of the Family Computer (or Famicom) and its computational architecture; the "translation" problems faced while adapting the Famicom for the U.S. videogame market as the redesigned Entertainment System; Nintendo's breakthrough console title Super Mario Bros. and its remarkable software innovations; the introduction of Nintendo's short-lived proprietary disk format and the design repercussions on The Legend of Zelda; Nintendo's efforts to extend their console's lifespan through cartridge augmentations; the Famicom's Audio Processing Unit (APU) and its importance for the chiptunes genre; and the emergence of software emulators and the new kinds of play they enabled.

The Science of Information: From Language to Black Holes


Benjamin Schumacher - 2015
    Never before in history have we been able to acquire, record, communicate, and use information in so many different forms. Never before have we had access to such vast quantities of data of every kind. This revolution goes far beyond the limitless content that fills our lives, because information also underlies our understanding of ourselves, the natural world, and the universe. It is the key that unites fields as different as linguistics, cryptography, neuroscience, genetics, economics, and quantum mechanics. And the fact that information bears no necessary connection to meaning makes it a profound puzzle that people with a passion for philosophy have pondered for centuries.Table of ContentsLECTURE 1The Transformability of Information 4LECTURE 2Computation and Logic Gates 17LECTURE 3Measuring Information 26LECTURE 4Entropy and the Average Surprise 34LECTURE 5Data Compression and Prefix-Free Codes 44LECTURE 6Encoding Images and Sounds 57LECTURE 7Noise and Channel Capacity 69LECTURE 8Error-Correcting Codes 82LECTURE 9Signals and Bandwidth 94LECTURE 10Cryptography and Key Entropy 110LECTURE 11Cryptanalysis and Unraveling the Enigma 119LECTURE 12Unbreakable Codes and Public Keys 130LECTURE 13What Genetic Information Can Do 140LECTURE 14Life’s Origins and DNA Computing 152LECTURE 15Neural Codes in the Brain 169LECTURE 16Entropy and Microstate Information 185LECTURE 17Erasure Cost and Reversible Computing 198LECTURE 18Horse Races and Stock Markets 213LECTURE 19Turing Machines and Algorithmic Information 226LECTURE 20Uncomputable Functions and Incompleteness 239LECTURE 21Qubits and Quantum Information 253LECTURE 22Quantum Cryptography via Entanglement 266LECTURE 23It from Bit: Physics from Information 281LECTURE 24The Meaning of Information 293

The Internet of Garbage


Sarah Jeong - 2015
    The Internet of Garbage considers why and how to recalibrate this ongoing project of garbage-removal from content platforms and social media networks. It’s not as simple as policing offensive material and hitting the delete button online: Jeong tackles precarious issues like free speech, behavior vs. content, doxing and SPAM.She writes, “Content platforms and social media networks do not have the power to restrain stalkers, end intimate partner violence, eliminate child abuse, or stop street harassment. But they can cultivate better interactions and better discourse, through thoughtful architecture, active moderation and community management.”So how do we filter content from garbage? Read on.Sarah Jeong writes about technology, policy and law with bylines at Forbes, The Verge, The Guardian, Slate and WIRED.

AWS Well-Architected Framework (AWS Whitepaper)


Amazon Web Services - 2015
    By using the Framework you will learn architectural best practices for designing and operating reliable, secure, efficient, and cost-effective systems in the cloud.

Data and Goliath: The Hidden Battles to Collect Your Data and Control Your World


Bruce Schneier - 2015
    Your online and in-store purchasing patterns are recorded, and reveal if you're unemployed, sick, or pregnant. Your e-mails and texts expose your intimate and casual friends. Google knows what you’re thinking because it saves your private searches. Facebook can determine your sexual orientation without you ever mentioning it.The powers that surveil us do more than simply store this information. Corporations use surveillance to manipulate not only the news articles and advertisements we each see, but also the prices we’re offered. Governments use surveillance to discriminate, censor, chill free speech, and put people in danger worldwide. And both sides share this information with each other or, even worse, lose it to cybercriminals in huge data breaches.Much of this is voluntary: we cooperate with corporate surveillance because it promises us convenience, and we submit to government surveillance because it promises us protection. The result is a mass surveillance society of our own making. But have we given up more than we’ve gained? In Data and Goliath, security expert Bruce Schneier offers another path, one that values both security and privacy. He brings his bestseller up-to-date with a new preface covering the latest developments, and then shows us exactly what we can do to reform government surveillance programs, shake up surveillance-based business models, and protect our individual privacy. You'll never look at your phone, your computer, your credit cards, or even your car in the same way again.

Fundamentals of Machine Learning for Predictive Data Analytics: Algorithms, Worked Examples, and Case Studies


John D. Kelleher - 2015
    These models are used in predictive data analytics applications including price prediction, risk assessment, predicting customer behavior, and document classification. This introductory textbook offers a detailed and focused treatment of the most important machine learning approaches used in predictive data analytics, covering both theoretical concepts and practical applications. Technical and mathematical material is augmented with explanatory worked examples, and case studies illustrate the application of these models in the broader business context.After discussing the trajectory from data to insight to decision, the book describes four approaches to machine learning: information-based learning, similarity-based learning, probability-based learning, and error-based learning. Each of these approaches is introduced by a nontechnical explanation of the underlying concept, followed by mathematical models and algorithms illustrated by detailed worked examples. Finally, the book considers techniques for evaluating prediction models and offers two case studies that describe specific data analytics projects through each phase of development, from formulating the business problem to implementation of the analytics solution. The book, informed by the authors' many years of teaching machine learning, and working on predictive data analytics projects, is suitable for use by undergraduates in computer science, engineering, mathematics, or statistics; by graduate students in disciplines with applications for predictive data analytics; and as a reference for professionals.

C# 6.0 and the .NET 4.6 Framework


Andrew Troelsen - 2015
    

Generation iY: Secrets to Connecting With Today’s Teens & Young Adults in the Digital Age


Tim Elmore - 2015
    Over 100,000 adults have benefitted from Tim Elmore’s insights in this landmark book, which has been updated and expanded to include new research, stories, practical solutions, and two bonus chapters to help adults connect with today’s teens and young adults.

Mastering Emacs


Mickey Petersen - 2015
    In the Mastering Emacs ebook you will learn the answers to all the concepts that take weeks, months or even years to truly learn, all in one place.“Emacs is such a hard editor to learn”But why is it so hard to learn? As it turns out, it's almost always the same handful of issues that everyone faces.If you have tried to learn Emacs you will have struggled with the same problems everyone faces, and few tutorials to see you through it.I have dedicated the first half of the book to explaining the essence of Emacs — and in doing so, how to overcome these issues:Memorizing Emacs’s keys: You will learn Emacs one key at a time, starting with the arrow keys. To feel productive in Emacs, it’s important you start on an equal footing — without too many new concepts and keys to memorize. Each chapter will introduce more keys and concepts so you can learn at your own pace. Discovering new modes and features: Emacs is a self-documenting editor, and I will teach you how to use the apropos, info, and describe system to discover new modes and features, or help you find things you forgot! Customizing Emacs: You don’t have to learn Emacs Lisp to alter a lot of Emacs’s functionality. Most changes you want to make are possible using Emacs’s Customize interface and I will show you how to use it efficiently. Understanding the terminology: Emacs is so old it predates almost every other editor and all modern user interfaces. I have an entire chapter dedicated to the unique terminology in Emacs; how it is different from other editors, and what that means to you.

Everything Electrical: How To Use All The Functions On Your Multimeter (Revised Edition 6/24/2017)


Vincent Keler - 2015
    Now in a new revised edition with new illustrations and explanation!! Here Is A Preview Of What You'll Learn... Chapter 1: Introduction To Multi-meters: Manual, Auto Ranging and Analog Chapter 2: Voltage DC & AC Chapter 3: Amperage DC & AC Chapter 4: Resistance, Continuity, Diode and Capacitance Function Chapter 5: Hz & Duty Cycle Chapter 6: Temperature Chapter 7: Graphing Multimeters and Uses Chapter 8: Multimeter Accuracy and Choosing the Right Meter Chapter 9: Miscellaneous Electrical Tips And Tricks &Much, much more! Download Your Copy Today! Now In A New REVISED EDITION Created From Customer Comments and Demands. Take Action And Learn How To Use A Multimeter Fast!! Read on your PC, Mac, smart phone, tablet or Kindle device. Last Revised 6/24/2017 Important Note When Purchasing My Books!! I am constantly updating and adding new content to all my books based off of customer comments & requests. To get the latest version after purchase please go to [Your Account] on the top right of the Amazon homepage. then click [Manage Your Content And Devices], then go to [Setting] and please turn ON your [Automatic Book Updates]. This will allow you to get the latest revised edition after the initial purchase for free . Thank you. (: Tags: Meters Electrical Electric Automotive Household Motorcycles Motorcycle Aviation Diagnosis Testing Circuit Voltmeter Multi-meter Amperage Ohmmeter Temperature Graphing Meters Diodes Capacitors Meter Accuracy Hertz Duty Cycle Tools Troubleshooting How to Diagnostics Beginner Electronics Industrial Circuit Voltmeter Multimeter Tools

Spaceshots and Snapshots of Projects Mercury and Gemini: A Rare Photographic History


John Bisney - 2015
    On April 12, 1961, the USSR launched cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin on a one-orbit flight, making him the first human in space. Three weeks later, American astronaut Alan B. Shepard Jr. flew 116 miles above Earth before splashing down in the Bahamas. Over the next twenty years astronauts emerged as national heroes.This book tells the story of the people and events of Projects Mercury and Gemini with hundreds of unpublished and rare photographs--both color and black-and-white. Unlike other publications, which illustrate the space race with well-known and easily accessible images, this history draws from the authors' private library of over one hundred thousand (and growing) high-quality photos of the early U.S. manned-space program. Collected over a lifetime from public and private sources--including NASA archives, fellow collectors, retired NASA and news photographers, and auction houses--the images document American space missions of the Cold War era more comprehensively than ever before. Devoting a chapter to each flight, the authors also include detailed descriptions, providing new insight into one of America's greatest triumphs.

The Bastard Operator Omnibus. Book 1 1995-2003


Simon Travaglia - 2015
     Low fat and gluten free for your comfort.

Inventing the Future: Postcapitalism and a World Without Work


Nick Srnicek - 2015
    Austerity is forcing millions into poverty and many more into precarious work, while the left remains trapped in stagnant political practices that offer no respite. Inventing the Future is a bold new manifesto for life after capitalism. Against the confused understanding of our high-tech world by both the right and the left, this book claims that the emancipatory and future-oriented possibilities of our society can be reclaimed. Instead of running from a complex future, Nick Srnicek and Alex Williams demand a postcapitaiist economy capable of advancing standards, liberating humanity from work and developing technologies that expand our freedoms.

C# 6.0 in a Nutshell: The Definitive Reference


Joseph Albahari - 2015
    C# has become a language of unusual flexibility and breadth since its premiere in 2000, but this continual growth means there's still much more to learn.Organized around concepts and use cases, this thoroughly updated sixth edition provides intermediate and advanced programmers with a concise map of C# and .NET knowledge. Dive in and discover why this Nutshell guide is considered the definitive reference on C#.Get up to speed with all aspects of the C# language, from the basics of syntax and variables, to advanced topics such as pointers and operator overloadingDig deep into LINQ via three chapters dedicated to the topicLearn about dynamic, asynchronous, and parallel programmingWork with .NET features, including XML, networking, serialization, reflection, security, application domains, and code contractsExplore the new C# 6.0 compiler-as-a-service, Roslyn

Networking for Systems Administrators (IT Mastery Book 5)


Michael W. Lucas - 2015
    Servers give sysadmins a incredible visibility into the network—once they know how to unlock it. Most sysadmins don’t need to understand window scaling, or the differences between IPv4 and IPv6 echo requests, or other intricacies of the TCP/IP protocols. You need only enough to deploy your own applications and get easy support from the network team.This book teaches you:•How modern networks really work•The essentials of TCP/IP•The next-generation protocol, IPv6•The right tools to diagnose network problems, and how to use them•Troubleshooting everything from the physical wire to DNS•How to see the traffic you send and receive•Connectivity testing•How to communicate with your network team to quickly resolve problemsA systems administrator doesn’t need to know the innards of TCP/IP, but knowing enough to diagnose your own network issues transforms a good sysadmin into a great one.

Rocket Ranch: The Nuts and Bolts of the Apollo Moon Program at Kennedy Space Center (Springer Praxis Books)


Jonathan H. Ward - 2015
    Descriptions of early operations include a harrowing account of the heroic efforts of pad workers during the Apollo 1 fire. A companion to the author’s book Countdown to a Moon Launch: Preparing Apollo for Its Historic Journey, this explores every facet of the facilities that served as the base for the Apollo/Saturn missions. Hundreds of illustrations complement the firsthand accounts of more than 70 Apollo program managers and engineers. The era of the Apollo/Saturn missions was perhaps the most exciting period in American space exploration history. Cape Canaveral and Kennedy Space Center were buzzing with activity. Thousands of workers came to town to build the facilities and launch the missions needed to put an American on the Moon before the end of the decade. Work at KSC involved much more than just launching rockets. It was a place like none other on Earth. Technicians performed intricate operations, and hazards abounded everywhere, including lightning, fire, highly-toxic fuels, snakes, heat, explosives, LOX spills, and even plutonium. The reward for months of 7-day workweeks under intense pressure was witnessing a Saturn V at liftoff.For anyone who ever wished they had worked at Kennedy Space Center during the Apollo era, this book is the next best thing. The only thing missing is the smell of rocket fuel in the morning.

Getting MEAN with Mongo, Express, Angular, and Node


Simon Holmes - 2015
    You'll systematically discover each technology in the MEAN stack as you build up an application one layer at a time, just as you'd do in a real project.Purchase of the print book includes a free eBook in PDF, Kindle, and ePub formats from Manning Publications.About the TechnologyTraditional web dev stacks use a different programming language in every layer, resulting in a complex mashup of code and frameworks. Together, the MongoDB database, the Express and AngularJS frameworks, and Node.js constitute the MEAN stack--a powerful platform that uses only one language, top to bottom: JavaScript. Developers and businesses love it because it's scalable and cost-effective. End users love it because the apps created with it are fast and responsive. It's a win-win-win!About the BookGetting MEAN with Mongo, Express, Angular, and Node teaches you how to develop web applications using the MEAN stack. First, you'll create the skeleton of a static site in Express and Node, and then push it up to a live web server. Next, you'll add a MongoDB database and build an API before using Angular to handle data manipulation and application logic in the browser. Finally you'll add an authentication system to the application, using the whole stack. When you finish, you'll have all the skills you need to build a dynamic data-driven web application.What's InsideFull-stack development using JavaScriptResponsive web techniquesEverything you need to get started with MEANBest practices for efficiency and reusabilityAbout the ReaderReaders should have some web development experience. This book is based on MongoDB 2, Express 4, Angular 1, and Node.js 4.About the AuthorSimon Holmes has been a full-stack developer since the late 1990s and runs Full Stack Training Ltd.Table of ContentsPART 1 SETTING THE BASELINEIntroducing full-stack developmentDesigning a MEAN stack architecturePART 2 BUILDING A NODE WEB APPLICATIONCreating and setting up a MEAN projectBuilding a static site with Node and ExpressBuilding a data model with MongoDB and MongooseWriting a REST API: Exposing the MongoDB database to the applicationConsuming a REST API: Using an API from inside ExpressPART 3 ADDING A DYNAMIC FRONT END WITH ANGULARAdding Angular components to an Express applicationBuilding a single-page application with Angular: FoundationsBuilding an SPA with Angular: The next levelPART 4 MANAGING AUTHENTICATION AND USER SESSIONSAuthenticating users, managing sessions, and securing APIsAPPENDIXESInstalling the stackInstalling and preparing the supporting castDealing with all of the viewsReintroducing JavaScript - available online only

Multiplayer Game Programming: Architecting Networked Games (Game Design)


Josh Glazer - 2015
    In this practical, code-rich guide, Joshua Glazer and Sanjay Madhav guide you through every aspect of engineering them. Drawing on their immense experience as both game developers and instructors, the authors lead you through building a robust multiplayer architecture, and creating every engine-level system. You'll learn through in-depth working code examples for two complete games: an action game and a real time strategy (RTS) game. First, Madhav and Glazer review the essentials of networking and network programming from the standpoint of game developers. Next, they walk through managing game data transmission, updating game objects across the network, and organizing the devices that join your game. You'll learn how to ensure reliable performance despite the Internet's inherent inconsistencies, and how to design game code for maximum security and scalability. The authors conclude by addressing two increasingly crucial issues: incorporating gamer services and hosting your games in the cloud. This guide's content has been extensively tested through the authors' multiplayer game programming courses at USC. It is equally valuable both to students "and" to working game programmers moving into networked games. Coverage includesHow games have evolved to meet the challenges of networked environments Using Internet communication protocols and standards in game development Working with Berkeley Socket, the most widely used networking construct in multiplayer gaming Formatting game data for efficient Internet transmission Synchronizing states so all players share the same world Organizing networking topologies for large-scale games Overcoming latency and jitter problems that cause delays or lost data Scaling games without compromising performance Combating security vulnerabilities and software cheats Leveraging the networking functionality of the popular Unreal 4 and Unity game engines Integrating gamer services such as matchmaking, achievements, and leaderboards Running game servers in the cloud About the Website C++ source code for all examples is available at "github.com/MultiplayerBook" . Instructors will also find a full set of PowerPoint slides and a sample syllabus.

Collapse Now and Avoid the Rush: The Best of The Archdruid Report


John Michael Greer - 2015
    His writing, both highly engaging and rooted in a depth of broad scholarship, has earned him thousands of readers who want to understand the trajectory our world has taken.Topics like energy, resource depletion, and the ideas behind some of our culture’s cherished beliefs have been explored.Collapse Now and Avoid the Rush offers a selection of Greer’s best essays.

Moonshots and Snapshots of Project Apollo : A Rare Photographic History


John Bisney - 2015
    L. Pickering's extraordinary book of rare photographs from the Mercury and Gemini missions, the authors now present the rest of the Golden Age of US manned space flight with a photographic history of Project Apollo.Beginning in 1967, Moonshots and Snapshots of Project Apollo chronicles the program's twelve missions and its two follow-ons, Skylab and the Apollo-Soyuz Test Project. The authors draw from rarely seen NASA, industry, and news media images, taking readers to the Moon, on months-long odysseys above Earth, and finally on the first international manned space flight in 1975.The book pairs many previously unpublished images from Pickering's unmatched collection of Cold War-era space photographs with extended captions--identifying many NASA, military, and contract workers and participants for the first time--to provide comprehensive background information about the exciting climax and conclusion of the Space Race.

Elon Musk Tesla, SpaceX, and the Quest for a Fantastic Future: by Ashlee Vance (Summary & Key Lessons)


Summary Kings - 2015
    Vance spent more than 40 hours in deep conversation with Musk and also interviewed 300 more people to tell the exciting stories of Elon’s world-changing companies such as: SpaceX, SolarCity, PayPal, and Tesla Motors. Vance believes that Elon Musk is a present-day blend of legendary inventors and industrialists like Henry Ford, Steve Jobs, Thomas Edison, and Howard Hughes. Musk is unlike any other entrepreneur on the planet, and has dedicated his life to inventing an unbelievable future. Some examples of the key lessons we will cover: Why Elon Musk is a rare innovator who bucks the trend toward mediocrity Why so many people believed that Elon Musk was unfit to be a CEO How companies ran by Musk are leaving competitors in the dust How Tesla Motors is re-envisioning the future of transportation Why Elon Musk may be America’s only hope in competing with China And much more… So what are you waiting for? Download and learn what it really takes to be an amazing entrepreneur. Scroll to the top of the page and select the buy button.

Power Shift: From Fossil Energy to Dynamic Solar Power


Robert Arthur Stayton - 2015
    Human society has committed to getting off fossil fuels because they are warming our planet, and this shift will engage everyone. Why? Because everyone uses energy. Today you have choices in energy that you never had before, and your choices will affect many generations to come. This book will bring you up to speed on your many options in energy, all explained in terms that anyone can understand.Power Shift: From Fossil Energy to Dynamic Solar Power retells human history through the lens of energy, explains the science behind the crisis–in clear, succinct language that anyone can understand—and provides a detailed blueprint for the future, from governmental, commercial, and individual perspectives.Today, we’ve become mired in partisan bickering among politicians and oil, gas, and coal lobbying interests who insist that fossil fuels are necessary for jobs and the US economy. However, this narrow debate has failed to notice that the world has already embarked on a transformation in how we use energy that is so fundamental, it defines a new Solar Epoch, as monumental as the discovery of fire, the development of agriculture, and the exploitation of fossil fuels in previous centuries.The truth is that solar power–getting radically cheaper by the year–is not only a viable solution but, as the author states, “forms a clean energy system that can completely replace fossil fuels. We can gradually phase them in so that in 50 years we’ll be 100% solar-powered. And because solar energy does not run out like fossil fuels, we will never need to go looking for another energy source again.”Unlike other books on global warming and solar energy, Power Shift presents visionary plans for governments, corporations, and individuals concerned about climate change.And the author has “put his money where his mouth is.” Having built a solar home in Santa Cruz County in 1997 and outfitted it with an off-grid solar photovoltaic (PV) system, Stayton cites numerous personal examples to inspire others to take similar action.Destined to become a classic in the field, and soon to be adopted as a basic text in college and university environmental studies programs, Power Shift is an indispensable reference for researchers and global leaders, a valuable staff training tool for solar companies, and a compelling, inspirational read for anyone eager to learn the truth about global warming and to participate “from the ground up” in the new Solar Epoch.Reader-friendly with beautiful illustrations and firmly grounded in current science, Power Shift also forges a cautionary tale of what lies ahead if we don’t start acting now: “We seem to be waiting for a sign,” Stayton writes, “a sudden event so catastrophic that it compels us to overcome political differences and take action. However, this disaster does not rush upon us like a hurricane, but instead slowly erodes our foundation, like termites. If we wait until the house collapses, we will have waited too long.”If you buy only one book on the topic of climate change or solar power–for yourself, family, friends, or colleagues–you can depend on Power Shift to serve as a comprehensive, eye-opening, educational resource for years to come.

Internet Wars: The Struggle for Power in the 21st Century


Fergus Hanson - 2015
    Already exploitation of this super-network has helped create the world's most valuable company, toppled governments, led to the largest wealth transfer in history, and created the most extensive global surveillance system ever known. Google's Eric Schmidt described the internet as 'the first thing that humanity has built that humanity doesn't understand'. Yet only by understanding the broad currents of the internet's growth will we be able to secure its vitality and promise into the future.Internet Wars is a call to action for a more informed debate about a contest that will profoundly affect us all for generations to come.'... thoughtfully portrays how power structures are being twisted, bent and broken by people and institutions who are Internet-smart' - Alec Ross, Senior Advisor for Innovation to Secretary of State Hillary Clinton

Elon Musk: Tesla, SpaceX, and the Quest for a Fantastic Future: A 29-Minute Summary.


Bern Bolo - 2015
     This summary will let you taste on “how and what” Elon musk struggles to show his “SPARKS” in levels, Why his capable and legendary “like “ the famous Edison, Ford and Jobs. Based from the original book of Elon Musk: Tesla, SpaceX, and the Quest for a Fantastic Future, Ashlee Vance, tell you his experience in conversation with Musk. Important Lessons in this Elon Musk Summary • How to get the most out of people who work for you. • How to understand the value of making your own stuff, than buying them. • How to be brave in going out from your comfort zone. • How to treat challenges that comes your way as an opportunity. • How to believe in your dreams, and then make others believe after. • How to spot an opportunity when it comes your way. • How to keep yourself open to achieve bigger and greater things, and ultimately, your fullest potential. • How to dream big and then chase it. • How to give the value your family deserves. • How to appreciate the value of caring for Mother Earth and exercise ways to protect her and lessen the damage she has to take. • How to address issues and conflicts. • How to be persistent in your endeavors. More inside in this Biographies & Memoirs Summary • A brief yet accurate summary on the life of Elon Musk, detailed out in individual chapters. • Correct and concise synopsis of the various chapters of the book. • Silly and charming quotes that will tickle your fancy at the start of each chapters. • Personal and professional lessons from the life of Elon Musk on how to dare dream big and conquer your fears. Why you musy by this summary My team and I will let you sift through Elon’s captivating world in 29 minutes by reading this synopsis. “I like to be involved in things that change the world.” – Elon Reeve Musk. Surely, what Elon Musk had been doing in his companies have changed the world in so many ways. He has broken through the norm and boring routine practices to come up with technologies that has never before been seen by anyone. This summary show many things on how Elon Musk proved that he did changed the world. From his ancestors to his early life in Africa, to his great migrations, to the funding of his first start-up businesses and to his eventually discovery of his vision and mission in life, this book will satiate your curiosity as to who Musk really is and what he is capable of doing. PLEASE NOTE: This is a 29-minute summary of Elon Musk and NOT the original book. Bern Bolo "The Bathroom Genius”

The Elements of Power: Gadgets, Guns, and the Struggle for a Sustainable Future in the Rare Metal Age


David S. Abraham - 2015
    In this eye-opening book, a natural resource strategist reveals the critical importance of these transformative elements to our technological lifestyle and the consequences of our reliance upon them, including geopolitical instability and environmental degradation. To see our growing dependency, you need only look at your smartphone: cerium buffs the glass; indium allows your screen to respond to touch; terbium makes images more vibrant; and lithium helps it store energy. Abraham provides readers with a front-row seat to the life of these metals, tracing the paths of these high-tech elements through a dozen countries from the mine to our pockets. But it’s not just smartphones that rely on these metals; they are the building blocks of modern society because they are critical for nearly all our electronic, military, and “green” technologies. Just as oil, iron, and bronze revolutionized previous eras, so too will these metals. The challenges this book reveals, and the plans it proposes, make it essential reading for our rare metal age.

CompTIA A+ 220-901 and 220-902 Exam Cram


David L. Prowse - 2015
    It provides coverage and practice questions for every exam topic, including substantial new coverage of Windows 8/8.1, new PC hardware, tablets, smartphones, OS X, Linux, cloud computing, and professional-level networking and security. Extensive prep tools include quizzes, Exam Alerts, our great last-minute Cram Sheet, and two full practice exams in the ebook. You’ll also find ten exclusive Real World Scenario case studies, all linked to simulations or video posted to the book website! Covers the critical information you’ll need to know to score higher on your A+ 220-901 and 220-902 exams! Deploy and manage desktops and notebooks running Windows 8.1/8, 7, Vista, OS X, or Linux Master and practice the six-step A+ troubleshooting process Understand, install, configure, and troubleshoot motherboards, CPUs, and memory Test and troubleshoot power-related problems Use all forms of storage, including SSDs, Blu-ray devices, and RAID systems Work effectively with mobile devices, including iOS, Android, and Windows tablets and smartphones Install, configure, and troubleshoot both visible and internal laptop components Configure Windows components and applications, use Windows administrative tools, and optimize Windows systems Repair damaged Windows environments and boot errors Work with audio and video subsystems, I/O devices, and new peripherals Install and manage both local and network printers Understand and work with networks, network hardware, wireless protocols, and cloud technologies Install and configure SOHO wired/wireless networks and troubleshoot connectivity Secure desktops and mobile devices, implement authentication methods, prevent malware attacks, and protect data The eBook edition does not provide access to the test engine and practice test that accompanies the print book.

Mastering Vmware Vsphere 6


Nick Marshall - 2015
    With comprehensive coverage of this industry-leading toolset, this book acts as an informative guide and valuable reference. Step-by-step instruction walks you through installation, configuration, operation, security processes, and much more as you conquer the management and automation of your virtual environment. Written by certified VMware vExperts, this indispensable guide provides hands-on instruction and detailed conceptual explanations, anchored by practical applications and real-world examples.This book is the ultimate guide to vSphere, helping administrators master their virtual environment. Learn to:Install, configure, and manage the vCenter Server components Leverage the Support Tools to provide maintenance and updates Create and configure virtual networks, storage devices, and virtual machines Implement the latest features to ensure compatibility and flexibility Manage resource allocation and utilization to meet application needs Monitor infrastructure performance and availability Automate and orchestrate routine administrative tasks Mastering VMware vSphere 6 is what you need to stay up-to-date on VMware's industry-leading software for the virtualized datacenter.

Bold: How to Go Big, Create Wealth and Impact the World


Peter H. Diamandis - 2015
    Part One focuses on the exponential technologies that are disrupting today’s Fortune 500 companies and enabling upstart entrepreneurs to go from "I’ve got an idea" to "I run a billion-dollar company" far faster than ever before. The authors provide exceptional insight into the power of 3D printing, artificial intelligence, robotics, networks and sensors, and synthetic biology. Part Two of the book focuses on the Psychology of Bold, drawing on insights from billionaire entrepreneurs Larry Page, Elon Musk, Richard Branson, and Jeff Bezos. In addition, Diamandis reveals his entrepreneurial secrets garnered from building fifteen companies, including such audacious ventures as Singularity University, XPRIZE, Planetary Resources, and Human Longevity, Inc. Finally, Bold closes with a look at the best practices that allow anyone to leverage today’s hyper-connected crowd like never before. Here, the authors teach how to design and use incentive competitions, launch million-dollar crowdfunding campaigns to tap into ten’s of billions of dollars of capital, and finally how to build communities—armies of exponentially enabled individuals willing and able to help today’s entrepreneurs make their boldest dreams come true.Bold is both a manifesto and a manual. It is today’s exponential entrepreneur’s go-to resource on the use of emerging technologies, thinking at scale, and the awesome power of crowd-powered tools.

Climate Gamble: Is Anti-Nuclear Activism Endangering Our Future? (2017 edition)


Rauli Partanen - 2015
    This, despite the wealth of evidence proving nuclear safety, scalability and efficacy in cutting emissions." - Kirsty Gogan, Co-Founder and Director of Energy for Humanity ****************** This is an improved and updated 2017 edition of the original Climate Gamble (2015) that has seen tremendous success and has been published in several languages around the world. We have included key takeaways for each chapter, most recent data for the graphs and an index for the reader’s convenience (printed version), among other, smaller fixes, additions and corrections here and there. "Climate Gamble - Is Anti-Nuclear Activism Endangering Our Future?" is a straightforward, easy to read and thought-provoking book on one of our greatest challenges - climate change - and it's most misunderstood and misrepresented mitigation tool - nuclear power. From the backcover: Humankind has won many great victories in the fight against climate change. However, these victories are rarely acknowledged or reported. Is this because they were won with nuclear power? Preventing dangerous climate change requires world energy production to be almost completely free from fossil fuels by 2050. At the same time, energy consumption keeps growing, as the population increases and those mired in poverty try to create better lives for themselves. With almost 87 percent of our energy produced with fossil fuels, the challenge is unprecedented in both its scale and urgency. International organizations agree that meeting this challenge will require the use of all the tools at our disposal: Renewable energy, more energy conservation and better efficiency, carbon capture and storage – and nuclear power. At the same time, the global environment and energy discussion is largely dominated by a vocal opinion that climate challenge and global poverty should be conquered with nothing else than renewables, energy conservation and energy efficiency. This book explains how this opinion is largely based on very selective reading of relevant studies and reports, wishful thinking about the powers of technological miracles, and even straight-out falsification of statistics and misrepresentation of facts. Does the anti-nuclear movement really help to give people objective, relevant information they need to make up their minds about zero-carbon energy production, the scale of the challenge, and in particular the up- and downsides of nuclear power? Or are they just spreading fear and uncertainty, while making a huge gamble with the climate, potentially endangering both human civilization and the Earth’s ecosystems?

Nmap 6 Cookbook: The Fat-Free Guide to Network Security Scanning


Nicholas Marsh - 2015
    Every Nmap feature is covered with visual examples to help you quickly understand and identify proper usage for practical results.Topics covered include:* Installation on Windows, Mac OS X, and Unix/Linux platforms* Basic and advanced scanning techniques* Network inventory and auditing* Firewall evasion techniques* Zenmap - A graphical front-end for Nmap* NSE - The Nmap Scripting Engine* Ndiff - The Nmap scan comparison utility* Ncat - A flexible networking utility* Nping - Ping on steroids

Exam Ref 70-697 Configuring Windows Devices


Andrew Bettany - 2015
    Designed for experienced IT pros ready to advance their status, this Exam Ref focuses on the critical-thinking and decision-making acumen needed for success as a Microsoft specialist.Focus on the expertise measured by these objectives: Manage identity Plan desktop and device deployment Plan and implement a Microsoft Intune device management solution Configure networking and storage Manage data access and protection Manage remote access Manage apps Manage updates and recovery This Microsoft Exam Ref Organizes its coverage by exam objectives Features strategic, what-if scenarios to challenge you Assumes you have experience with Windows desktop administration, maintenance, and troubleshooting; basic experience and understanding of Windows networking; and introductory-level knowledge of Active Directory and Microsoft Intune

Cocoa Programming for OS X: The Big Nerd Ranch Guide (Big Nerd Ranch Guides)


Aaron Hillegass - 2015
    Written in an engaging tutorial style and class-tested for clarity and accuracy, it is an invaluable resource for any Mac programmer. The authors introduce the two most commonly used Mac developer tools: Xcode and Instruments. They also cover the Swift language, basic application architecture, and the major design patterns of Cocoa. Examples are illustrated with exemplary code, written in the idioms of the Cocoa community, to show you how Mac programs should be written. After reading this book, you will know enough to understand and utilize Apple’s online documentation for your own unique needs. And you will know enough to write your own stylish code.

Unbound: How Eight Technologies Made Us Human, Transformed Society, and Brought Our World to the Brink


Richard L. Currier - 2015
    Over time, eight key technologies gradually freed us from the limitations of our animal origins.The fabrication of weapons, the mastery of fire, and the technologies of clothing and shelter radically restructured the human body, enabling us to walk upright, shed our body hair, and migrate out of tropical Africa. Symbolic communication transformed human evolution from a slow biological process into a fast cultural process. The invention of agriculture revolutionized the relationship between humanity and the environment, and the technologies of interaction led to the birth of civilization. Precision machinery spawned the industrial revolution and the rise of nation-states; and in the next metamorphosis, digital technologies may well unite all of humanity for the benefit of future generations.Synthesizing the findings of primatology, paleontology, archeology, history, and anthropology, Richard Currier reinterprets and retells the modern narrative of human evolution that began with the discovery of Lucy and other Australopithecus fossils. But the same forces that allowed us to integrate technology into every aspect of our daily lives have also brought us to the brink of planetary catastrophe. Unbound explains both how we got here and how human society must be transformed again to achieve a sustainable future.Technology: “The deliberate modification of any natural object or substance with forethought to achieve a specific end or to serve a specific purpose.”

be me - a collection of greentexts


Aapo Nikkanen - 2015
    It is a hilarious, heartwarming and distressing collection of stories that have the ability to make you laugh out loud - and cringe at the same time. In order to make reading experience as convenient as possible in any situation, the book was edited especially with the smartphone user in mind, letting the reader easily swipe from one story to the next (don’t worry, it works great on tablets and computers as well). NOTE: The automatized Amazon "Look Inside" feature did not create an accurate preview of the books formatting, so please see the excerpts of the book at www.greentext.org.

How to Code in 10 Easy Lessons: Learn how to design and code your very own computer game


Sean McManus - 2015
    You’ll get to know the super skills of coding, then get to see how to use Scratch coding software to write simple code, use loops, and debug, to create a webpage, and even make a computer game. Perfect for middle-school aged kids, this guide is filled with easy-to-follow instructions and step-by-step graphics.

Unity 5 From Zero to Proficiency (Beginner): A step-by-step guide to coding your first game with Unity.


Patrick Felicia - 2015
    Often, these barriers seem higher than they actually are. Maybe you are a teacher trying to introduce games in your classroom or a parent trying to help your child with coding, but with no previous coding or game development experience; maybe you are a hobbyist who would love to create interactive environments based on your favorite games; maybe you are a student getting started with game development but you just don't know where to start or what resources to use; or maybe you have tried online video tutorials but found them disjointed. You may be wondering: "How can I start to create my games if I have no experience of coding", or "this game engine is so complex that I just don't know where to get started". This is quite common, and you can easily overcome these issues with a step-by-step approach that gets you to progressively develop and use your skills. This is the approach that I have used successfully over the past years to take students from no knowledge of coding or game development to good levels of proficiency in Unity and coding.Of course, it takes some time and dedication; however, by following the techniques and suggestions described in this book, I can promise you that you will progress, regardless of your background, and become more comfortable with Unity and coding.Content and structure of this bookIn this book, the second book in the series, you will become comfortable with scripting in Unity by creating a simple survival game.The book includes: A list of the learning objectives at the start of each chapter. Step-by-step activities. Opportunities to engage in deeper learning and problem-solving skills through challenges at the end of each chapter. Quizzes to test your knowledge. Full project and code solutions (in JavaScript and C#) for each chapter. Cheat-sheets (i.e., shortcuts, best practice, etc.) that you can download. The content of each chapter is as follows: Chapter 1 gives an introduction to JavaScript and to core principles that will help you to get started with coding. You will learn key programming concepts such as variables, variable types, or functions. Chapter 2 helps you to code your first script. You will learn how to code following best coding practices, debug your code, and also avoid common errors. Chapter 3 gets you to improve your scripting skills, enhance your game and add more interaction. You will learn to implement a scoring system, to detect collisions, and to load new levels. Chapter 4 explains how you can create and update a user interface for your game (e.g., displaying images and messages onscreen) using scripting. Chapter 5 explains how you can polish-up your game. You will add a splash-screen, a simple inventory system, sound effects, as well as a mini-map. Chapter 6 explains how to add Non-Player Characters (NPCs) with Artificial Intelligence (AI).

Hacking with Swift


Paul Hudson - 2015
    Projects 1 - 39

Learn C# in One Day and Learn It Well: C# for Beginners with Hands-on Project


Jamie Chan - 2015
    Learn C# Programming Fast with a unique Hands-On Project. Book 3 of the Learn Coding Fast Series.Have you always wanted to learn computer programming but are afraid it'll be too difficult for you? Or perhaps you know other programming languages but are interested in learning the C# language fast?This book is for you. You no longer have to waste your time and money learning C# from boring books that are 600 pages long, expensive online courses or complicated C# tutorials that just leave you more confused. What this book offers... C# for BeginnersComplex concepts are broken down into simple steps to ensure that you can easily master the C# language even if you have never coded before.Carefully Chosen C# ExamplesExamples are carefully chosen to illustrate all concepts. In addition, the output for all examples are provided immediately so you do not have to wait till you have access to your computer to test the examples.Careful selection of topicsTopics are carefully selected to give you a broad exposure to C#, while not overwhelming you with information overload. These topics include object-oriented programming concepts, error handling techniques, file handling techniques and more.Learn The C# Programming Language FastConcepts are presented in a "to-the-point" style to cater to the busy individual. With this book, you can learn C# in just one day and start coding immediately. How is this book different... The best way to learn C# is by doing. This book includes a unique project at the end of the book that requires the application of all the concepts taught previously. Working through the project will not only give you an immense sense of achievement, it"ll also help you retain the knowledge and master the language.Are you ready to dip your toes into the exciting world of C# coding? This book is for you. Click the BUY button and download it now. What you'll learn: Introduction to C#- What is C#?- How to install and run Visual Studio Community 2015?Data types and Operators- What are the common data types in C#?- What are arrays and lists?- How to format C# strings- What is a value type vs reference type?- What are the common C# operators?Object Oriented Programming- What is object oriented programming?- How to write your own classes- What are fields, properties, methods and constructors?- What is encapsulation, inheritance and polymorphism?- What is an abstract class and interface?- What is an enum and struct?Controlling the Flow of a Program- What are condition statements?- How to use control flow statements in C#- What are jump statements?- How to handle errors and exceptionsand Others...- How to accept user inputs and display outputs- How to use LINQ to save yourself from hours of work - How to work with external files...and so much more....Finally, you'll be guided through a hands-on project that requires the application of all the topics covered.Click the BUY button now and download the book now to start learning C#. Learn it fast and learn it well.

Plant Factory: An Indoor Vertical Farming System for Efficient Quality Food Production


Toyoki Kozai - 2015
    The PF systems described in this book are based on a plant production system with artificial (electric) lights and include case studies providing lessons learned and best practices from both industrial and crop specific programs.With insights into the economics as well as the science of PF programs, this book is ideal for those in academic as well as industrial settings.

This is Happening: Redesigning Mindfulness for Our Very Modern Lives


Rohan Gunatillake - 2015
    Instead he gives you the ideas, principles and techniques to bring awareness, composure and kindness to wherever you are and whatever you are doing. Filled with over sixty practical exercises which you can plug into your life straight away, the book's mobile mindfulness approach presents a way to get the benefits from meditation however busy your life is.

Swarm Troopers: How Small Drones Will Conquer the World


David Hambling - 2015
    A bigger revolution is on the way, as swarming software allows a single operator to control large numbers of drones, and smartphone technology means they can be built for $1,000 each -- by anybody, not just governments. This book looks at the history of drone warfare, the rise of big drones like the Predator and how they are being eclipsed by smaller unmanned aircraft. And how the future is being shaped by smartphone technology, swarm software, miniaturised munitions and energy-harvesting that allows small drones to fly forever. It also looks at why current air defence cannot stop the swarms, and what drone swarms will mean for the balance of power and future wars. This is the world of Swarm Troopers

The Future X Network: A Bell Labs Perspective


Marcus K Weldon - 2015
    This era will be shaped by the digitization and connection of everything and everyone with the goal of automating much of life, effectively creating time by maximizing the efficiency of everything we do and augmenting our intelligence with knowledge that expedites and optimizes decision-making and everyday routines and processes.The Future X Network: A Bell Labs Perspective outlines how Bell Labs sees this future unfolding and the key technological breakthroughs needed at both the architectural and systems levels. Each chapter of the book is dedicated to a major area of change and the network and systems innovation required to realize the technological revolution that will be the essential product of this new digital future.

A Wilderness of Mirrors: Trusting Again in a Cynical World


Mark Meynell - 2015
    We’ve been misled by authorities and institutions, by businesses and politicians, and even by those who were supposed to care for us. The very cohesion of society seems tenuous at times. The church is not immune from these trends. Historically, it has a dubious record when it has wielded power; personally, many of its members are as afflicted by our culture’s breakdown as anyone. In A Wilderness of Mirrors author Mark Meynell explores the roots of the discord and alienation that mark our society, but he also outlines a gospel-based reason for hope. An astute social observer with a pastor’s spiritual sensitivity, Meynell grounds his antidote on four bedrocks of the Christian faith: human nature, Jesus, the church, and the story of God's action in the world.  Ultimately hopeful, A Wilderness of Mirrors calls Christians to rediscover the radical implications of Jesus’s life and message for a disillusioned world, a world more than ever in need of his trustworthy goodness.

Cyberspies: The Secret History of Surveillance, Hacking, and Digital Espionage


Gordon Corera - 2015
    The book is rich with historical detail and characters, as well as astonishing revelations about espionage carried out in recent times by the UK, US, and China. Using unique access to the National Security Agency, GCHQ, Chinese officials, and senior executives from some of the most powerful global technology companies, Gordon Corera has gathered compelling stories from heads of state, hackers and spies of all stripes.Cyberspies is a ground-breaking exploration of the new space in which the worlds of espionage, diplomacy, international business, science, and technology collide.

Screens and Teens: Connecting with Our Kids in a Wireless World


Kathy Koch - 2015
    Kathy helps you make sense of all this and empowers you to respond. She:Exposes the lies that technology can teach your teenGuides you in countering those lies with biblical truths and helpful practicesShares success stories of families who have cut back on technology and prioritized each otherKathy’s research, experience, and relatability all come together for an inspiring book, sure to help you be closer with your kids."Dr. Kathy continues to inform and inspire me with Screens and Teens. I feel better equipped to parent my kids in our constantly changing world because of her wisdom. Dr. Kathy’s expertise makes her my "go-to" person when I have questions about technology and the way it affects our family. Whether you have kids or not, this book will make you more aware of the tech-driven world we live in and encourage you to make bold, smart choices." -Kirk Cameron, Actor/ProducerGrab a pen and get ready to underline, circle, and write "That’s so us!" in the margins. Be equipped to keep your family connected.BONUS: Every book includes an access code to stream or download a powerful 9-session video series (valued at $20) for FREE! In these videos, Dr. Kathy presents eye-opening insights to help you connect with your teen in a whole new way. Designed to be watched prior to reading each chapter, they will help you to engage the book on a deeper level.

NoSQL for Mere Mortals


Dan Sullivan - 2015
    Now, there's one for today's exciting new NoSQL databases. NoSQL for Mere Mortals guides you through solving real problems with NoSQL and achieving unprecedented scalability, cost efficiency, flexibility, and availability. Drawing on 20+ years of cutting-edge database experience, Dan Sullivan explains the advantages, use cases, and terminology associated with all four main categories of NoSQL databases: key-value, document, column family, and graph databases. For each, he introduces pragmatic best practices for building high-value applications. Through step-by-step examples, you'll discover how to choose the right database for each task, and use it the right way. Coverage includes --Getting started: What NoSQL databases are, how they differ from relational databases, when to use them, and when not to Data management principles and design criteria: Essential knowledge for creating any database solution, NoSQL or relational --Key-value databases: Gaining more utility from data structures --Document databases: Schemaless databases, normalization and denormalization, mutable documents, indexing, and design patterns --Column family databases: Google's BigTable design, table design, indexing, partitioning, and Big Data Graph databases: Graph/network modeling, design tips, query methods, and traps to avoid Whether you're a database developer, data modeler, database user, or student, learning NoSQL can open up immense new opportunities. As thousands of database professionals already know, For Mere Mortals is the fastest, easiest route to mastery. Normal 0 false false false EN-US JA X-NONE

Data Structure and Algorithmic Thinking with Python


Narasimha Karumanchi - 2015
    In particular, be sure you are comfortable with the level and with our Python coding style. This book focuses on giving solutions for complex problems in data structures and algorithm. It even provides multiple solutions for a single problem, thus familiarizing readers with different possible approaches to the same problem. "Data Structure and Algorithmic Thinking with Python" is designed to give a jump-start to programmers, job hunters and those who are appearing for exams. All the code in this book are written in Python. It contains many programming puzzles that not only encourage analytical thinking, but also prepares readers for interviews. This book, with its focused and practical approach, can help readers quickly pick up the concepts and techniques for developing efficient and effective solutions to problems. Topics covered include: Organization of Chapters Introduction Recursion and Backtracking Linked Lists Stacks Queues Trees Priority Queues and Heaps Disjoint Sets ADT Graph Algorithms Sorting Searching Selection Algorithms [Medians] Symbol Tables Hashing String Algorithms Algorithms Design Techniques Greedy Algorithms Divide and Conquer Algorithms Dynamic Programming Complexity Classes Hacks on Bit-wise Programming Other Programming Questions

Learning Apache Cassandra - Manage Fault Tolerant and Scalable Real-Time Data


Mat Brown - 2015
     Book Description Cassandra is a distributed database that stands out for its robust feature set and intuitive interface, while still providing the high availability and scalability of a distributed store.Starting from installing Cassandra and creating your first keyspace, to mastering the different table structures Cassandra offers and exploring the latest and most powerful features of the Cassandra Query Language, CQL3, this book explores each topic through the lens of a real-world example application. With plenty of examples, tips, and clear explanations, you'll master compound primary keys, collection columns, lightweight transactions, and many other advanced aspects of Cassandra.By the end of the book, you'll be fully equipped to build powerful, scalable Cassandra database layers for your applications. What you will learn Install Cassandra and create your first keyspace Choose the right table structure for the task at hand in a variety of scenarios Use range slice queries for efficient data access Effortlessly handle concurrent updates with collection columns Ensure data integrity with lightweight transactions and logged batches Understand eventual consistency and use the right consistency level for your situation Implement best practices for data modeling and access About the Author Mat Brown is a professional software engineer in Brooklyn, New York. In his career, he has focused on building consumer-facing web and mobile applications for several companies; he currently works at Genius. Table of Contents Getting up and Running with Cassandra The First Table Organizing Related Data Beyond Key-value Lookup Establishing Relationships Denormalizing Data for Maximum Performance Expanding Your Data Model Collections, Tuples, and User-defined Types Aggregating Time-series Data How Cassandra Distributes Data

Maintenant 9: A Journal of Contemporary Dada Writing and Art


Peter Carlaftes - 2015
    Maintenant 9: A Journal of Contemporary Dada Writing and Art is the latest edition of an annual collection of contemporary Dada work inspired by Dada instigator and Three Rooms Press spiritual advisor Arthur Cravan. This year’s theme, “Techno-Prisoners,” features art illustrating the increasing dependence on technology taken to its most dystopian and absurd extremes. It features work by a wide range in internationally renowned Dada artist and writers including Fluxus leader John M. Bennett, punk rock legends Grant Hart, Mike Watt, Exene Cervenka and Alice Bag, poet and Zapp comix founder Charles Plymell, world-renowned contemporary artists Raymond Pettibon and Mark Kostabi, provocative outsider artists Claude Pélieu and Mary Beach, controversial Japanese artist Rokudenashiko (Megumi Igarashi), and many more.

The Book of R: A First Course in Programming and Statistics


Tilman M. Davies - 2015
    Even if you have no programming experience and little more than a grounding in the basics of mathematics, you'll find everything you need to begin using R effectively for statistical analysis.You'll start with the basics, like how to handle data and write simple programs, before moving on to more advanced topics, like producing statistical summaries of your data and performing statistical tests and modeling. You'll even learn how to create impressive data visualizations with R's basic graphics tools and contributed packages, like ggplot2 and ggvis, as well as interactive 3D visualizations using the rgl package.Dozens of hands-on exercises (with downloadable solutions) take you from theory to practice, as you learn: The fundamentals of programming in R, including how to write data frames, create functions, and use variables, statements, and loopsStatistical concepts like exploratory data analysis, probabilities, hypothesis tests, and regression modeling, and how to execute them in RHow to access R's thousands of functions, libraries, and data setsHow to draw valid and useful conclusions from your dataHow to create publication-quality graphics of your resultsCombining detailed explanations with real-world examples and exercises, this book will provide you with a solid understanding of both statistics and the depth of R's functionality. Make "The Book of R" your doorway into the growing world of data analysis.

Why Information Grows: The Evolution of Order, from Atoms to Economies


Cesar A. Hidalgo - 2015
    He believes that we should investigate what makes some countries more capable than others. Complex products—from films to robots, apps to automobiles—are a physical distillation of an economy’s knowledge, a measurable embodiment of its education, infrastructure, and capability. Economic wealth accrues when applications of this knowledge turn ideas into tangible products; the more complex its products, the more economic growth a country will experience.A radical new interpretation of global economics, Why Information Grows overturns traditional assumptions about the development of economies and the origins of wealth and takes a crucial step toward making economics less the dismal science and more the insightful one.

Learn CSS in One Day and Learn It Well: CSS for Beginners with Hands-on Project. Includes HTML5


Jamie Chan - 2015
    Learn them fast and learn them well. Have you always wanted to learn to build your own website but are afraid it'll be too difficult for you? Or perhaps you are a blogger who wants to tweak your blog's design, without having to spend money on an expensive theme. This book is for you. You no longer have to waste your time and money learning HTML and CSS from lengthy books, expensive online courses or complicated tutorials. What this book offers... HTML and CSS for Beginners Complex concepts are broken down into simple steps to ensure that you can easily master the two languages even if you have never coded before. Carefully Chosen Examples (with images) Examples are carefully chosen to illustrate all concepts. In addition, images are provided whenever necessary so that you can immediately see the visual effects of various CSS properties. Learn The Languages Fast Concepts are presented in a "to-the-point" style to cater to the busy individual. With this book, you can learn HTML and CSS in just one day and start coding immediately. How is this book different... The best way to learn programming is by doing. End-of-Chapter Exercises Each CSS chapter comes with an end-of-chapter exercise where you get to practice the different CSS properties covered in the chapter and see first hand how different CSS values affect the design of the website. Bonus Project The book also includes a bonus project that requires the application of all the HTML and CSS concepts taught previously. Working through the project will not only give you an immense sense of achievement, it’ll also help you see how the various concepts tie together. Are you ready to dip your toes into the exciting world of web development? This book is for you. Click the BUY button and download it now. What you'll learn: - What is CSS and HTML? - What software do you need to write and run CSS codes? - What are HTML tags and elements? - What are the commonly used HTML tags and how to use them? - What are HTML IDs and Classes? - What is the basic CSS syntax? - What are CSS selectors? - What are pseudo classes and pseudo elements? - How to apply CSS rules to your website and what is the order of precedence? - What is the CSS box model? - How to position and float your CSS boxes - How to hide HTML content - How to change the background of CSS boxes - How to use the CSS color property to change colors - How to modify text and font of a website - How to create navigation bars - How to create gorgeous looking tables to display your data .. and more... Click the BUY button and download the book now to start learning HTML and CSS now. Learn them fast and learn them well. Tags: ------------ CSS, HTML5, web development, web page design, CSS examples, CSS tutorials, CSS coding, CSS for Dummies

Comptia A+ 220-901 and 220-902 Practice Questions Exam Cram


David L. Prowse - 2015
    Search the store to find CompTIA A+ Core 1 (220-1001) and Core 2 (220-1002) books, eBooks, and video courses. CompTIA A+ 220-901 and 220-902 Practice Questions Exam Cram CompTIA A+ 220-901 and 220-902 Practice Questions Exam Cram complements any A+ study plan with 640 practice test questions in the book and on the companion site-all supported by complete explanations of every answer. This package's highly realistic questions cover every area of knowledge for both new A+ exams: 220-901 and 220-902. Covers the critical information you'll need to know to score higher on your A+ 220-901 and 220-902 exams! - Features 640 questions, organized to reflect the newest objectives for the A+ exams, so you can easily assess your knowledge of every topic. - Each question includes a detailed answer explanation. - Provides complete coverage of all objectives for the 220-901 and 220-902 A+ exams. COMPANION WEBSITE - Test engine features more than 600 questions from this book in multiple test modes, among other features - Includes 10 real-world scenarios with supporting simulations and videos

Modern Web Development: Understanding Domains, Technologies, and User Experience


Dino Esposito - 2015
    You'll learn how to gain maximum value from Domain-Driven Design (DDD), define optimal supporting architecture, and succeed with modern UX-first design approaches. The author guides you through choosing and implementing specific technologies and addresses key user-experience topics, including mobile-friendly and responsive design. You'll learn how to gain more value from existing Microsoft technologies such as ASP.NET MVC and SignalR by using them alongside other technologies such as Bootstrap, AJAX, JSON, and JQuery. By using these techniques and understanding the new ASP.NET Core 1.0, you can quickly build advanced web solutions that solve today's problems and deliver an outstanding user experience.Microsoft MVP Dino Esposito shows you how to: Plan websites and web apps to mirror real-world social and business processes Use DDD to dissect and master the complexity of business domains Use UX-Driven Design to reduce costs and give customers what they want Realistically compare server-side and client-side web paradigms Get started with the new ASP.NET Core 1.0 Simplify modern visual webpage construction with Bootstrap Master practical, efficient techniques for running ASP.NET MVC projects Consider new options for implementing persistence and working with data models Understand Responsive Web Design's pros, cons, and tradeoffs Build truly mobile-friendly, mobile-optimized websites About This Book For experienced developers and solution architects who want to plan and develop web solutions more effectively Assumes basic familiarity with the Microsoft web development stack

MPLS in the SDN Era: Interoperable Scenarios to Make Networks Scale to New Services


Antonio Sánchez Monge - 2015
    You'll learn where Juniper Network's Junos, Cisco's IOS XR, and OpenContrail, interoperate and where they don't.Two network and cloud professionals from Juniper describe how MPLS technologies and applications have rapidly evolved through services and architectures such as Ethernet VPNs, Network Function Virtualization, Seamless MPLS, Egress Protection, External Path Computation, and more. This book contains no vendor bias or corporate messages, just solid information on how to get a multivendor network to function optimally.Topics include:Introduction to MPLS and Software-Defined Networking (SDN)The four MPLS Builders (LDP, RSVP-TE, IGP SPRING, and BGP)Layer 3 unicast and multicast MPLS services, Layer 2 VPN, VPLS, and Ethernet VPNInter-domain MPLS ServicesUnderlay and overlay architectures: data centers, NVO, and NFVCentralized Traffic Engineering and TE bandwidth reservationsScaling MPLS transport and servicesTransit fast restoration based on the IGP and RSVP-TEFIB optimization and egress service for fast restoration

Microsoft Project 2016 Step by Step


Carl Chatfield - 2015
    Get more done quickly with Project 2016. Jump in wherever you need answers–brisk lessons and colorful screenshots show you exactly what to do, step by step. Quickly start a new plan, build task lists, and assign resources Share your plan and track your progress Capture and fine-tune work and cost details Use Gantt charts and other views and reports to visualize project schedules Share resources across multiple plans and consolidate projects Master project management best practices while you learn Project Look up just the tasks and lessons you need

Microsoft Visual C# Step by Step (Developer Reference)


John Sharp - 2015
    If you are an experienced software developer, you’ll get all the guidance, exercises, and code you need to start building responsive, scalable Windows 10 and Universal Windows Platform applications with Visual C#. Discover how to: Quickly start creating Visual C# code and projects with Visual Studio 2015 Work with variables, operators, expressions, and methods Control program flow with decision and iteration statements Build more robust apps with error, exception, and resource management Master the essentials of Visual C# object-oriented programming Use enumerations, structures, generics, collections, indexers, and other advanced features Create in-memory data queries with LINQ query expressions Improve application throughput and response time with asynchronous methods Decouple application logic and event handling Streamline development with new app templates Implement the Model-View-ViewModel (MVVM) pattern Build Universal Windows Platform apps that smoothly adapt to PCs, tablets, and Windows phones Integrate Microsoft Azure cloud databases and RESTful web services About You For software developers who are new to Visual C# or who are upgrading from older versions Readers should have experience with at least one programming language No prior Microsoft .NET or Visual Studio development experience required

SUPERNERDS: Conversations with Heroes


Angela RichterBarrett Brown - 2015
    It’s like everyone simultaneously is taking LSD." Julian Assange"No one is more hopelessly enslaved than those who think they’re free." Johann Wolfgang von Goethe Ever since Edward Snowden’s NSA disclosures, the might of the secret services and the helplessness of everyday citizens are there all around us for everyone to see. But who is taking up the fight against global surveillance and the erosion of democracy? Theater director Angela Richter has conducted in-depth interviews with a number of well-known whistleblowers and internet activists – the "Supernerds". Conversations with Julian Assange, Edward Snowden, Daniel Ellsberg, Jesselyn Radack, William Binney, Jeremy Hammond and Thomas Drake, an Essay by Barrett Brown and drawings by Daniel Richter.

When Trucks Stop Running: Energy and the Future of Transportation


A.J. Friedemann - 2015
    Ships, trucks, and trains are the backbone of civilization, hauling the goods that fulfill our every need and desire. Their powerful, highly-efficient diesel combustion engines are exquisitely fine-tuned to burn petroleum-based diesel fuel. These engines and the fuels that fire them have been among the most transformative yet disruptive technologies on the planet. Although this transportation revolution has allowed many of us to fill our homes with global goods even a past emperor would envy, our era of abundance, and the freight transport system in particular, is predicated on the affordability and high energy density of a single fuel, oil. This book explores alternatives to this finite resource including other liquid fuels, truck and locomotive batteries and utility-scale energy storage technology, and various forms of renewable electricity to support electrified transport. Transportation also must adapt to other challenges: Threats from climate change, financial busts, supply-chain failure, and transportation infrastructure decay. Robert Hirsch, who wrote the Peaking of World Oil Production report for the U.S. Department of Energy in 2005, said that planning for peak world production must start at least 10, if not 20 years ahead of time. What little planning exists focuses mainly on how to accommodate 30 percent more economic growth while averting climate change, ignoring the possibility that we are at, or near, the end of growth. Taken for granted, the modern transportation system will not endure forever. The time is now to take a realistic and critical look at the choices ahead, and how the future of transportation may unfold."

Tech Fury


J.A. Darke - 2015
    But it isn't until she gets to school that she becomes suspicious. Why are the teachers and principal acting strangely? Why is the gym's scoreboard covered with a banner? And why are jumbled letters and numbers running across the computer screens? Emily is worried, so she and her best friend Lewis set out in search of her dad, who is a police officer. But when they get to the mall where he's on patrol, things get even more out of control and Emily starts to wonder if she's in the midst of a technological takeover.

The Best Interface Is No Interface: The simple path to brilliant technology


Golden Krishna - 2015
    We've embraced it in the boardroom, the bedroom, and the bathroom.Screens have taken over our lives. Most people spend over eight hours a day staring at a screen, and some "technological innovators" are hoping to grab even more of your eyeball time. You have screens in your pocket, in your car, on your appliances, and maybe even on your face. Average smartphone users check their phones 150 times a day, responding to the addictive buzz of Facebook or emails or Twitter.Are you sick? There's an app for that! Need to pray? There's an app for that! Dead? Well, there's an app for that, too! And most apps are intentionally addictive distractions that end up taking our attention away from things like family, friends, sleep, and oncoming traffic.There's a better way.In this book, innovator Golden Krishna challenges our world of nagging, screen-based bondage, and shows how we can build a technologically advanced world without digital interfaces.In his insightful, raw, and often hilarious criticism, Golden reveals fascinating ways to think beyond screens using three principles that lead to more meaningful innovation. Whether you're working in technology, or just wary of a gadget-filled future, you'll be enlighted and entertained while discovering that the best interface is no interface.

Big Science: Ernest Lawrence and the Invention that Launched the Military-Industrial Complex


Michael A. Hiltzik - 2015
    Machines have become larger, ambitions bolder. The first particle accelerator cost less than one hundred dollars and could be held in its creator's palm, while its descendant, the Large Hadron Collider, cost ten billion dollars and is seventeen miles in circumference. Scientists have invented nuclear weapons, put a man on the moon, and examined nature at the subatomic scale all through Big Science, the industrial-scale research paid for by governments and corporations that have driven the great scientific projects of our time.The birth of Big Science can be traced to Berkeley, California, nearly nine decades ago, when a resourceful young scientist with a talent for physics and an even greater talent for promotion pondered his new invention and declared, "I'm going to be famous!" Ernest Orlando Lawrence's cyclotron would revolutionize nuclear physics, but that was only the beginning of its impact. It would change our understanding of the basic building blocks of nature. It would help win World War II. Its influence would be felt in academia and international politics. It was the beginning of Big Science.This is the incredible story of how one invention changed the world and of the man principally responsible for it all. Michael Hiltzik tells the riveting full story here for the first time.

Getting Started with Processing.Py: Making Interactive Graphics with Processing's Python Mode


Allison Parrish - 2015
    The Processing.py Python implementation of Processing reinterprets it for today's web. This short book gently introduces the core concepts of computer programming and working with Processing. Written by the co-founders of the Processing project, Reas and Fry, along with co-author Allison Parrish, Getting Started with Processing.py is your fast track to using Python's Processing mode.

Learner-Centered Design of Computing Education: Research on Computing for Everyone


Mark J. Guzdial - 2015
    Many students (both children and adult) are realizing that they will need programming in the future. This book presents the argument that they are not all going to use programming in the same way and for the same purposes. What do we mean when we talk about teaching everyone to program? When we target a broad audience, should we have the same goals as computer science education for professional software developers? How do we design computing education that works for everyone? This book proposes use of a learner-centered design approach to create computing education for a broad audience. It considers several reasons for teaching computing to everyone and how the different reasons lead to different choices about learning goals and teaching methods. The book reviews the history of the idea that programming isn't just for the professional software developer. It uses research studies on teaching computing in liberal arts programs, to graphic designers, to high school teachers, in order to explore the idea that computer science for everyone requires us to re-think how we teach and what we teach. The conclusion describes how we might create computing education for everyone.

Comptia Linux+ Powered by Linux Professional Institute Study Guide: Exam Lx0-103 and Exam Lx0-104


Roderick W. Smith - 2015
    With complete coverage of 100% of the objectives on both exam LX0-103 and exam LX0-104, this study guide provides clear, concise information on all aspects of Linux administration, with a focus on the latest version of the exam. You'll gain the insight of examples drawn from real-world scenarios, with detailed guidance and authoritative coverage of key topics, including GNU and Unix commands, system operation, system administration, system services, security, and more, from a practical perspective that easily translates into on-the-job know-how. You'll also get access to helpful study tools, including bonus practice exams, electronic flashcards, and a searchable glossary of key terms that are important to know for exam day. Linux is viewed by many companies and organizations as an excellent, low-cost, secure alternative to expensive operating systems such as Microsoft Windows. The CompTIA Linux+ Powered by LPI exams test a candidate's understanding and familiarity with the Linux Kernel.Review the basic system architecture, installation, and management Understand commands, devices, and file systems Utilize shells, scripting, and data management techniques Navigate user interfaces, desktops, and essential system services As the Linux server market share continue to grow, so too does the demand for qualified and certified Linux administrators. Certification holders must recertify every five years, but LPI recommends recertifying every two years to stay fully up to date with new technologies and best practices. CompTIA Linux+ Study Guide gives you the advantage of exam day confidence.

Rise of the Robots: Technology and the Threat of a Jobless Future


Martin Ford - 2015
    In Rise of the Robots, Silicon Valley entrepreneur Martin Ford argues that this is absolutely not the case. As technology continues to accelerate and machines begin taking care of themselves, fewer people will be necessary. Artificial intelligence is already well on its way to making “good jobs” obsolete: many paralegals, journalists, office workers, and even computer programmers are poised to be replaced by robots and smart software. As progress continues, blue and white collar jobs alike will evaporate, squeezing working- and middle-class families ever further. At the same time, households are under assault from exploding costs, especially from the two major industries—education and health care—that, so far, have not been transformed by information technology. The result could well be massive unemployment and inequality as well as the implosion of the consumer economy itself.In Rise of the Robots, Ford details what machine intelligence and robotics can accomplish, and implores employers, scholars, and policy makers alike to face the implications. The past solutions to technological disruption, especially more training and education, aren't going to work, and we must decide, now, whether the future will see broad-based prosperity or catastrophic levels of inequality and economic insecurity. Rise of the Robots is essential reading for anyone who wants to understand what accelerating technology means for their own economic prospects—not to mention those of their children—as well as for society as a whole.

Getting Started with P5.Js: Making Interactive Graphics in JavaScript and Processing


Lauren McCarthy - 2015
    p5.js is a new interpretation of Processing written in JavaScript that makes it easy to interact with HTML5 objects, including text, input, video, webcam, and sound. Like its older sibling Processing, p5.js makes coding accessible for artists, designers, educators, and beginners.Written by the lead p5.js developer and the founders of Processing, this book provides an introduction to the creative possibilities of today's Web, using JavaScript and HTML.With Getting Started with p5.js, you'll:Quickly learn programming basics, from variables to objectsUnderstand the fundamentals of computer graphicsCreate interactive graphics with easy-to-follow projectsLearn to apply data visualization techniquesCapture and manipulate webcam audio and video feeds in the browser

Steel: From Mine to Mill, the Metal that Made America


Brooke C. Stoddard - 2015
    Once deciphered, steel began to flow from hearths in increasing amounts for the building of railroads, steel ships, skyscrapers, and bridges, in the process raising to world economic dominance Great Britain, Germany, the United States, Japan, and the Soviet Union. The world's current largest producer is China.While researching this book, author Brooke C. Stoddard descended into Mesabi Iron Range open-pit iron mines, rode with 58,000 tons of iron ore on a 1,000-foot ore boat from Duluth to Cleveland, climbed to the top of the hemisphere's largest blast furnace, interviewed men as they toiled next to their furnaces of liquid steel, and walked the immense rolling mills where steel is pressed into finished products.Along the way, he wrote a narrative of iron and steel from pre-history through the Industrial Revolution and into the present age.Steel is the sinew of modern civilization.

The End of Certainty: How To Thrive When Playing By The Rules Is A Losing Strategy


Simon Dudley - 2015
    Today, change comes in waves that are rolling in faster and bigger than ever. Excession Events are the huge tidal waves of change that can wipe you out if you’re not prepared. But if you see these events early, you can capitalize—and ride the waves of change to success. In The End of Certainty, technology seer and Wired Magazine contributor Simon Dudley details his Excession Event philosophy and shares strategies on how to prepare for the unpredictable, in business and in life. Inside you will learn: How Excession Events kill entire markets and create lucrative new opportunities by redefining what success means Why “sticking with the status quo” is the worst possible strategy for winning in today’s climate of accelerated change Why knowledge is losing value fast and how you can strike gold with the new currency: The Query Why Artificial Intelligence will eliminate 40% of jobs… and how you can excel when AI achieves critical mass How a simple perspective shift can help you turn 10% increases into staggering 10x gains Simon shares these insights through rich historical storytelling, modern business analysis and personal anecdotes of his lifelong struggles with dyslexia, conformity and authority. Driven by Simon’s unique contrarian worldview, The End of Certainty equips readers with non-traditional skills for not just surviving, but thriving through Excession Events. An Excession Event is a point at which a change of circumstance redefines what success looks like in a market. That is the basic thesis of this book. It’s about how these changes happen, what causes them, and how to profit from the opportunities these events cause. During late 2014, early 2015 when putting together my thoughts on this book, it was becoming increasingly obvious that Excession Events were not only changing the world of business at a rate that many found impossible to cope with, but that politics, and the fabric of our society was also being caught in the wind of change. The book is primarily about the change Excession Events cause to business, but I felt compelled to speak a little about these changes to society in the forward for this second edition. It has become apparent that the left right split in western democracies is quickly becoming much less relevant and new battles lines are being drawn around a inward looking, nativist society or an outward looking global one. New political systems are not created in a vacuum. The forces at work in Europe and the USA today are the consequence of Excession Events that have been in play for 20-30 years. The deindustrialization of the Western economies have left a part of the society in the position where their livelihoods were effectively extinguished. What the new breed of politicians is offering them is not a sunnier tomorrow. They describe the future as a horrible dystopian nightmare. What they promise instead is a return to a mythical past, full of well paying blue collar jobs, no competition from “foreigners”, whether those foreigners are based in their country or not, and a better life for their families. It’s a form of the idea that the past is always better than the future. It’s lulling, sophistic, and false. For those completely blindsided by changes in technology, and unwilling, or incapable of reinventing themselves the future is bleak.

Create Your Freedom: Become a Local Web Design Guru And Make Money From Home


Ray DelVecchio - 2015
    You can create more freedom in your life by working on things you love and creating your own schedule!This book covers everything you need to profit from managing small business websites, including:1) How to Price a Client Project2) Why You Should Choose WordPress3) Web Design Process That Doesn't Waste Time4) Finding Your First Paid Client5) Creative Google Search to Find New Clients6) How to Drive Traffic to Your Website7) Intro to SEO (Search Engine Optimization)8) Business Fundamentals 1019) Future Web Trends10) Epic List of ResourcesYou will also discover several free bonus downloads along the way to help you hit the ground running with your business.Download your copy of "Create Your Freedom: Become a Local Web Design Guru And Make Money From Home" by clicking the "Buy now with 1-Click" button.

Firewalls Don't Stop Dragons: A Step-By-Step Guide to Computer Security for Non-Techies


Carey Parker - 2015
    You will have just what you need to protect yourself--step by step, without judgment, and with as little jargon as possible. Just how secure is your computer right now? You probably don't really know. Computers and the Internet have revolutionized the modern world, but if you're like most people, you have no clue how these things work and don't know the real threats.Protecting your computer is like defending a medieval castle. While moats, walls, drawbridges, and castle guards can be effective, you'd go broke trying to build something dragon-proof. This book is not about protecting yourself from a targeted attack by the NSA; it's about armoring yourself against common hackers and mass surveillance. There are dozens of no-brainer things we all should be doing to protect our computers and safeguard our data--just like wearing a seat belt, installing smoke alarms, and putting on sunscreen.Author Carey Parker has structured this book to give you maximum benefit with minimum effort. If you just want to know what to do, every chapter has a complete checklist with step-by-step instructions and pictures. The book contains more than 150 tips to make you and your family safer. It includes:Added steps for Windows 10 (Spring 2018) and Mac OS X High SierraExpanded coverage on mobile device safetyExpanded coverage on safety for kids onlineMore than 150 tips with complete step-by-step instructions and picturesWhat You'll LearnSolve your password problems once and for allBrowse the web safely and with confidenceBlock online tracking and dangerous adsChoose the right antivirus software for youSend files and messages securelySet up secure home networkingConduct secure shopping and banking onlineLock down social media accountsCreate automated backups of all your devicesManage your home computersUse your smartphone and tablet safelySafeguard your kids onlineAnd more!Who This Book Is ForThose who use computers and mobile devices, but don't really know (or frankly care) how they work. This book is for people who just want to know what they need to do to protect themselves--step by step, without judgment, and with as little jargon as possible.

Frame Innovation: Create New Thinking by Design


Kees Dorst - 2015
    When organizations apply old methods of problem-solving to new kinds of problems, they may accomplish only temporary fixes or some ineffectual tinkering around the edges. Today's problems are a new breed--open, complex, dynamic, and networked--and require a radically different response. In this book, Kees Dorst describes a new, innovation-centered approach to problem-solving in organizations: frame creation. It applies "design thinking," but it goes beyond the borrowed tricks and techniques that usually characterize that term. Frame creation focuses not on the generation of solutions but on the ability to create new approaches to the problem situation itself.The strategies Dorst presents are drawn from the unique, sophisticated, multilayered practices of top designers, and from insights that have emerged from fifty years of design research. Dorst describes the nine steps of the frame creation process and illustrates their application to real-world problems with a series of varied case studies. He maps innovative solutions that include rethinking a store layout so retail spaces encourage purchasing rather than stealing, applying the frame of a music festival to understand late-night problems of crime and congestion in a club district, and creative ways to attract young employees to a temporary staffing agency. Dorst provides tools and methods for implementing frame creation, offering not so much a how-to manual as a do-it-yourself handbook--a guide that will help practitioners develop their own approaches to problem-solving and creating innovation.