Book picks similar to
Computers and the Cosmos by Time-Life Books
science
computers-technology
tech
astronomy
In the Plex: How Google Thinks, Works, and Shapes Our Lives
Steven Levy - 2011
How has Google done it? Veteran technology reporter Steven Levy was granted unprecedented access to the company, and in this revelatory book he takes readers inside Google headquarters—the Googleplex—to show how Google works.While they were still students at Stanford, Google cofounders Larry Page and Sergey Brin revolutionized Internet search. They followed this brilliant innovation with another, as two of Google’s earliest employees found a way to do what no one else had: make billions of dollars from Internet advertising. With this cash cow, Google was able to expand dramatically and take on other transformative projects: more efficient data centers, open-source cell phones, free Internet video (YouTube), cloud computing, digitizing books, and much more.The key to Google’s success in all these businesses, Levy reveals, is its engineering mind-set and adoption of such Internet values as speed, openness, experimentation, and risk taking. After its unapologetically elitist approach to hiring, Google pampers its engineers—free food and dry cleaning, on-site doctors and masseuses—and gives them all the resources they need to succeed. Even today, with a workforce of more than 23,000, Larry Page signs off on every hire.But has Google lost its innovative edge? With its newest initiative, social networking, Google is chasing a successful competitor for the first time. Some employees are leaving the company for smaller, nimbler start-ups. Can the company that famously decided not to be evil still compete?No other book has ever turned Google inside out as Levy does with In the Plex.
JavaScript and HTML5 Now
Kyle Simpson - 2012
This insightful overview provides striking examples of how these technologies have teamed up to give the Web a truly open platform.Author Kyle Simpson (HTML5 Cookbook) shows you how JavaScript unlocks the power of all of the new functionality in HTML5, giving web applications the capabilities developers have wanted for years. These technologies now provide the raw tools you need in the presentation layer to replace everything you used to do with Flash.You’ll discover how:> HTML5 builds natively into the web platform things we find most commonly useful, such as audio, video, and drawing> The Canvas element is changing graphic animations, games, audio visualization, charting, and video effects> Geolocation has spawned “geofencing” and augmented reality> Web Workers allows calculations to be performed in the background, rather than compete with the UI> Web Sockets is enabling realtime communication for chat, live tech support, multi-user collaboration, and gaming> Mobile device APIs will give web apps direct access the phone’s camera, vibration, and other capabilities
Program or Be Programmed: Ten Commands for a Digital Age
Douglas Rushkoff - 2010
But for all the heat of claim and counter-claim, the argument is essentially beside the point: it’s here; it’s everywhere. The real question is, do we direct technology, or do we let ourselves be directed by it and those who have mastered it? “Choose the former,” writes Rushkoff, “and you gain access to the control panel of civilization. Choose the latter, and it could be the last real choice you get to make.” In ten chapters, composed of ten “commands” accompanied by original illustrations from comic artist Leland Purvis, Rushkoff provides cyberenthusiasts and technophobes alike with the guidelines to navigate this new universe.In this spirited, accessible poetics of new media, Rushkoff picks up where Marshall McLuhan left off, helping readers come to recognize programming as the new literacy of the digital age––and as a template through which to see beyond social conventions and power structures that have vexed us for centuries. This is a friendly little book with a big and actionable message. World-renowned media theorist and counterculture figure Douglas Rushkoff is the originator of ideas such as “viral media,” “social currency” and “screenagers.” He has been at the forefront of digital society from its beginning, correctly predicting the rise of the net, the dotcom boom and bust, as well as the current financial crisis. He is a familiar voice on NPR, face on PBS, and writer in publications from Discover Magazine to the New York Times.“Douglas Rushkoff is one of the great thinkers––and writers––of our time.” —Timothy Leary“Rushkoff is damn smart. As someone who understood the digital revolution faster and better than almost anyone, he shows how the internet is a social transformer that should change the way your business culture operates." —Walter Isaacson
Rethinking the Internet of Things: A Scalable Approach to Connecting Everything
Francis Dacosta - 2013
Billions of interconnected devices will be monitoring the environment, transportation systems, factories, farms, forests, utilities, soil and weather conditions, oceans and resources Many of these sensors and actuators will be networked into autonomous sets, with much of the information being exchanged machine-to-machine directly and without human involvement. Machine-to-machine communications are typically terse. Most sensors and actuators will report or act upon small pieces of information - chirps. Burdening these devices with current network protocol stacks is inefficient, unnecessary and unduly increases their cost of ownership. This must change. The architecture of the Internet of Things will entail a widely distributed topology incorporating simpler chirp protocols towards at the edges of the network. Rethinking the Internet of Things describes reasons why we must rethink current approaches to the Internet of Things. Appropriate architectures that will coexist with existing networking protocols are described in detail. An architecture comprised of integrator functions, propagator nodes, and end devices, along with their interactions, is explored. What you'll learn Teaches the difference between the "normal" Internet and the Internet of Things, Describes a new architecture and its components in the "chirp" context. Explains the shortcomings of IP for IoT. Describes the anatomy of the IoT. Re-frames key ideas such as reliability. Describes how to build the IoT Who this book is forThought leaders, executives, architectural, standards and development leaders in the evolving IoT industry
Deep Medicine: How Artificial Intelligence Can Make Healthcare Human Again
Eric J. Topol - 2019
The doctor-patient relationship--the heart of medicine--is broken: doctors are too distracted and overwhelmed to truly connect with their patients, and medical errors and misdiagnoses abound. In Deep Medicine, leading physician Eric Topol reveals how artificial intelligence can help. AI has the potential to transform everything doctors do, from notetaking and medical scans to diagnosis and treatment, greatly cutting down the cost of medicine and reducing human mortality. By freeing physicians from the tasks that interfere with human connection, AI will create space for the real healing that takes place between a doctor who can listen and a patient who needs to be heard.Innovative, provocative, and hopeful, Deep Medicine shows us how the awesome power of AI can make medicine better, for all the humans involved.
Unity 3.X Game Development Essentials
Will Goldstone - 2009
With no prior knowledge of game development or 3D required, you will learn from scratch, taking each concept at a time working up to a full 3D mini-game. You'll learn scripting with C# or JavaScript and master the Unity development environment with easy-to-follow stepwise tasks. If you're a designer or animator who wishes to take their first steps into game development or prototyping, or if you've simply spent many hours sitting in front of video games, with ideas bubbling away in the back of your mind, Unity and this book should be your starting point. No prior knowledge of game production is required, inviting you to simply bring with you a passion for making great games.
Building Java Programs: A Back to Basics Approach
Stuart Reges - 2007
By using objects early to solve interesting problems and defining objects later in the course, Building Java Programs develops programming knowledge for a broad audience. Introduction to Java Programming, Primitive Data and Definite Loops, Introduction to Parameters and Objects, Conditional Execution, Program Logic and Indefinite Loops, File Processing, Arrays, Defining Classes, Inheritance and Interfaces, ArrayLists, Java Collections Framework, Recursion, Searching and Sorting, Graphical User Interfaces. For all readers interested in introductory programming.
CompTIA Security+: Get Certified Get Ahead: SY0-401 Study Guide
Darril Gibson - 2014
The SY0-301 version covers every aspect of the SY0-301 exam, and includes the same elements readers raved about in the previous version. Each of the eleven chapters presents topics in an easy to understand manner and includes real-world examples of security principles in action. The author uses many of the same analogies and explanations he’s honed in the classroom that have helped hundreds of students master the Security+ content. You’ll understand the important and relevant security topics for the Security+ exam, without being overloaded with unnecessary details. Additionally, each chapter includes a comprehensive review section to help you focus on what’s important. Over 400 realistic practice test questions with in-depth explanations will help you test your comprehension and readiness for the exam. The book includes a 100 question pre-test, a 100 question post-test, and practice test questions at the end of every chapter. Each practice test question includes a detailed explanation to help you understand the content and the reasoning behind the question. You’ll be ready to take and pass the exam the first time you take it. If you plan to pursue any of the advanced security certifications, this guide will also help you lay a solid foundation of security knowledge. Learn this material, and you’ll be a step ahead for other exams. This SY0-401 study guide is for any IT or security professional interested in advancing in their field, and a must read for anyone striving to master the basics of IT systems security. The author also posts related blogs to supplement the book at http://blogs.getcertifiedgetahead.com/.
Real World OCaml: Functional programming for the masses
Yaron Minsky - 2013
Through the book’s many examples, you’ll quickly learn how OCaml stands out as a tool for writing fast, succinct, and readable systems code.Real World OCaml takes you through the concepts of the language at a brisk pace, and then helps you explore the tools and techniques that make OCaml an effective and practical tool. In the book’s third section, you’ll delve deep into the details of the compiler toolchain and OCaml’s simple and efficient runtime system.Learn the foundations of the language, such as higher-order functions, algebraic data types, and modulesExplore advanced features such as functors, first-class modules, and objectsLeverage Core, a comprehensive general-purpose standard library for OCamlDesign effective and reusable libraries, making the most of OCaml’s approach to abstraction and modularityTackle practical programming problems from command-line parsing to asynchronous network programmingExamine profiling and interactive debugging techniques with tools such as GNU gdb
99 Bottles of OOP
Sandi Metz - 2016
This book fills that gap. It explains the process of writing good code, and teaches you to achieve beautifully programmed ends by way of extremely practical means. What It's About99 Bottles of OOP is a practical guide to writing cost-effective, maintainable, and pleasing object-oriented code. It explores: Recognizing when code is "good enough"Getting the best value from Test-Driven Development (TDD)Doing proper refactoring, not random "rehacktoring"Locating concepts buried in codeFinding names that convey deeper meaning Safely altering code by following the "Flocking Rules" Simplifying new additions with the Open/Closed PrincipleAvoiding conditionals by obeying the Liskov Substitution PrincipleMaking targeted improvements by reducing Code SmellsWhat Makes It Unique?We are practical people. We love beautiful code but we're committed to getting things done. 99 Bottles of OOP enables both of these desires. It teaches a practical technique for getting things done that leads, naturally and inevitably, to beautiful code.This book contains an extended refactoring, and it details the rationale behind every change. It is a hands-on workbook rather than a list of theoretical ideas. It explains how to use the principles of object-oriented design to guide, not just the final arrangement of code, but each decision about what line of code to write next.It teaches the theory of what good OO looks like, but even better, it supplies step-by-step guidance about how to achieve it.Who Should Read It?The lessons work for programmers with a broad range of experience, from rank novice to grizzled veteran. The code examples are written in Ruby, but this book is not about Ruby--it's about object-oriented programming and design. Regardless of your background, applying these techniques will make your code easier to understand, simpler to change, and more satisfying to contemplate.
Laravel: Code Bright
Dayle Rees - 2013
At $29 and cheaper than a good pizza, you will get the book in its current partial form, along with all future chapters, updates, and fixes for free. As of the day I wrote this description, Code Bright had 130 pages and was just getting started. To give you some perspective on how detailed it is, Code Happy was 127 pages in its complete state. Want to know more? Carry on reading.Welcome back to Laravel. Last year I wrote a book about the Laravel PHP framework. It started as a collection of tutorials on my blog, and eventually became a full book. I definitely didn’t expect it to be as popular as it was. Code Happy has sold almost 3000 copies, and is considered to be one of the most valuable resourcesfor learning the Laravel framework.Code Bright is the spiritual successor to Code Happy. The framework has grown a lot in the past year, and has changed enough to merit a new title. With Code Bright I hope to improve on Code Happy with every way, my goal is, to once again, build the most comprehensive learning experience for the framework. Oh, and to still be funny. That’s very important to me.Laravel Code Bright will contain a complete learning experience for all of the framework’s features. The style of writing will make it approachable for beginners, and a wonderful reference resource for experienced developers alike.You see, people have told me that they enjoyed reading Code Happy, not only for its educational content, but for its humour, and for my down to earth writing style. This is very important to me. I like to write my books as if we were having a conversation in a bar.When I wrote Code Happy last year, I was simply a framework enthusiast. One of the first to share information about the framework. However, since then I have become a committed member of the core development team. Working directly with the framework author to make Laravel a wonderful experience for the developers of the world.One other important feature of both books, is that they are published while in progress. This means that the book is available in an incomplete state, but will grow over time into a complete title. All future updates will be provided for free.What this means is that I don’t have to worry about deadlines, or a fixed point of completion. It leads to less stress and better writing. If I think of a better way to explain something, I can go back and change it. In a sense, the book will never be completed. I can constantly add more information to it, until it becomes the perfect resource.Given that this time I am using the majority of my spare time to write the title (yes, I have a full time job too!), I have raised the price a little to justify my invested time. I was told by many of my past readers that they found the previous title very cheap for the resource that it grew into, so if you are worried about the new price, then let me remind you what you will get for your 29 bucks.The successor to Code Happy, seen by many as the #1 learning resource for the Laravel PHP framework.An unending source of information, chapters will be constantly added as needed until the book becomes a giant vault of framework knowledge.Comedy, and a little cheesy, but very friendly writing.
DarkMarket: Cyberthieves, Cybercops and You
Misha Glenny - 2011
The world has become a law enforcer's nightmare and every criminal's dream. We bank online; shop online; date, learn, work and live online. But have the institutions that keep us safe on the streets learned to protect us in the burgeoning digital world? Have we become complacent about our personal security--sharing our thoughts, beliefs and the details of our daily lives with anyone who might care to relieve us of them?In this fascinating and compelling book, Misha Glenny, author of the international best seller "McMafia," explores the three fundamental threats facing us in the twenty-first century: cybercrime, cyberwarfare and cyberindustrial espionage. Governments and the private sector are losing billions of dollars each year fighting an ever-morphing, often invisible and often supersmart new breed of criminal: the hacker. Glenny has traveled and trawled the world. By exploring the rise and fall of the criminal website DarkMarket he has uncovered the most vivid, alarming and illuminating stories. Whether JiLsi or Matrix, Iceman, Master Splynter or Lord Cyric; whether Detective Sergeant Chris Dawson in Scunthorpe, England, or Agent Keith Mularski in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, Glenny has tracked down and interviewed all the players--the criminals, the geeks, the police, the security experts and the victims--and he places everyone and everything in a rich brew of politics, economics and history.The result is simply unputdownable. DarkMarket is authoritative and completely engrossing. It's a must-read for everyone who uses a computer: the essential crime book for our times.
Our Final Invention: Artificial Intelligence and the End of the Human Era
James Barrat - 2013
Corporations & government agencies around the world are pouring billions into achieving AI’s Holy Grail—human-level intelligence. Once AI has attained it, scientists argue, it will have survival drives much like our own. We may be forced to compete with a rival more cunning, more powerful & more alien than we can imagine. Thru profiles of tech visionaries, industry watchdogs & groundbreaking AI systems, James Barrat's Our Final Invention explores the perils of the heedless pursuit of advanced AI. Until now, human intelligence has had no rival. Can we coexist with beings whose intelligence dwarfs our own? Will they allow us to?