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 Singularity is Near: When Humans Transcend Biology


Ray Kurzweil - 2005
    In his classic The Age of Spiritual Machines, he argued that computers would soon rival the full range of human intelligence at its best. Now he examines the next step in this inexorable evolutionary process: the union of human and machine, in which the knowledge and skills embedded in our brains will be combined with the vastly greater capacity, speed, and knowledge-sharing ability of our creations.

A Smarter Way to Learn JavaScript: The new approach that uses technology to cut your effort in half


Mark Myers - 2013
     Master each chapter with free interactive exercises online. Live simulation lets you see your practice code run in your browser. 2,000 lines of color-keyed sample code break it all down into easy-to-learn chunks. Extra help through the rough spots so you're less likely to get stuck. Tested on non-coders—including the author's technophobe wife. Become fluent in all the JavaScript fundamentals, in half the time. Display alert messages to the user Gather information through prompts Manipulate variables Build statements Do math Use operators Concatenate text Run routines based on conditions Compare values Work with arrays Run automated routines Display custom elements on the webpage Generate random numbers Manipulate decimals Round numbers Create loops Use functions Find the current date and time Measure time intervals Create a timer Respond to the user's actions Swap images Control colors on the webpage Change any element on the webpage Improvise new HTML markup on the fly Use the webpage DOM structure Insert comments Situate scripts effectively Create and change objects Automate object creation Control the browser's actions Fill the browser window with custom content Check forms for invalid entries Deal with errors Make a more compelling website Increase user-friendliness Keep your user engaged

Vintage Games: An Insider Look at the History of Grand Theft Auto, Super Mario, and the Most Influential Games of All Time


Bill Loguidice - 2009
    Drawing on interviews as well as the authors' own lifelong experience with videogames, the book discusses each game's development, predecessors, critical reception, and influence on the industry. It also features hundreds of full-color screenshots and images, including rare photos of game boxes and other materials. Vintage Games is the ideal book for game enthusiasts and professionals who desire a broader understanding of the history of videogames and their evolution from a niche to a global market.

The Solitary Man (Stephen Leather Thrillers)


Stephen Leather - 1997
    Imprisoned for a crime he didn't commit, Hutch escapes from a British maximum security prison and starts a new life in Hong Kong. Then a ghost from his past catches up with him, forcing him to help a former terrorist break out of a Bangkok prison. Or face life behind bars once more.Meanwhile the DEA wants to nail the vicious drug warlord responsible for flooding the States with cheap heroin. And decides to use Hutch as a pawn in a deadly game.Hutch's bid for freedom takes him into the lawless killing fields of the Golden Triangle, where the scene is set for one final act of betrayal . . .

Manual of Style for Technical Publications


Microsoft Corporation - 1995
    A guide for creating manuals, online help, and Web publications showing correct grammar, punctuation, and common misspellings of computer topics and terms.

Minecraft: The Unlikely Tale of Markus "Notch" Persson and the Game that Changed Everything


Daniel Goldberg - 2011
    Talked about by tens of millions of people, in fact. It is the story of unlikely success, fast money, and the power of digital technology to rattle an empire. And it is about creation, exclusion, and the feeling of not fitting in.Here Markus opens up for the first time about his life. About his old Lego-filled desk at school. About the first computer his father brought home one day. But also about growing up in a family marked by drug abuse and conflict. But above all it is the story of the fine line between seeming misfit and creative madman, and the birth of a tech visionary.Minecraft: The Unlikely Tale of Markus "Notch" Persson and the Game that Changed Everything is a Cinderella story for the Internet age.

Google Drive & Docs In 30 Minutes


Ian Lamont - 2012
    Millions of people use Google Drive and its popular word processor, Docs, every day. You too can use Drive and Docs to perform the following tasks: * Write letters and reports* Enter data into Sheets, Google's free online spreadsheet program* Give presentations using Slides* Collaborate online with classmates and colleagues on important documents* Convert documents to different file formats * Print documents, drawings, and spreadsheets* Export PDFs * Make pie charts, bar charts, and simple tables* Publish documents and spreadsheets onlineThere are a lot of features, including some unfamiliar ones for people who are used to Microsoft Office. "Google Drive & Docs In 30 Minutes" cuts through the clutter, using screenshots, step-by-step instructions, and plain English. After covering registration, file creation and other basics, the book zeroes in on the most important time-saving tips and productivity tools. Highlights include:* Converting files between Microsoft Office and Google Drive formats.* Best practices for organizing files in Google Drive.* What to expect with collaboration in Google Drive.* Using Google Drive on phones and tablets: What works, and what doesn't.* Accessing older versions of files.* How to publish your documents to the Web for colleagues or members of the public to view.* Sorting and filtering data in Google Spreadsheets (with examples).* Using Web Forms to gather data.* Google Slides: Is it a suitable alternative to Microsoft PowerPoint or Apple Keynote?* Working with offline files.* Downloading third-party apps."Google Drive And Docs In 30 Minutes" is an In 30 Minutes™ guide. Other books in the series include "Dropbox In 30 Minutes", "Google Blogger For Small Businesses In 30 Minutes", and "Excel Basics In 30 Minutes".

CSS and Documents


Eric A. Meyer - 2012
    

Rootkits: Subverting the Windows Kernel


Greg Hoglund - 2005
    It is truly cutting-edge. As the only book on the subject, Rootkits will be of interest to any Windows security researcher or security programmer. It's detailed, well researched and the technical information is excellent. The level of technical detail, research, and time invested in developing relevant examples is impressive. In one word: Outstanding."--Tony Bautts, Security Consultant; CEO, Xtivix, Inc. "This book is an essential read for anyone responsible for Windows security. Security professionals, Windows system administrators, and programmers in general will want to understand the techniques used by rootkit authors. At a time when many IT and security professionals are still worrying about the latest e-mail virus or how to get all of this month's security patches installed, Mr. Hoglund and Mr. Butler open your eyes to some of the most stealthy and significant threats to the Windows operating system. Only by understanding these offensive techniques can you properly defend the networks and systems for which you are responsible."--Jennifer Kolde, Security Consultant, Author, and Instructor "What's worse than being owned? Not knowing it. Find out what it means to be owned by reading Hoglund and Butler's first-of-a-kind book on rootkits. At the apex the malicious hacker toolset--which includes decompilers, disassemblers, fault-injection engines, kernel debuggers, payload collections, coverage tools, and flow analysis tools--is the rootkit. Beginning where Exploiting Software left off, this book shows how attackers hide in plain sight."Rootkits are extremely powerful and are the next wave of attack technology. Like other types of malicious code, rootkits thrive on stealthiness. They hide away from standard system observers, employing hooks, trampolines, and patches to get their work done. Sophisticated rootkits run in such a way that other programs that usually monitor machine behavior can't easily detect them. A rootkit thus provides insider access only to people who know that it is running and available to accept commands. Kernel rootkits can hide files and running processes to provide a backdoor into the target machine."Understanding the ultimate attacker's tool provides an important motivator for those of us trying to defend systems. No authors are better suited to give you a detailed hands-on understanding of rootkits than Hoglund and Butler. Better to own this book than to be owned."--Gary McGraw, Ph.D., CTO, Cigital, coauthor of Exploiting Software (2004) and Building Secure Software (2002), both from Addison-Wesley "Greg and Jamie are unquestionably the go-to experts when it comes to subverting the Windows API and creating rootkits. These two masters come together to pierce the veil of mystery surrounding rootkits, bringing this information out of the shadows. Anyone even remotely interested in security for Windows systems, including forensic analysis, should include this book very high on their must-read list."--Harlan Carvey, author of Windows Forensics and Incident Recovery (Addison-Wesley, 2005) Rootkits are the ultimate backdoor, giving hackers ongoing and virtually undetectable access to the systems they exploit. Now, two of the world's leading experts have written the first comprehensive guide to rootkits: what they are, how they work, how to build them, and how to detect them. Rootkit.com's Greg Hoglund and James Butler created and teach Black Hat's legendary course in rootkits. In this book, they reveal never-before-told offensive aspects of rootkit technology--learn how attackers can get in and stay in for years, without detection. Hoglund and Butler show exactly how to subvert the Windows XP and Windows 2000 kernels, teaching concepts that are easily applied to virtually any modern operating system, from Windows Server 2003 to Linux and UNIX. They teach rootkit programming techniques that can be used for a wide range of software, from white hat security tools to operating system drivers and debuggers. After reading this book, readers will be able to Understand the role of rootkits in remote command/control and software eavesdropping Build kernel rootkits that can make processes, files, and directories invisible Master key rootkit programming techniques, including hooking, runtime patching, and directly manipulating kernel objects Work with layered drivers to implement keyboard sniffers and file filters Detect rootkits and build host-based intrusion prevention software that resists rootkit attacks

Electronic Dreams: How 1980s Britain Learned to Love the Computer


Tom Lean - 2016
    In those heady early days of computing, Britannia very much ruled the digital waves.Electronic Dreams looks back at how Britain embraced the home computer, and at the people who drove the boom: entrepreneurs such as Clive Sinclair and Alan Sugar seeking new markets; politicians proclaiming economic miracles; bedroom programmers with an unhealthy fascination with technology; and millions of everyday folk who bought into the electronic dream and let the computer into their lives. It is a history of home computers such as the Commodore VIC20, BBC Micro, and ZX Spectrum; classic computer games like Manic Miner and Elite; the early information networks that first put the home online; and the transformation of the computer into an everyday object in the British home.Based on interviews with key individuals, archive sources, and study of vintage hardware and software, and with a particular focus on the computer's place in social history, Electronic Dreams is a nostalgic look at how a depressed 1980s Britain got over its fear of microchips and embraced the computer as a “passport to the future.”

The Nudist on the Late Shift: And Other True Tales of Silicon Valley


Po Bronson - 1999
    In his national bestseller The Nudist on the Late Shift he tells the true story of the mostly under-thirty entrepreneurs and tech wizards, immigrants and investors, dreamers and visionaries, who see the Valley as their Mecca. Taking us inside the world of these newcomers, brainiacs, salespeople, headhunters, utopians, plutocrats, and innovators as they transform our culture, The Nudist on the Late Shift is a defining portrait of a new generation in the whirl of an information revolution and an international gold rush.Po Bronson is the author of two novels and one book of nonfiction. Bombardiers, a dark satire of high finance, was an international bestseller that was translated into twelve languages. The First $20 Million Is Always the Hardest, soon to be a feature film from 20th Century Fox, is a comedy of Silicon Valley.  His third bestseller, The Nudist on the Late Shift and Other True Tales of Silicon Valley, demonstrates that Bronson's wit and imagination apply as well to nonfiction as to fiction.

UNIX Shell Programming


Stephen G. Kochan - 1985
    A complete overview of shell programming This classic edition deals specifically with the techniques of shell programming.-- Presents information in step-by-step fashion-- Covers all the features of the standard shell, with additional instructions for the Korn Shell-- Teaches how to use the shell to tailor the UNIX environment

Open: How Compaq Ended IBM's PC Domination and Helped Invent Modern Computing


Rod Canion - 2013
    Just four years later, Compaq was on the Fortune 500 list, and, two years after that, they had exceeded $1 billion in annual revenue. No company had ever achieved these milestones so rapidly.But few know the story behind the story. In 1982, when Compaq was founded, there was no software standardization, so every brand of personal computer required its own unique application software. Just eight years later, compatibility with the open PC standard had become ubiquitous, and it has continued to be for over two decades.This didn’t happen by accident. Cofounder and then CEO Rod Canion and his team made a series of risky and daring decisions—often facing criticism and incredulity—that allowed the open PC standard marketplace to thrive and the incredible benefits of open computing to be realized.A never-before-published insider account of Compaq’s extraordinary strategies and decisions, Open provides valuable lessons in leadership in times of crisis, management decision-making under the pressure of extraordinary growth, and the power of a unique, pervasive culture.Open tells the incredible story of Compaq’s meteoric rise from humble beginnings to become the PC industry leader in just over a decade. Along the way, Compaq helped change the face of computing while establishing the foundation for today’s world of tablets and smart phones.

Python for Informatics: Exploring Information: Exploring Information


Charles Severance - 2002
    You can think of Python as your tool to solve problems that are far beyond the capability of a spreadsheet. It is an easy-to-use and easy-to learn programming language that is freely available on Windows, Macintosh, and Linux computers. There are free downloadable copies of this book in various electronic formats and a self-paced free online course where you can explore the course materials. All the supporting materials for the book are available under open and remixable licenses. This book is designed to teach people to program even if they have no prior experience.