The Computer

An illustrated journey through 250 milestones in computer science, from the ancient abacus to Boolean algebra, GPS, and social media. With 250 illustrated landmark inventions, publications, and events—encompassing everything from ancient record-keeping devices to the latest computing technologies—The Computer Book takes a chronological journey through the history and future of computer science. Two expert authors, with decades of experience working in computer research and innovation, explore topics including: the Sumerian abacus * the first spam message * Morse code * cryptography * early computers * Isaac Asimov’s laws of robotics * UNIX and early programming languages * movies * video games * mainframes * minis and micros * hacking * virtual reality * and more “What a delight! A fast trip through the computing landscape in the company of friendly tour guides who know the history.” —Harry Lewis, Gordon McKay Professor of Computer Science, Harvard University

Describes how computer viruses are created and spred, and discusses computer harassment, online con artists, protection data with encryption, and general computer security issues.

A biography of inventor and mathematician Charles Babbage.

The Rise of the Computer State is a comprehensive examination of the ways that computers and massive databases are enabling the nation’s corporations and law enforcement agencies to steadily erode our privacy and manipulate and control the American people. This book was written in 1983 as a warning. Today it is a history. Most of its grim scenarios are now part of everyday life. The remedy proposed here, greater public oversight of industry and government, has not occurred, but a better one has not yet been found. While many individuals have willingly surrendered much of their privacy and all of us have lost some of it, the right to keep what remains is still worth protecting.

A strikingly illustrated overview of the computing machines that have changed our world—from the abacus to the smartphone—and the people who made them, by the New York Times bestselling author and illustrator of Women in Science. “A beautifully illustrated journey through the history of computing, from the Antikythera mechanism to the iPhone and beyond—I loved it.”—Eben Upton, Founder and CEO of Raspberry Pi ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR: The New York Public Library Computers are everywhere and have impacted our lives in so many ways. But who created them, and why? How have they transformed the way that we interact with our surroundings and each other? Packed with accessible information, fun facts, and discussion starters, this charming and art-filled book takes you from the ancient world to the modern day, focusing on important inventions, from the earliest known counting systems to the sophisticated algorithms behind AI. The History of the Computer also profiles a diverse range of key players and creators—from An Wang and Margaret Hamilton to Steve Jobs and Sir Tim Berners-Lee—and illuminates their goals, their intentions, and the impact of their inventions on our everyday lives. This entertaining and educational journey will help you understand our most important machines and how we can use them to enhance the way we live. You’ll never look at your phone the same way again!

An introduction to computer engineering for babies. Learn basic logic gates with hands on examples of buttons and an output LED.

A bold reassessment of "smart cities" that reveals what is lost when we conceive of our urban spaces as computers Computational models of urbanism—smart cities that use data-driven planning and algorithmic administration—promise to deliver new urban efficiencies and conveniences. Yet these models limit our understanding of what we can know about a city. A City Is Not a Computer reveals how cities encompass myriad forms of local and indigenous intelligences and knowledge institutions, arguing that these resources are a vital supplement and corrective to increasingly prevalent algorithmic models. Shannon Mattern begins by examining the ethical and ontological implications of urban technologies and computational models, discussing how they shape and in many cases profoundly limit our engagement with cities. She looks at the methods and underlying assumptions of data-driven urbanism, and demonstrates how the "city-as-computer" metaphor, which undergirds much of today's urban policy and design, reduces place-based knowledge to information processing. Mattern then imagines how we might sustain institutions and infrastructures that constitute more diverse, open, inclusive urban forms. She shows how the public library functions as a steward of urban intelligence, and describes the scales of upkeep needed to sustain a city's many moving parts, from spinning hard drives to bridge repairs. Incorporating insights from urban studies, data science, and media and information studies, A City Is Not a Computer offers a visionary new approach to urban planning and design.

Beginner's book about computers, starting from, "What a PC is, on to how to care for it, and how to use all its possibilities.

Beginning with an explanation of why considerable outlays for computing since 1973 have not resulted in comparable payoffs, the author proposes that emerging techniques for user-centred development can turn the situation around - through task analysis, ite