The true father of the modern computer was not John von Neumann, as he is generally credited. That honor belongs to the two men, John Mauchly and Presper Eckert, who built the world's first programmable computer: the legendary ENIAC (Electronic Numerical Integrator and Computer).
Mauchly and Eckert developed a revolutionary vision: to make electricity "think." Funded by the U.S. Army, the team they led constructed a behemoth weighing thirty tons with eighteen thousand vacuum tubes and miles of wiring that blazed a trail to the next generation of computers that quickly followed.
Based on original interviews with surviving participants and the first study of Mauchly and Eckert's personal papers, ENIAC is a dramatic human story and a vital contribution to the history of technology that restores to the two inventors the legacy they deserve.
The author of the breakout hit Here Comes Everybody reveals how new technology is changing us from consumers to collaborators, unleashing a torrent of creative production that will transform our world.
The bestselling author of The Big Switch returns with an explosive look at technology's effect on the mind.
'Is Google making us stupid?' When Nicholas Carr posed that question in an Atlantic Monthly cover story, he tapped into a well of anxiety about how the Internet is changing us. He also crystallized one of the most important debates of our time: as we enjoy the Internet's bounties, are we sacrificing our ability to read and think deeply?
Now, Carr expands his argument into the most compelling exploration yet published of the Internet's intellectual and cultural consequences. Weaving insights from philosophy, neuroscience, and history into a rich narrative, The Shallows explains how the Internet is rerouting our neural pathways, replacing the subtle mind of the book reader with the distracted mind of the screen watcher. A gripping story of human transformation played out against a backdrop of technological upheaval, The Shallows will forever alter the way we think about media and our minds.
'Neuroscience and technology buffs, librarians, and Internet users will find this truly compelling.''Library Journal (starred review)
Moms and dads---here it is at last! A quick, sweeping overview of MySpace: what it is, how it works, and why it is so important to your teen. You'll find out how to address important issues with your teen in a way that strengthens your relationship and resolves conflicts.
Whether you're computer illiterate or a seasoned web surfer, MySpace for Moms and Dads will help you understand the social networking revolution and equip you to make smart, confident decisions about your son's or daughter's use of MySpace and sites like it.
Learn how to minimize the risks of MySpace and bring out its benefits and positive opportunities. You can not only ensure that your teen uses MySpace safely, but also use MySpace yourself to gain a window into your teen's world. Find out how to tailor your teen's use of MySpace to his or her present maturity level---and deepen your appreciation of the unique individual your son or daughter is in the bargain.
Includes complete glossary, discussion starters, fun quizzes, negotiation helps for you and your teen, and resources with complete contact information including non-web and web addresses.
NATIONAL BESTSELLER • 'Succinct and readable.... If you suffer from digital anxiety ... here is a book that lays it all out for you.' --Newsday
In lively, mordantly witty prose, Negroponte decodes the mysteries--and debunks the hype--surrounding bandwidth, multimedia, virtual reality, and the Internet, and explains why such touted innovations as the fax and the CD-ROM are likely to go the way of the BetaMax.
"Imagine a world in which every single person on the planet is given free access to the sum of all human knowledge. That's what we're doing." —Jimmy Wales, founder of Wikipedia
With more than 2,000,000 individual articles on everything from Aa! (a Japanese pop group) to Zzyzx, California, written by an army of volunteer contributors, Wikipedia is the number-eight site on the World Wide Web. Created (and corrected) by anyone with access to a computer, this impressive assemblage of knowledge is growing at an astonishing rate of more than 30,000,000 words a month. Now, for the first time, a Wikipedia insider tells the story of how it all happened—from the first glimmer of an idea to the global phenomenon it's become.
Andrew Lih has been an administrator (a trusted user who is granted access to technical features) at Wikipedia for more than four years, as well as a regular host of the weekly Wikipedia podcast. In The Wikipedia Revolution, he details the site's inception in 2001, its evolution, and its remarkable growth, while also explaining its larger cultural repercussions. Wikipedia is not just a Web site; it's a global community of contributors who have banded together out of a shared passion for making knowledge free.
The Wikipedia Revolution features a foreword by Wikipedia founder Jimmy Wales and an afterword that is itself a Wikipedia creation.
Every day, we produce loads of data about ourselves simply by living in the modern world: We click web pages, flip channels, drive through automatic toll booths, shop with credit cards, and make cell phone calls. Now, in one of the greatest undertakings of the 21st century, a savvy group of mathematicians and computer scientists is beginning to sift through this data to dissect us and map out our next steps, profiling us as workers, shoppers, patients, voters, potential terrorists, even lovers. Their goal? To manipulate our behavior-what we buy, how we vote-without our even realizing it.In this tour-de-force of original reporting and analysis, journalist Stephen Baker provides us with a fascinating guide to the world we're all entering-and to the people controlling that world.
"Captivating....An intriguing but disquieting look at a not too distant future when our thoughts will remain private, but computers will disclose our tastes, opinions, habits and quirks to curious parties, not all of whom have our best interests at heart."-Publishers Weekly (starred review)
The founder of Microsoft presents his vision for the future, in which he sees the digital technologies of the coming years changing the way we buy, work, learn, and communicate.
In Internet Riches, top e-business consultant Scott Fox reveals the powerful but simple strategies that he and other entrepreneurs have used to start and build their million-dollar enterprises. Packed with interviews, action plans, and a nuts-and-bolts overview of everything you need to know to design and market your e-business, this audiobook gives you insight into the most promising e-business opportunities out there (including instant e-businesses that require almost NO start-up capital); powerful action plans for brainstorming new business ideas, plus guidelines on pre-testing them before investing a single penny; and inspiring examples of innovative companies that grew out of a single great idea. This is the most powerful guide ever to finding financial freedom online! "Want to do more than surf the net? Scott Fox helped set up BillOReilly.com and make it into a profit center. His book, Internet Riches, is a must-read for entrepreneurs." - Bill O'Reilly, Anchor, Fox News Channel
Tim Berners-Lee, the inventor of the World Wide Web, has been hailed by Time magazine as one of the 100 greatest minds of this century.His creation has already changed the way people do business, entertain themselves, exchange ideas, and socialize with one another. With new online businesses and communities forming every day, the full impact of Berners-Lee's grand scheme has yet to be fully realized. Now, this low-profile genius tells his own story of the Web's origins--from its radical introduction and the creation of the now ubiquitous WWW and HTTP acronyms to how he sees the future development of this revolutionary medium.Berners-Lee offers insights to help listeners understand the true nature of the Web, enabling them to use it to their fullest advantage. He shares his views on such critical issues as censorship, privacy, and the increasing power of software companies in the online world.
"Here is the story behind one of the most remarkable Internet successes of our time. Based on scrupulous research and extraordinary access to Google, the book takes you inside the creation and growth of a company whose name is a favorite brand and a standard verb recognized around the world. Its stock is worth more than General Motors’ and Ford’s combined, its staff eats for free in a dining room that used to be run by the Grateful Dead’s former chef, and its employees traverse the firm’s colorful Silicon Valley campus on scooters and inline skates.
THE GOOGLE STORY is the definitive account of the populist media company powered by the world’s most advanced technology that in a few short years has revolutionized access to information about everything for everybody everywhere.
In 1998, Moscow-born Sergey Brin and Midwest-born Larry Page dropped out of graduate school at Stanford University to, in their own words, “change the world” through a search engine that would organize every bit of information on the Web for free.
While the company has done exactly that in more than one hundred languages, Google’s quest continues as it seeks to add millions of library books, television broadcasts, and more to its searchable database.
Readers will learn about the amazing business acumen and computer wizardry that started the company on its astonishing course; the secret network of computers delivering lightning-fast search results; the unorthodox approach that has enabled it to challenge Microsoft’s dominance and shake up Wall Street. Even as it rides high, Google wrestles with difficult choices that will enable it to continue expanding while sustaining the guiding vision of its founders’ mantra: DO NO EVIL."
From the Hardcover edition.
"Here is the story behind one of the most remarkable Internet successes of our time. Based on scrupulous research and extraordinary access to Google, the book takes you inside the creation and growth of a company whose name is a favorite brand and a standard verb recognized around the world. Its stock is worth more than General Motors’ and Ford’s combined, its staff eats for free in a dining room that used to be run by the Grateful Dead’s former chef, and its employees traverse the firm’s colorful Silicon Valley campus on scooters and inline skates.
THE GOOGLE STORY is the definitive account of the populist media company powered by the world’s most advanced technology that in a few short years has revolutionized access to information about everything for everybody everywhere.
In 1998, Moscow-born Sergey Brin and Midwest-born Larry Page dropped out of graduate school at Stanford University to, in their own words, “change the world” through a search engine that would organize every bit of information on the Web for free.
While the company has done exactly that in more than one hundred languages, Google’s quest continues as it seeks to add millions of library books, television broadcasts, and more to its searchable database.
Readers will learn about the amazing business acumen and computer wizardry that started the company on its astonishing course; the secret network of computers delivering lightning-fast search results; the unorthodox approach that has enabled it to challenge Microsoft’s dominance and shake up Wall Street. Even as it rides high, Google wrestles with difficult choices that will enable it to continue expanding while sustaining the guiding vision of its founders’ mantra: DO NO EVIL."
