Technology & Engineering Audiobooks | Science & Technology

Virtual Reality - Robots Rule Book Four Audiobook

Virtual Reality. What is it, really? And what can it do for us? These are the questions investigative journalist Atherton Cooper addressed over 6 months of probing with industry leaders, tech gurus and orinary people. The results are nothing less than mind boggling. And ,as with every new technology, Virtual Reality is presented as the greatest technological breakthrough since the printing press. Will it really make our lives easier? Or will it further de-humanize us? As Robots rule our every waking minute? This book gives the information to answer those crucial questions for yourself.

Atherton Cooper (Author), Atherton Cooper (Narrator)

Audiobook

Virtual Reality: Robots Rule - Book Six

Virtual Reality. Robots of all shapes, sizes and configurations. Shaping and guiding our lives. Making everything better, easier and more convient. That's the pitch from the Robot makers. But how much of it is hype? And how much is 'virtually 'real? Every technology, from the 'Friendly Atom' to the microwave oven is always presented with a positive spin. The same is true for VR. But there is, as with every 'Tech Marvel' - a dark side to Virtual Reality. Rarely mentioned, yet alone acknowledged. Until now. In this no holds barred third book in his Virtual Reality series, Investigative Journalist Atherton Cooper explores VR's dark side. And it's chilling implications for our unavoidable future.

Atherton Cooper (Author), Atherton Cooper (Narrator)

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Virtual Society: The Metaverse and the New Frontiers of Human Experience

Brought to you by Penguin. Is the metaverse a brave new world? An immersive digital playground? The next generation of online gaming? Or just the latest manifestation of our human tendency to create other realities? Herman Narula argues that it is all of these things. His vision of the metaverse, deeply rooted in history and psychology, looks to the Egyptians, whose conception of death inspired them to build the pyramids, to modern-day sports fans whose fantasy leagues are as competitive as the real thing, and finds that humanity has always sought to supplement our day-to-day lives with a rich diversity of alternative immersive experiences. Rigorously researched, passionately argued, and written by a tech founder and creator of digital worlds, Virtual Society reveals why the metaverse offers a new universe of ideas that offers users unprecedented opportunities to create, explore and find meaning. It's an essential guide for anyone who wants to get beyond superficial headlines and understand the true shape of our virtual future. ©2022 Herman Narula(P)2022 Penguin Audio

Herman Narula (Author), Herman Narula (Narrator)

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Volt Rush: The Winners and Losers in the Race to Go Green

In the twentieth century, wealth and power was dictated by access to oil. This century will have different kingmakers, perhaps different wars. We depend on a handful of metals and rare earths to power our phones and computers. Increasingly, we rely on them to power our cars and our homes. Whoever controls these finite commodities will become rich beyond imagining. Sanderson journeys to meet the characters, companies, and nations scrambling for the new resources, linking remote mines in the Congo and Chile’s Atacama Desert to giant Chinese battery factories, shadowy commodity traders, secretive billionaires, and a new generation of scientists attempting to solve the dilemma of a “greener” world.

Henry Sanderson (Author), Rory Barnett (Narrator)

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Volume Control: Hearing in a Deafening World

The surprising science of hearing and the remarkable technologies that can help us hear better Our sense of hearing makes it easy to connect with the world and the people around us. The human system for processing sound is a biological marvel, an intricate assembly of delicate membranes, bones, receptor cells, and neurons. Yet many people take their ears for granted, abusing them with loud restaurants, rock concerts, and Q-tips. And then, eventually, most of us start to go deaf. Millions of Americans suffer from hearing loss. Faced with the cost and stigma of hearing aids, the natural human tendency is to do nothing and hope for the best, usually while pretending that nothing is wrong. In Volume Control, David Owen argues this inaction comes with a huge social cost. He demystifies the science of hearing while encouraging readers to get the treatment they need for hearing loss and protect the hearing they still have. Hearing aids are rapidly improving and becoming more versatile. Inexpensive high-tech substitutes are increasingly available, making it possible for more of us to boost our weakening ears without bankrupting ourselves. Relatively soon, physicians may be able to reverse losses that have always been considered irreversible. Even the insistent buzz of tinnitus may soon yield to relatively simple treatments and techniques. With wit and clarity, Owen explores the incredible possibilities of technologically assisted hearing. And he proves that ears, whether they're working or not, are endlessly interesting.

David Owen (Author), Fred Sanders (Narrator)

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Walk Through Fire: The Train Disaster that Changed America

On February 22, 1978, a devastating freight train derailment drastically altered Waverly, Tennessee, and its place in history. This was one of the worst train explosions of the twentieth century, killing sixteen people, injuring hundreds more, and causing millions of dollars in damage. What could have been dismissed as a single community's terrible misfortune instead became the catalyst for radical change, including the formation of FEMA, much-needed reforms in emergency response training, and the creation and enforcement of national and state safety regulations. Response to the disaster reshaped American infrastructure and laid the groundwork for the future of emergency management and disaster relief . . . and yet most Americans have never heard of Waverly. Dr. Yasmine S. Ali, an award-winning medical writer and Waverly native, sets out to change this in Walk Through Fire, drawing from over a decade of meticulous research and interviews with survivors, first responders, and other firsthand accounts. Ali weaves a compelling narrative of small-town tragedy set against the broader backdrop of United States railroad history, rural healthcare, and other elements of American infrastructure that played a part in the creation-and the aftermath-of the Disaster.

Yasmine S. Ali MD, Yasmine S. Ali Md, Yasmine S. Ali, M.D. (Author), Yasmine S. Ali (Narrator)

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War at Sea: A Shipwrecked History from Antiquity to the Twentieth Century

Underwater exploration is increasingly discovering long-lost warships from the deepest parts of the ocean, revealing a vast undersea museum that speaks to battles won and lost, service, sacrifice, and the human costs of warfare. War at Sea is a dramatic global tour of this remote museum and other formerly lost traces of humanity's naval heritage. It is also an account by the world's leading naval archaeologist of how underwater exploration has discovered these remains, thus resolving mysteries, adding to our understanding of the past, and providing intimate details of the experience of naval warfare. James Delgado, who has personally explored, dived, and studied a number of the wrecks and sites in the book, provides insights as an explorer, archaeologist, and storyteller. The result is a unique and compelling history of naval warfare. From fallen triremes and galleons to dreadnoughts, aircraft carriers, and nuclear submarines, this book vividly brings thousands of years of naval warfare to life.

James P. Delgado (Author), Kyle Tait (Narrator)

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War Beneath the Sea: Submarine Conflict During World War II

Sweeping from the frigid waters of the North Atlantic to the steaming South Pacific, this riveting chronicle of submarine warfare is the first to cover all the major submarine campaigns of the war, describing, in detail, the operations of the British, American, Japanese, Italian, and German submarine and anti-submarine forces.Beginning with a vivid re-creation of the sinking of the passenger liner Athenia by a German U-boat in September 1939, critically acclaimed military historian Peter Padfield's compelling narrative casts an unflinching eye on the devastating consequences of maritime warfare. The often harrowing encounters unfold with urgency and power, balanced by his keen sense of objectivity and perspective.Exploring the full spectrum of the submarine and anti-submarine warfare experience, this brilliantly detailed account pulls no punches. Facts and figures that stagger the imagination are revealed in starkly human terms, and disturbing questions abound. Padfield addresses the controversial issues raised with candor and insight, and the result is not only an impressive achievement but a milestone work in the history of the twentieth century.

Peter Padfield (Author), Chris Macdonnell (Narrator)

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War Transformed: The Future of Twenty-First-Century Great Power Competition and Conflict

War Transformed: The Future of Twenty-First-Century Great Power Competition and Conflict provides insights for those involved in the design of military strategy, and the forces that must execute that strategy. Emphasizing the impacts of technology, new era strategic competition, demography, and climate change, Mick Ryan uses historical and contemporary anecdotes to highlight key challenges faced by nations in a new era of great power rivalry. Just as previous industrial revolutions have advanced societies, the nascent fourth industrial revolution will have a similar impact on how humans fight, compete, and build military power in the twenty-first century. War Transformed seeks to provide a preview of the shape of war and competition in the twenty-first century. Ryan examines both the shifting character of war and its enduring nature. He proposes important trends in warfare that will shape all aspects of human competition and conflict in the coming decades. Competing and engaging in combat in this new era involves evolved strategies and warfighting concepts. As the competitive environment and potential battlefields continue to change, conceptions of combat, competition, and conflict must also evolve. Mick Ryan makes the case for transforming how Western military institutions view war in this century.

Mick Ryan (Author), Grant Cartwright (Narrator)

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Warship Builders: An Industrial History of U.S. Naval Shipbuilding 1922-1945

Warship Builders is the first scholarly study of the U.S. naval shipbuilding industry from the early 1920s to the end of World War II, when American shipyards produced the world's largest fleet that helped defeat the Axis powers in all corners of the globe. A colossal endeavor that absorbed billions and employed virtual armies of skilled workers, naval construction mobilized the nation's leading industrial enterprises in the shipbuilding, engineering, and steel industries to deliver warships whose technical complexity dwarfed that of any other weapons platform. Throughout the book, comparative analyses reveal differences and similarities in American, British, Japanese, and German naval construction. Heinrich shows that U.S. and German shipyards introduced electric arc welding and prefabrication methods to a far greater extent than their British and Japanese counterparts between the wars, laying the groundwork for their impressive production records in World War II. While the American and Japanese navies relied heavily on government-owned navy yards, the British and German navies had most of their combatants built in corporately-owned yards, contradicting the widespread notion that only U.S. industrial mobilization depended on private enterprise.

Thomas Heinrich (Author), Matthew Boston (Narrator)

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Waterfront Manhattan: From Henry Hudson to the High Line

For hundreds of years, the shorefront of Manhattan Island served as the country's center of trade, shipping, and commerce. With its maritime links across the oceans, along the Atlantic coast, and inland to the Midwest and New England, Manhattan became a global city and home to the world's busiest port. It was a world of docks, ships, tugboats, and ferries, filled with cargo and freight, a place where millions of immigrants entered the Promised Land. In Waterfront Manhattan, Kurt C. Schlichting tells the story of the Manhattan waterfront as a struggle between public and private control of New York's priceless asset. Nature provided New York with a sheltered harbor but presented the city with a challenge: to find the necessary capital to build and expand the maritime infrastructure. From colonial times until after the Civil War, the city ceded control of the waterfront to private interests, excluding the public entirely and sparking a battle between shipping companies, the railroads, and ferries for access to the waterfront. Waterfront Manhattan is a wide-ranging history that will dazzle anyone who is fascinated by New York.

Kurt C. Schlichting (Author), Joel Richards (Narrator)

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Weapons of Math Destruction: How Big Data Increases Inequality and Threatens Democracy

Brought to you by Penguin. In this New York Times bestseller, Cathy O'Neil, one of the first champions of algorithmic accountability, sounds an alarm on the mathematical models that pervade modern life -- and threaten to rip apart our social fabric. We live in the age of the algorithm. Increasingly, the decisions that affect our lives - where we go to school, whether we get a loan, how much we pay for insurance - are being made not by humans, but by mathematical models. In theory, this should lead to greater fairness: everyone is judged according to the same rules, and bias is eliminated. And yet, as Cathy O'Neil reveals in this urgent and necessary book, the opposite is true. The models being used today are opaque, unregulated, and incontestable, even when they're wrong. Most troubling, they reinforce discrimination. Tracing the arc of a person's life, O'Neil exposes the black box models that shape our future, both as individuals and as a society. These 'weapons of math destruction' score teachers and students, sort CVs, grant or deny loans, evaluate workers, target voters, and monitor our health. O'Neil calls on modellers to take more responsibility for their algorithms and on policy makers to regulate their use. But in the end, it's up to us to become more savvy about the models that govern our lives. This important book empowers us to ask the tough questions, uncover the truth, and demand change. 'A manual for the 21st-century citizen... accessible, refreshingly critical, relevant and urgent' - Financial Times 'Fascinating and deeply disturbing' - Yuval Noah Harari, Guardian Books of the Year © Cathy O'Neil 2016 (P) Penguin Audio 2022

Cathy O'neil (Author), Cathy O'neil (Narrator)

Audiobook

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