Very Short Introductions: Brilliant, Sharp, Inspiring This lively Very Short Introduction reviews the central events, machines, and people that feature in established accounts of the history of computing, critically examining received perceptions and providing a fresh look at the nature and development of the modern electronic computer. The book begins by discussing a widely accepted linear narrative of the history of computing, centred around innovatory highlights that start with the use of knotted cords to aid calculation, all the way to the smartphones of the present day. It discusses the problems and simplifications present in such a narrative, and offers instead an account, centred on users, that identifies four distinct historical threads: calculation, automatic computing, information management, and communication. These threads are examined individually, tracing their paths and the convergences of related technologies into what has come to be called 'the information age'. ABOUT THE SERIES: The Very Short Introduction series from Oxford University Press contains hundreds of titles in almost every subject area. These pocket-sized books are the perfect way to get ahead in a new subject quickly. Our expert authors combine facts, analysis, perspective, new ideas, and enthusiasm to make interesting and challenging topics highly readable.

This deeply personal book tells the untold story of the significant contributions of technical professionals from the former Soviet Union to the US innovation economy, particularly in the sectors of software, social media, biotechnology, and medicine. Drawing upon in-depth interviews, it channels the voices and stories of more than 150 professionals who emigrated from 11 of the 15 former Soviet republics between the 1970s and 2015, and who currently work in the innovation hubs of Silicon Valley and Boston/Cambridge. Using the social science theories of institutions, imprinting, and identity, the authors analyze the political, social, economic, and educational forces that have characterized Soviet immigration over the past 40 years, showing how the particularities of the Soviet context may have benefited or challenged interviewees' work and social lives. The resulting mosaic of perspectives provides valuable insight into the impact of immigration on US economic development, specifically in high technology and innovation.

The Brand NEW Book from Bernard Marr, bestselling author behind Business Trends in Practice - Winner of Business Book of the Year 2022. Future-proof yourself and develop critical skills for the digital future The working world has changed dramatically in the last twenty years and it's going to continue to transform at an even faster pace. How can the average professional stay afloat in an ocean of constant change and technological revolution? In Future Skills: The 20 Skills and Competencies Everyone Needs to Succeed in a Digital World bestselling author and futurist Bernard Marr delivers an engaging and insightful discussion of how you can prepare yourself for the digital future of work. You'll learn which skills will be in the highest demand, why they'll command a premium price, and how to develop them. You'll also find: Strategies for improving human-centered skills, like teamwork and collaboration Straightforward explanations of digital skills, like data literacy and cyber-threat awareness Ways to make yourself an indispensable component of future firms, and practical tips for continuous improvement A can't-miss book for every working professional seeking not just to survive - but to thrive - in the coming years, Future Skills belongs in the libraries of company leaders, managers, human resources professionals, educators, and anyone else with an interest in the future of work and how humanity fits within it.

This book constitutes the refereed proceedings of the 8th International Conference on Software Business, ICSOB 2017, held in Essen, Germany, in June 2017. The 11 full papers and 5 short papers presented in this volume were carefully reviewed and selected from 30 submissions. They were organized in topical sections named: software startups and platform governance; software business development; software ecosystems and App stores.

The authors have here put together the first reference on all aspects of testing and validating service-oriented architectures. With contributions by leading academic and industrial research groups it offers detailed guidelines for the actual validation process. Readers will find a comprehensive survey of state-of-the-art approaches as well as techniques and tools to improve the quality of service-oriented applications. It also includes references and scenarios for future research and development.

Written with the verve of such works as The Big Short, The History of the Future, and The Spider Network, here is the fascinating, true story of the rise of Ethereum, the second-biggest digital asset in the world, the growth of cryptocurrency, and the future of the internet as we know it. Everyone has heard of Bitcoin, but few know about the second largest cryptocurrency, Ethereum, which has been heralded as the "next internet." The story of Ethereum begins with Vitalik Buterin, a supremely gifted nineteen-year-old autodidact who saw the promise of blockchain when the technology was in its earliest stages. He convinced a crack group of coders to join him in his quest to make a super-charged, global computer. The Infinite Machine introduces Vitalik's ingenious idea and unfolds Ethereum's chaotic beginnings. It then explores the brilliant innovation and reckless greed the platform-an infinitely adaptable foundation for experimentation and new applications-has unleashed and the consequences that resulted as the frenzy surrounding it grew: increased regulatory scrutiny, incipient Wall Street interest, and the founding team's effort to get the Ethereum platform to scale so it can eventually be accessible to the masses. Financial journalist and cryptocurrency expert Camila Russo details the wild and often hapless adventures of a team of hippy-anarchists, reluctantly led by an ambivalent visionary, and lays out how this new foundation for the internet will spur both transformation and fraud-turning some into millionaires and others into felons-and revolutionize our ideas about money.

Just as Susan Sontag did for photography and Marshall McLuhan did for television, Virginia Heffernan (called one of the best living writers of English prose ) reveals the logic and aesthetics behind the Internet. Since its inception, the Internet has morphed from merely an extension of traditional media into its own full-fledged civilization. It is among mankind s great masterpieces a massive work of art. As an idea, it rivals monotheism. We all inhabit this fascinating place. But its deep logic, its cultural potential, and its societal impact often elude us. In this deep and thoughtful book, Virginia Heffernan presents an original and far-reaching analysis of what the Internet is and does. Life online, in the highly visual, social, portable, and global incarnation rewards certain virtues. The new medium favors speed, accuracy, wit, prolificacy, and versatility, and its form and functions are changing how we perceive, experience, and understand the world."

'Chris Marsden maneuvers through the hype articulated by Netwrok Neutrality advocates and opponents. He offers a clear-headed analysis of the high stakes in this debate about the Internet's future, and fearlessly refutes the misinformation and misconceptions that about' Professor Rob Freiden, Penn State University Net Neutrality is a very heated and contested policy principle regarding access for content providers to the Internet end-user, and potential discrimination in that access where the end-user's ISP (or another ISP) blocks that access in part or whole. The suggestion has been that the problem can be resolved by either introducing greater competition, or closely policing conditions for vertically integrated service, such as VOIP. However, that is not the whole story, and ISPs as a whole have incentives to discriminate between content for matters such as network management of spam, to secure and maintain customer experience at current levels, and for economic benefit from new Quality of Service standards. This includes offering a 'priority lane' on the network for premium content types such as video and voice service. The author considers market developments and policy responses in Europe and the United States, draws conclusions and proposes regulatory recommendations.

Developing a successful game in today's market is a challenging endeavor. Thousands of titles are published yearly, all competing for players' time and attention. Game analytics has emerged in the past few years as one of the main resources for ensuring game quality, maximizing success, understanding player behavior and enhancing the quality of the player experience. It has led to a paradigm shift in the development and design strategies of digital games, bringing data-driven intelligence practices into the fray for informing decision making at operational, tactical and strategic levels. Game Analytics - Maximizing the Value of Player Data is the first book on the topic of game analytics; the process of discovering and communicating patterns in data towards evaluating and driving action, improving performance and solving problems in game development and game research. Written by over 50 international experts from industry and research, it covers a comprehensive range of topics across more than 30 chapters, providing an in-depth discussion of game analytics and its practical applications. Topics covered include monetization strategies, design of telemetry systems, analytics for iterative production, game data mining and big data in game development, spatial analytics, visualization and reporting of analysis, player behavior analysis, quantitative user testing and game user research. This state-of-the-art volume is an essential source of reference for game developers and researchers. Key takeaways include: Thorough introduction to game analytics; covering analytics applied to data on players, processes and performance throughout the game lifecycle. In-depth coverage and advice on setting up analytics systems and developing good practices for integrating analytics in game-development and -management. Contributions by leading researchers and experienced professionals from the industry, including Ubisoft, Sony, EA, Bioware, Square Enix, THQ, Volition, and PlayableGames. Interviews with experienced industry professionals on how they use analytics to create hit games.

Information technology has produced new ethical challenges and concerns in dealing with issues about privacy, security, piracy and professional ethics. ""Contemporary Issues in Ethics and Information Technology"" discusses these issues as well as other important ethical issues such as the outsourcing of high-level jobs and the value of IT itself. The main framework for ethical problems used in ""Contemporary Issues in Ethics and Information Technology"" is derived from the work of the late philosopher John Rawls. Rawls' contribution to ethics was a theory of justice rooted in the social contract theory of the Declaration of Independence and the U. S. Constitution. The author's discussion of the value of IT also builds on the views of the philosopher, Martin Heidegger, on modern technology as an independent force in human existence with its own point-of-view. This book provides guidance for IT professionals and users for practical ethical problems.

Fortnite has re-emerged from the black hole for Chapter 2! The 100% Unofficial Fortnite Annual 2021 is the perfect Christmas gift for gamers. It includes the best skins, emotes and accessories, as well as a round-up of the most impressive vehicles, the best sports mini games, builds and escape rooms in Creative, plus tips for the best attack and defence strategies and much more.

In Feeding the Hustle, Jesse Dart draws on ethnographic fieldwork to consider the ways in which free food has become ubiquitous and even compulsory within the tech industry. Packed lunches have nearly disappeared as more companies provide free food with the stated objectives of attracting and retaining employees, increasing productivity, and creating a sense of community through commensality. Dart demonstrates how these food programs alter the relationship between employer and employee, support a flexible type of workforce, and reveal a commensality that is both exclusionary and inclusionary.

Concluding the Commodore trilogy, this book takes a look at Commodore's resurgence in the late 1980's and then ultimate demise. This was a period of immense creativity from engineers within the company, who began “moonshot” projects using emerging CD-ROM technology. Get to know the people behind Commodore's successes and failures as they battle to stay relevant amidst blistering competition from Nintendo, Apple, and the onslaught of IBM PC clones. Told through interviews with company insiders, this examination of the now defunct company traces the engineering breakthroughs and baffling decisions that led to the demise of Commodore.

*SHORTLISTED FOR THE FINANCIAL TIMES BUSINESS BOOK 2022* *A TIMES BUSINESS BOOK OF THE YEARS 2022* 'A fascinating study of the tech giant and its symbiotic relationship with the Chinese government' - Guardian 'Influence Empire by Lulu Yilun Chen is so much more than the long-awaited story of Tencent and its vital everything app, WeChat, the messaging tool used by 1.3 billion people. It's also the sobering account of an entire generation of high-flying Chinese tech entrepreneurs, whose wings were clipped by the omnipotent hand of their own government.' -- Brad Stone, author of Amazon Unbound and The Everything Store ORDER NOW: the first definitive look at Tencent, one of the world's largest tech companies. __________ In 2017, a company known as Tencent overtook Facebook to become the world's fifth largest company. It was a watershed moment, a wake-up call for those in the West accustomed to regarding the global tech industry through the prism of Silicon Valley: Facebook, Google, Apple and Microsoft. Yet to many of the two billion-plus people who live just across the Pacific Ocean, it came as no surprise at all. Founded by the enigmatic billionaire Pony Ma, the firm that began life as a simple text-message operator invested in and created some of China's most iconic games en route to dreaming up WeChat - the Swiss Army knife super-app that combines messaging, shopping and entertainment. Through billions of dollars of global investments in marquee names from Fortnite to Tesla and a horde of start-ups, Ma's company went on to build a near-unparalleled empire of influence. In this fascinating narrative - crammed with insider interviews and exclusive details - Lulu Chen tells the story of how Tencent created the golden era of Chinese technology, and delves into key battles involving Didi, Meituan and Alibaba. It's a chronicle of critical junctures and asks just what it takes to be a successful entrepreneur in China. __________ 'There's so much fascinating detail here.' -- The Times 'Lulu Yilun Chen has written a sharply informed, smart and compelling account of the rise of some of the most powerful companies in China, which also stand among the biggest and richest tech giants in the world. Despite their enormous size and power, few outside of China know of or understand these companies. Now, thanks to Influence Empire: Inside the Story of Tencent and China's Tech Ambition, that will finally change.' -- Howard French, former NY Times Shanghai bureau chief and author of Everything Under the Heavens: How the Past Helps Shape China's Push for Global Power 'A book that tells Tencent's story has been long overdue, and Lulu Chen's account is not only comprehensive, but also a gripping business narrative. The globally influential company finally has the account it deserves.' -- David Barboza, The Wire

Dive into the software development profession from nearly every angle. You'll learn about the power of code generation as well as the benefits and dangers of design patterns. Go far beyond just writing code and tackle the emotional, psychological, and social aspects of software development as well. In dozens of nuggets of wisdom, you'll discover: * What will really keep you motivated to code in the long run * How you ensure your software project launches on time * Why applications get complex when people crave simple software * How you can survive a difficult client project * How we can collectively promote our industry to the masses This book is packed with lessons Ka Wai Cheung has learned from more than a decade of experience in the industry. After reading, you'll come away confident in all aspects of your career in web development.

Google's has proved to be one of the most successful business models in today's knowledge economy. Its services and applications have become part of our day-to-day life. However, Google has repeatedly been accused of acting outside the law in the development of services such as Adwords, Googlebooks or YouTube. One of the main purposes of this book is to assess whether those accusations are well-founded. But more important than that, this book provides a deeper reflection: are current legal systems adapted to business models such as that of Google or are they conceived for an industrial economy? Do the various lawsuits involving Google show an evolution of the existing legal framework that might favour the flourishing of other knowledge-economy businesses? Or do they simply reflect that Google has gone too far? What lessons can other knowledge-based businesses learn from all the disputes in which Google has been or is involved? This book is valuable reading for legal practitioners and academics in the field of information technologies and intellectual property law, economists interested in knowledge-economy business models and sociologists interested in internet and social networks. Dr. Aurelio Lopez-Tarruella is Senior Lecturer in Private International Law at the University of Alicante, Spain.

Teaches you to start up Nginx and quickly take your expertise to a level where you can comfortably work with various aspects of the web server and make informed design decisions for your web farm. Nginx powers more than 40% of the top 1000 websites and is among the handful of web servers that can handle more than 10K simultaneous connections. It has some features which are simply unparalleled. Nginx: From Beginner to Pro teaches the Nginx server in a practical way. Frequently, it is found that web administrators struggle to fix the skill set gaps that happen due to a platform change. Migration from IIS & Apache becomes tedious at best. The book is targeted toward real-world administrators who would want to get up to speed as soon as possible and make good, informed design decisions. First you will set up Nginx and understand the architectural nuances. Then you will learn how to scale out, secure, monitor and troubleshoot the web server. Once you are fully comfortable with Nginx, you will start learning about migrating applications (or its part) from IIS or Apache web servers. Finally, you will learn to troubleshoot and maintain your Nginx professionally. Written by an author who has gone through the rough phase while moving from IIS/Apache to Nginx, this book is practical and filled with step-by-step instructions to make your time with Nginx as straightforward as possible. What You Will Learn Install and set up Nginx on CentOS, Ubuntu & Mac. Understand Nginx modules and compiling Nginx with appropriate modules. Learn about basic configuration and architecture along with hosting nuances. Load balance Nginx and use it as a highly available web platform. Monitor traffic and automate common administrative tasks. Use scripts to perform routine checks for health issues. Implement security and authentication in Nginx. Learn how and what to migrate from IIS & Apache web servers. Who This Book Is For Provides a crisp background of Nginx and then gears towards technical and practical topics. You need to know HTTP protocol, and have basic knowledge of Linux and networking concepts. The target audience is web administrators who would like to learn the finer nuances of Nginx, or map their existing skillset from IIS or Apache.

This open access monograph argues established democratic norms for freedom of expression should be implemented on the internet. Moderating policies of tech companies as Facebook, Twitter and Google have resulted in posts being removed on an industrial scale. While this moderation is often encouraged by governments - on the pretext that terrorism, bullying, pornography, "hate speech" and "fake news" will slowly disappear from the internet - it enables tech companies to censure our society. It is the social media companies who define what is blacklisted in their community standards. And given the dominance of social media in our information society, we run the risk of outsourcing the definition of our principles for discussion in the public domain to private companies. Instead of leaving it to social media companies only to take action, the authors argue democratic institutions should take an active role in moderating criminal content on the internet. To make this possible, tech companies should be analyzed whether they are approaching a monopoly. Antitrust legislation should be applied to bring those monopolies within democratic governmental oversight. Despite being in different stages in their lives, Anne Mette is in the startup phase of her research career, while Frederik is one of the most prolific philosophers in Denmark, the authors found each other in their concern about Free Speech on the internet. The book was originally published in Danish as Dit opslag er blevet fjernet - techgiganter & ytringsfrihed. Praise for 'Your Post has been Removed' "From my perspective both as a politician and as private book collector, this is the most important non-fiction book of the 21st Century. It should be disseminated to all European citizens. The learnings of this book and the use we make of them today are crucial for every man, woman and child on earth. Now and in the future." Jens Rohde, member of the European Parliament for the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe "This timely book compellingly presents an impressive array of information and analysis about the urgent threats the tech giants pose to the robust freedom of speech and access to information that are essential for individual liberty and democratic self-government. It constructively explores potential strategies for restoring individual control over information flows to and about us. Policymakers worldwide should take heed!" Nadine Strossen, Professor, New York Law School. Author, HATE: Why We Should Resist It with Free Speech, Not Censorship

The challenges to humanity posed by the digital future, the first detailed examination of the unprecedented form of power called "surveillance capitalism," and the quest by powerful corporations to predict and control our behavior. In this masterwork of original thinking and research, Shoshana Zuboff provides startling insights into the phenomenon that she has named surveillance capitalism. The stakes could not be higher: a global architecture of behavior modification threatens human nature in the twenty-first century just as industrial capitalism disfigured the natural world in the twentieth. Zuboff vividly brings to life the consequences as surveillance capitalism advances from Silicon Valley into every economic sector. Vast wealth and power are accumulated in ominous new "behavioral futures markets," where predictions about our behavior are bought and sold, and the production of goods and services is subordinated to a new "means of behavioral modification." The threat has shifted from a totalitarian Big Brother state to a ubiquitous digital architecture: a "Big Other" operating in the interests of surveillance capital. Here is the crucible of an unprecedented form of power marked by extreme concentrations of knowledge and free from democratic oversight. Zuboff's comprehensive and moving analysis lays bare the threats to twenty-first century society: a controlled "hive" of total connection that seduces with promises of total certainty for maximum profit -- at the expense of democracy, freedom, and our human future. With little resistance from law or society, surveillance capitalism is on the verge of dominating the social order and shaping the digital future -- if we let it.

Focusing on countermeasures against orchestrated cyber-attacks, Cyber Security Culture is research-based and reinforced with insights from experts who do not normally release information into the public arena. It will enable managers of organizations across different industrial sectors and government agencies to better understand how organizational learning and training can be utilized to develop a culture that ultimately protects an organization from attacks. Peter Trim and David Upton believe that the speed and complexity of cyber-attacks demand a different approach to security management, including scenario-based planning and training, to supplement security policies and technical protection systems. The authors provide in-depth understanding of how organizational learning can produce cultural change addressing the behaviour of individuals, as well as machines. They provide information to help managers form policy to prevent cyber intrusions, to put robust security systems and procedures in place and to arrange appropriate training interventions such as table top exercises. Guidance embracing current and future threats and addressing issues such as social engineering is included. Although the work is embedded in a theoretical framework, non-technical staff will find the book of practical use because it renders highly technical subjects accessible and links firmly with areas beyond ICT, such as human resource management - in relation to bridging the education/training divide and allowing organizational learning to be embraced. This book will interest Government officials, policy advisors, law enforcement officers and senior managers within companies, as well as academics and students in a range of disciplines including management and computer science.

Second Edition presents updated version of the practical aspects of process assessment Helps readers understand the power and benefits of a process approach and process assessment Guides the reader through the various parts of the standard in an understandable and practical manner