Top Selected Products and Reviews
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1.
- In Stock.
List Price: $44.00 Price: $36.74 You Save: $7.26 (17%) "Will use it in my class" - By Kindle Customer (Austin, TX United States)
After finding this in the eBook section of our University library, I decided to use it in my computer literacy class. It is a concise, well done history of the computer and the electronic world written in a way the non-technical student can understand. And, it is inexpensive!
Pat Gibson
Adjunct Lecturer
Texas State University(10) -
2.
- In Stock.
List Price: $16.95 Price: $11.10 You Save: $5.85 (35%) "Use as a textbook." - By Kindle Customer (Austin, TX United States)
I use this for my computer literacy class as a short text with a good history of the machine. There are more complete but longer histories but for a survey, this one is great.(19) -
3.
- In Stock.
List Price: $21.99 Price: $12.50 You Save: $9.49 (43%) "The definite history on computing, the untold story!" - By Mridul J Kurup
Excellent book.Insightful history on computing in US. Engaging journey through 3 generations of hackers. Starting with the TX-0 of MIT and ending with the Apple 2 in 1980's, it embodies the spirit, the personal losses and effort from a bevy of individuals who believed in a Utopian World. Those mages whose sense of perfection, keen acumen and persistence conceptualized the future faster for the newer generations. Sacrificing their lives for the common good of humanity, giving away their work for free, they stand as a stark contrast to the current generation whose morality is rooted in instant gratification.
I hope Mr.Levy would cover the current advancements in a second book with more detail, rather than the appendix provided.
This is the definite history. A must read for anyone in IT. I am grateful to have inherited this legacy.(188) -
4.
- In Stock.
List Price: $19.99 Price: $13.32 You Save: $6.67 (33%) "A treasure trove of all things gaming suitable for all ages." - By Bookish Wanderer (United Kingdom)
This book brought back so many memories and reignited a long lost passion for all things gaming (I'm 40 so have first hand experience of the early days).
My 7 yo son loved it too. He spent hours pouring over the fully illustrated pages and delighted in telling me all the interesting little facts he discovered. Free versions of some of the games are available online, so we got to play a few of them together - things like Pong and Space Invaders :)
This is my son's review:
'My favourite parts of this book were Pong and Pac-Man (truly master gamers must have found them easy) and Donkey Kong. If I were in charge this book would win in a landslide. It is extraordinary. Truly a history of histories. Therefore I would crush anyone who disagrees with me. Sincerely, Alec.'(9) -
5.
- In Stock.
List Price: $45.00 Price: $29.65 You Save: $15.35 (34%) "A glimpse into the past" - By Christopher W Woods
The thesis of this book, which takes the format of a conversation between the authors, is that the history of painting is entwined with the history of photographic images. Simple as that sounds, it's an important contribution to our understanding of art history. Their conversation steers us through forgotten knowledge, and eventually brings us to the present, and a hopeful future of image making--all the while peppered with pictures in the way a lecture might be accomanied by slides.
Personally, I'm grateful for the effort to put this knowledge out there. Sure, there's no concensus on the authors' perspective of the history of pictures, but I find what they have to say very compelling. In terms of writing, the book can read a bit like an panel discussion at times; there's no back and forth or disagreement, it's just an accumulation of thoughts. That starts to get dry about ... full review(14) -
6.
- In Stock.
List Price: $25.95 Price: $17.71 You Save: $8.24 (32%) "Moving Innovation: A History of Computer Animation" - By chris willoughby
Easily one of the best non-fiction books I've read. Fascinating, thorough and full of interesting history and anecdotes, uncovering a history of CGI that goes back far longer than I imagined. Excellent work Tom Sito!(14) -
7.
- In Stock.
List Price: $21.99 Price: $19.68 You Save: $2.31 (11%) "Absolutely a wonderful trek down Memory Lane for anyone who purchased and programmed a pre-IBM PC!" - By David Ecale (Minneapolis, Minnesota)
A pretty good review of the rise of the Killer Micros and the unseating of the mainframe (and mini) computers that preceded them. For anyone who grew up learning about computers in the '70s & '80s, this will be a wonderful trek down Memory Lane (pun intended). The only bad part of the book is that it could not run through *everything*, and as such, while you will be treated to a great read, you will also be left wondering about some of the more obscure, but seminal, events of the era. (And, yes, I know, a 2000 page book wouldn't sell!)(6) -
8.
- In Stock.
List Price: $44.95 Price: $42.40 You Save: $2.55 (6%) "Awesome book! A great window into some of the less dramatic minutia of landing on the moon." - By Jim Stanley
You've heard it before, "There's more computing power in my microwave than in the computer that put man on the moon!" Well, you're microwave may have a bit faster processor, but that's not the whole story. In reality, the Apollo Guidance Computer (AGC) is more like a very slow version of a modern smartphone, bringing together data from myriad sensors and calculating maneuvers to keep track of where the spacecraft was and where it was going. This book pries the lid off the first computer to use solid-state hardware and guides you from the wire-wrapped chips to the "corded" core ROM, to the inertial instruments that allowed everything to stay pointed at the moon. In addition to the computer engineering details (if your into assembly you'll love this) the book also provides an excellent walkthrough of a typical Apollo mission according to what programs had to be run as the ... full review(30) -
9.
- In Stock.
Price: $9.42 "This is a nice book about the evolution of computers" - By J. H.
This is a nice book about the evolution of computers. The first picture of the abacus has exact same abacus that I had as a child - so that was kind of cool to see! My daughter did a presentation last year about computers, I wish she had this book - she could have set it up in a similar fashion.
I like this book - it is simple yet interesting, and covers everything you would need for this topic.
Sample was provided free of charge for reading and a review.(36) -
10.
- In Stock.
List Price: $29.95 Price: $11.76 You Save: $18.19 (61%) "Quick Romp Through Computer History" - By Andrew (Connecticut)
In our modern world, the presence of computers is everywhere and the rate of progress in the technology is blindingly fast. It is with a book like this that one can take a quick look at the amazing amount of progress in computing technology.
The book itself is mainly an illustrative look at computers rather than one information-heavy. The pictures and photographs that fill this book make it a pleasure just to thumb through. The whole history of computers is shown, starting in the beginning days with large, analog calculators and then into digital technology to our modern world of laptops and iPhones. How computers are used is also shown from applications in areas such as science, military, entertainment, and communications.
This book seems to be targeted for the very casual reader and does not offer much hard information. It makes a great coffee table book.
In ... full review(10) -
11.
- Available for download now.
Price: $5.99 "Great Insight" - By dg
This was always going to be a big topic for any author to cover, given the speed and size of electronic and IT development in the last 80 or so years. However, as a concise and well researched history, The author gets it right throughout.
The book comprehensively covers all of the big milestones in computational machine development, the initial driver being number manipulation without constant human input. There's fascinating detail on the way early machines were developed by pioneers and academic institutions, then an exploration of the world of business and government progress with their large budgets.
There are great insights into the solid state and semi-conductor revolution, parallel computing, the big move into business and the route to today's desktop workstations. There are well placed, relevant illustrations throughout.
If you like a technical book but not overwhelmingly so, I'd recommend this one. If you were ... full review(2) -
12.
"A long detailed read" - By Ikarus S. (Ayase-Shi, Kanagawa-Ken, Japan)
This is a longer version of "All your bases are belong to us" book. it deals about great detail from the DARPA lab inventing the first video game (yes, the DoD funded the first one), up to today's gaming. 430 pages of knowledge, to appreciate your grandfather's generation for inventing the most valuable business in the entertainment sector today. After reading this book, you will appreciate games more than ever, considering where we started, how far we've come, and what is to await in the future.(38) -
13.
- In Stock.
List Price: $29.95 Price: $20.36 You Save: $9.59 (32%) "A seriously engaging and important read" - By Jonathan E
I rarely find a new book that is worth committing time to --this one is. While I am less than a third of the way into this book, I am already committed to finishing it and genuinely excited to see where it leads. I have worked in and around cybersecurity for some time and have yet to find a work that underscores so dramatically and authoritatively how critical this area has become to everyone's lives. Corera dives into history, ties what he learns (including new findings) into the present and while some areas will seem familiar to the initiated, the scope and intelligence of his inquiry ultimately makes me think that Corera has written a seminal book --one that will have relevance for a very wide audience indeed.(9) -
14.
- In Stock.
Price: $5.99 "Well worth the few bucks!" - By peter walker (Sydney Australia)
Great for beginners.
Trip down memory lane for the old hands.(1)
