Monthly Archives: February 2004
Robot Builder’s Bonanza
“Robot Builder’s Bonanza, Third Edition (Robot Builder’s Bonanza)” (Gordon McComb, Myke Predko) ©2000, McGraw-Hill Professional Publishing; ISBN: 0071362967For those looking to build robot projects or any form of kinetic sculpture, this is a great reference. The author discusses problems often encountered in making robotic systems and the most common approaches to those problems. Continue reading
Practical Electronics for Inventors
“Practical Electronics for Inventors” (Paul Scherz)©2000, McGraw-Hill Professional Publishing; ISBN: 0070580782An in-depth treatment of electronics, with many practical examples and illustrations…. The use of plumbing systems as exmples to demonstrate electric principles makes for some very clear illustrations of how different components work. Continue reading
Nexus: Small Worlds and the Groundbreaking Science of Networks
“Nexus: Small Worlds and the Groundbreaking Theory of Networks” (Mark Buchanan)W.W. Norton & Company; ISBN: 0393041530; © 2002Similar subject matter to Barabási’s book, but more generalized, and written from a science journalist’s point of view. Continue reading
MIDI For The Professional
“Midi for the Professional” (Paul D. Lehrman, Tim Tully)©1993 Amsco Publications, ISBN 0.8256.1374.2An indespensable introduction to and reference for MIDI programming. Continue reading
The Clock of the Long Now: Time and Responsibility
“The Clock of the Long Now: Time and Responsibility” (Stewart Brand)©Basic Books; ISBN: 0465007805A series of essays centering around work on the Clock of the Long Now Foundation and Library. Useful for thinking in the extremely long term, and a good contrast to the usual pace of thinking and writing about technology.
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The Design of Everyday Things
A lucid approach to the psychology of everyday interaction and how the objects we deal with could be better designed to match the strengths and weaknesses of the way we think. His predictions about physical interaction design and information design, some accurate and some not, are interesting history lessons eleven years after the first edition. Continue reading
The Future of Ideas: The Fate of the Commons in a Connected World
“The Future of Ideas: The Fate of the Commons in a Connected World” (Lawrence Lessig) Vintage Books: ISBN 0-375-72644-6 ©2001An excellent examination of the clash between the open-ended architecture of the early internet and the property-centric legal system in the US. Lessig puts forth the idea of the internet as an “innovation commons”, and explains how current attempts to extend copyright and tighten intellectual property law threaten that commons.
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The Pattern on the Stone: The Simple Ideas That Make Computers Work
“The Pattern on the Stone: The Simple Ideas That Make Computers Work (Science Masters Series)” (W. Daniel Hillis) ©1999 Basic Books; ISBN: 046502596XAn excellent non-technical description of the ideas behind computing machines, and the assumptions behind binary computing.
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The Social Life of Information
“The Social Life of Information” (John Seely Brown, Paul Duguid) ©2002 Harvard Business School Press; ISBN: 1578517087; 1st edition.This book looks at the effects of the “information revolution”, and the blinders caused by seeing every problem as one to be solved by more information, or better access to information. The authors argue that information and information design seen out of context lead to blind alleys.
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The Things That Make Us Smart
“Things That Make Us Smart: Defending Human Attributes in the Age of the Machine” (Donald A…. In this boo, he explains that the development of information tools shapes the way we view the world, and argues for an approach to designing information technologies starting with the human’s needs, limitations, and abilities in mind.
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