Computers & Technology (50)

Jer Thorp’s analysis of the word “data” in 10,325 New York Times stories written between 1984 and 2018 shows a distinct trend: among the words most closely associated with “data,” we find not only its classic companions “information” and “digital,” but also a variety of new neighbors - from “scandal” and “misinformation” to “ethics,” “friends,” and “play.”To live in data in the twenty-first century is to be incessantly extracted from, classified and categorized, statisti-fied, sold, and surveilled. Data - our data - is mined and processed for profit, power, and political gain. In Living in Data, Thorp asks a crucial question of our time: How do we stop passively inhabiting data, and instead become active citizens of it?Threading a data story through hippo attacks, glaciers, and school gymnasiums, around colossal rice piles, and over active minefields, Living in Data reminds us that the future of data is still wide open, that there are ways to transcend facts and figures and to find more visceral ways to engage with data, that there are always new stories to be told about how data can be used.Punctuated with Thorp's original and informative illustrations, Living in Data not only redefines what data is, but reimagines who gets to speak its language and how to use its power to create a more just and democratic future. Timely and inspiring, Living in Data gives us a much-needed path forward.

Welcome to the age of behavioral addiction - an age in which half of the American population is addicted to at least one behavior. We obsess over our emails, Instagram likes, and Facebook feeds; we binge on TV episodes and YouTube videos; we work longer hours each year; and we spend an average of three hours each day using our smartphones. Half of us would rather suffer a broken bone than a broken phone, and Millennial kids spend so much time in front of screens that they struggle to interact with real, live humans.In this revolutionary book, Adam Alter, a professor of psychology and marketing at NYU, tracks the rise of behavioral addiction, and explains why so many of today's products are irresistible. Though these miraculous products melt the miles that separate people across the globe, their extraordinary and sometimes damaging magnetism is no accident. The companies that design these products tweak them over time until they become almost impossible to resist.By reverse engineering behavioral addiction, Alter explains how we can harness addictive products for the good - to improve how we communicate with each other, spend and save our money, and set boundaries between work and play - and how we can mitigate their most damaging effects on our well-being, and the health and happiness of our children.

Transform your ideas into powerful visuals--to connect with your audience, define your brand, and take your project to the next level.This highly practical design book takes you through the building blocks of design--type, photography, illustration, color--and shows you how to combine these tools to create visuals that inform, influence, and enthrall.Grasp the key principles through in-depth how-to articles, hands-on workshops, and inspirational galleries of great design. Find out how to create a brand plan, discover how a typeface sets the mood, and learn how to organize different elements of a layout to boost the impact and meaning of your message.Then apply your skills to do it yourself, with ten step-by-step projects to help you create your own stunning designs--including business stationery, invitations, sales brochure, website, online newsletter and e-shop. There's also plenty of practical advice on publishing online, dealing with printers, commissioning professionals, finding free design tools, and much more.If you're ready to use powerful design to take your pet project or burgeoning business to the next level, Graphic Design for Everyone is your one-stop resource to help you become an effective, inspirational visual communicator.

Learn to Code by Solving Problems is a practical introduction to programming using Python. It uses coding-competition challenges to teach you the mechanics of coding and how to think like a savvy programmer.Computers are capable of solving almost any problem when given the right instructions. That’s where programming comes in. This beginner’s book will have you writing Python programs right away. You’ll solve interesting problems drawn from real coding competitions and build your programming skills as you go.Every chapter presents problems from coding challenge websites, where online judges test your solutions and provide targeted feedback. As you practice using core Python features, functions, and techniques, you’ll develop a clear understanding of data structures, algorithms, and other programming basics. Bonus exercises invite to explore new concepts on your own, and multiple-choice questions encourage you to think about how each piece of code works.You’ll learn how to:• Run Python code, work with strings, and use variables• Write programs that make decisions• Make code more efficient with while and for loops• Use Python sets, lists, and dictionaries to organize, sort, and search data• Design programs using functions and top-down design• Create complete-search algorithms and use Big O notation to design more efficient codeBy the end of the book, you’ll not only be proficient in Python, but you’ll also understand how to think through problems and tackle them with code. Programming languages come and go, but this book gives you the lasting foundation you need to start thinking like a programmer.

From The New York Times cybersecurity reporter Nicole Perlroth, the untold story of the cyberweapons market - the most secretive, invisible, government-backed market on earth - and a terrifying first look at a new kind of global warfare.Zero day: a software bug that allows a hacker to break into your devices and move around undetected. One of the most coveted tools in a spy's arsenal, a zero day has the power to silently spy on your iPhone, dismantle the safety controls at a chemical plant, alter an election, and shut down the electric grid (just ask Ukraine).For decades, under cover of classification levels and non-disclosure agreements, the United States government became the world's dominant hoarder of zero days. U.S. government agents paid top dollar-first thousands, and later millions of dollars- to hackers willing to sell their lock-picking code and their silence.Then the United States lost control of its hoard and the market.Now those zero days are in the hands of hostile nations and mercenaries who do not care if your vote goes missing, your clean water is contaminated, or our nuclear plants melt down.Filled with spies, hackers, arms dealers, and a few unsung heroes, written like a thriller and a reference, This Is How They Tell Me the World Ends is an astonishing feat of journalism. Based on years of reporting and hundreds of interviews, The New York Times reporter Nicole Perlroth lifts the curtain on a market in shadow, revealing the urgent threat faced by us all if we cannot bring the global cyber arms race to heel.