Computers

In this revolutionary book, a renowned computer scientist explains the importance of teaching children the basics of computing and how it can prepare them to succeed in the ever-evolving tech world. Computers have completely changed the way we teach children. We have Mindstorms to thank for that. In this book, pioneering computer scientist Seymour Papert uses the invention of LOGO, the first child-friendly programming language, to make the case for the value of teaching children with computers. Papert argues that children are more than capable of mastering computers, and that teaching computational processes like de-bugging in the classroom can change the way we learn everything else. He also shows that schools saturated with technology can actually improve socialization and interaction among students and between students and teachers. Technology changes every day, but the basic ways that computers can help us learn remain. For thousands of teachers and parents who have sought creative ways to help children learn with computers, Mindstorms is their bible.

Describes how computer viruses are created and spred, and discusses computer harassment, online con artists, protection data with encryption, and general computer security issues.

Beginning with an explanation of why considerable outlays for computing since 1973 have not resulted in comparable payoffs, the author proposes that emerging techniques for user-centred development can turn the situation around - through task analysis, ite

This history of computing focuses not on chronology (what came first and who deserves credit for it) but on the actual architectures of the first machines that made electronic computing a practical reality. The book covers computers built in the United States, Germany, England, and Japan. It makes clear that similar concepts were often pursued simultaneously and that the early researchers explored many architectures beyond the von Neumann architecture that eventually became canonical. The contributors include not only historians but also engineers and computer pioneers. An introductory chapter describes the elements of computer architecture and explains why "being first" is even less interesting for computers than for other areas of technology. The essays contain a remarkable amount of new material, even on well-known machines, and several describe reconstructions of the historic machines. These investigations are of more than simply historical interest, for architectures designed to solve specific problems in the past may suggest new approaches to similar problems in today's machines. Contributors Titiimaea F. Ala'ilima, Lin Ping Ang, William Aspray, Friedrich L. Bauer, Andreas Brennecke, Chris P. Burton, Martin Campbell-Kelly, Paul Ceruzzi, I. Bernard Cohen, John Gustafson, Wilhelm Hopmann, Harry D. Huskey, Friedrich W. Kistermann, Thomas Lange, Michael S. Mahoney, R. B. E. Napper, Seiichi Okoma, Hartmut Petzold, Raúl Rojas, Anthony E. Sale, Robert W. Seidel, Ambros P. Speiser, Frank H. Sumner, James F. Tau, Jan Van der Spiegel, Eiiti Wada, Michael R. Williams

Computers for Image-Making tells the computer non-expert all he needs to know about Computer Animation. In the hands of expert computer engineers, computer picture-drawing systems have, since the earliest days of computing, produced interesting and useful images. As a result of major technological developments since then, it no longer requires the expert's skill to draw pictures; anyone can do it, provided they know how to use the appropriate machinery. This collection of specially commissioned articles reflects the diversity of user applications in this expanding field

The last century has seen enormous leaps in the development of digital technologies, and most aspects of modern life have changed significantly with their widespread availability and use. Technology at various scales - supercomputers, corporate networks, desktop and laptop computers, the internet, tablets, mobile phones, and processors that are hidden in everyday devices and are so small you can barely see them with the naked eye - all pervade our world in a major way. Computers and Society: Modern Perspectives is a wide-ranging and comprehensive textbook that critically assesses the global technical achievements in digital technologies and how are they are applied in media; education and learning; medicine and health; free speech, democracy, and government; and war and peace. Ronald M. Baecker reviews critical ethical issues raised by computers, such as digital inclusion, security, safety, privacy,automation, and work, and discusses social, political, and ethical controversies and choices now faced by society. Particular attention is paid to new and exciting developments in artificial intelligence and machine learning, and the issues that have arisen from our complex relationship with AI.

According to Rosalind Picard, if we want computers to be genuinely intelligent and to interact naturally with us, we must give computers the ability to recognize, understand, even to have and express emotions. The latest scientific findings indicate that emotions play an essential role in decision making, perception, learning, and more—that is, they influence the very mechanisms of rational thinking. Not only too much, but too little emotion can impair decision making. According to Rosalind Picard, if we want computers to be genuinely intelligent and to interact naturally with us, we must give computers the ability to recognize, understand, even to have and express emotions. Part 1 of this book provides the intellectual framework for affective computing. It includes background on human emotions, requirements for emotionally intelligent computers, applications of affective computing, and moral and social questions raised by the technology. Part 2 discusses the design and construction of affective computers. Although this material is more technical than that in Part 1, the author has kept it less technical than typical scientific publications in order to make it accessible to newcomers. Topics in Part 2 include signal-based representations of emotions, human affect recognition as a pattern recognition and learning problem, recent and ongoing efforts to build models of emotion for synthesizing emotions in computers, and the new application area of affective wearable computers.