Describes the life and work of the man credited with being the first to design and market a personal computer.

A compilation of books and other resources that are appropriate for students in kindergarten through twelfth grade.

This book, aimed at general readers, covers the entirety of computing history from antiquity to the present, placing the story of computing into the broader context of politics, economics, society, and more. Computers dominate the world we live in, and this book describes how we got here. The Computer: A Brief History of the Machine That Changed the World covers topics from early efforts at mathematical computation back in ancient times, such as the abacus and the Antikythera device, through Babbage's Difference Engine and the Hollerith Tabulating Machines of the 19th century, to the eventual invention of the modern computer during World War II and its aftermath. The scope of the text reaches into the modern day, with chapters on social media and the influence of computers and technology on recent elections. The information in this book, perfect for readers new to the topic or those looking to delve into the history of computers in greater detail, can be accessed both chronologically and topically. With chapters focusing on larger time periods as well as shorter subsections covering specific people and topics, this book is designed to make the history of computing as approachable as possible.

A provocative new book calling into question everything we thought we knew about capitalism and what makes it unique.

Discusses the life of the man who founded the computer software company known as Microsoft Corporation.

The Flickering Mind, by National Magazine Award winner Todd Oppenheimer, is a landmark account of the failure of technology to improve our schools and a call for renewed emphasis on what really works. American education faces an unusual moment of crisis. For decades, our schools have been beaten down by a series of curriculum fads, empty crusades for reform, and stingy funding. Now education and political leaders have offered their biggest and most expensive promise ever—the miracle of computers and the Internet—at a cost of approximately $70 billion just during the decade of the 1990s. Computer technology has become so prevalent that it is transforming nearly every corner of the academic world, from our efforts to close the gap between rich and poor, to our hopes for school reform, to our basic methods of developing the human imagination. Technology is also recasting the relationships that schools strike with the business community, changing public beliefs about the demands of tomorrow’s working world, and reframing the nation’s systems for researching, testing, and evaluating achievement. All this change has led to a culture of the flickering mind, and a generation teetering between two possible futures. In one, youngsters have a chance to become confident masters of the tools of their day, to better address the problems of tomorrow. Alternatively, they can become victims of commercial novelties and narrow measures of ability, underscored by misplaced faith in standardized testing. At this point, America’s students can’t even make a fair choice. They are an increasingly distracted lot. Their ability to reason, to listen, to feel empathy, is quite literally flickering. Computers and their attendant technologies did not cause all these problems, but they are quietly accelerating them. In this authoritative and impassioned account of the state of education in America, Todd Oppenheimer shows why it does not have to be this way. Oppenheimer visited dozens of schools nationwide—public and private, urban and rural—to present the compelling tales that frame this book. He consulted with experts, read volumes of studies, and came to strong and persuasive conclusions: that the essentials of learning have been gradually forgotten and that they matter much more than the novelties of technology. He argues that every time we computerize a science class or shut down a music program to pay for new hardware, we lose sight of what our priority should be: “enlightened basics.” Broad in scope and investigative in treatment, The Flickering Mind will not only contribute to a vital public conversation about what our schools can and should be—it will define the debate.

Singapore has a 2000% higher population density than India, but is yet slum-free. At the same time, India is full of slums. Why? Why do the Chinese pay 4.9% for 30-year fixed mortgage rates and Indians pay 10%? China has 800 million jobs and India has 520 million. Our populations are identical. Why is India lacking 280 million jobs? India’s target for job creation is an abysmal 10 million. India created near zero jobs in 3 years. Why is India lagging so pathetically? In peak years, China grew at 13% while India perennially struggles to grow at 8%. Why? China exports $2100 billion vs India’s $260 billion – and shamefully, India’s exports have not grown at all in 7 years. Why? Despite these facts, the author asserts with irrepressible optimism that it is India’s manifest destiny to be the world’s largest economy. He offers solutions to script a new future for India — to make India 1100% richer in 20 years. Modi is a great blessing to India. He works hard. Instead he should work smart using ideas from 50 richest countries suggested in the book. SRI will end poverty, slums, farmers’ suicides, vanquish 80% of black money and create 200 million jobs, with no cost to the government. India’s GDP is $2.5 trillion. SRI will add $25 trillion -$75 trillion in a special case -to our GDP. Sans SRI, India will be stuck as a ‘lazy’, imbecile power middling in a world order dominated by Red China. The book exposes how China will be undone by imminent political, demographic, economic storms. India will have 60% more population than China by the end of this century, making China senile.