Matthew Fuller: Behind the Blip: Essays on the Culture of Software (2003)
Filed under book | Tags: · free software, interface, internet, search, software, software art, software studies
A far-reaching and strikingly original collection of essays on the “culture of software” by new-media critic Matthew Fuller. Behind the Blip looks at the many ways in which the ostensibly neutral userinterfaces, search engines, “intelligent agents,” and word processorsthat are now part of our everyday life are actively reshaping the waywe look at and interact with the world.
Publisher Autonomedia, 2003
Anti-copyright for non-commercial publication
ISBN 1570271399, 9781570271397
165 pages
PDF (updated on 2017-3-14)
Comment (0)Jaron Lanier: You Are Not a Gadget: A Manifesto (2010)
Filed under book | Tags: · critique, culture, filesharing, free culture, internet, intersubjectivity, open source, self, software, subjectivity, technological singularity, technology, web 2.0
“Jaron Lanier, a Silicon Valley visionary since the 1980s, was among the first to predict the revolutionary changes the World Wide Web would bring to commerce and culture. Now, in his first book, written more than two decades after the web was created, Lanier offers this provocative and cautionary look at the way it is transforming our lives for better and for worse.
The current design and function of the web have become so familiar that it is easy to forget that they grew out of programming decisions made decades ago. The web’s first designers made crucial choices (such as making one’s presence anonymous) that have had enormous—and often unintended—consequences. What’s more, these designs quickly became “locked in,” a permanent part of the web’s very structure.
Lanier discusses the technical and cultural problems that can grow out of poorly considered digital design and warns that our financial markets and sites like Wikipedia, Facebook, and Twitter are elevating the “wisdom” of mobs and computer algorithms over the intelligence and judgment of individuals.”
Publisher Knopf, 2010
ISBN 0307269647, 9780307269645
224 pages
Reviews: Adam Thierer (Technology Liberation Front, 2010), Clive Thompson (Bookforum, 2010).
PDF, PDF (updated on 2019-4-3)
EPUB, EPUB (added on 2012-7-15, updated on 2019-4-3)
Federico Biancuzzi, Shane Warden (eds.): Masterminds of Programming: Conversations with the Creators of Major Programming Languages (2009)
Filed under book | Tags: · algorithm, code, programming, software
Masterminds of Programming features exclusive interviews with the creators of several historic and highly influential programming languages. Think along with Adin D. Falkoff (APL), James Gosling (Java), Bjarne Stroustrup (C++), and others whose vision and hard work helped shape the computer industry. You’ll find advice you can apply to systems you’re developing, even if you don’t use the specific languages being discussed.
Publisher O’Reilly Media, Inc., 2009
Theory in Practice (O’Reilly) Series
ISBN 0596515170, 9780596515171
Length 480 pages