Tag Archives: technology

Commandos, Inklings, and powershell

Posted on May 11, 2022 by smellincoffee

If you can’t tell, dear readers, I’m in something of a reading funk — nibbling at many books but not immersed in any. Life has gotten busy recently: I’m now officially on a transplant list, a friend was just married, … Continue reading →

Posted in Classics and Literary, historical fiction, Religion and Philosophy, Reviews | Tagged , , , , , , | 7 Comments

Into the Black

Posted on July 29, 2021 by smellincoffee

Into the Black: The Extraordinary Untold Story of the First Flight of the Space Shuttle Columbia © 2016 Rowland White480 pages As the Apollo missions neared the completion of their goal, NASA looked ahead and charted a bold new course … Continue reading →

Posted in history, Reviews | Tagged , , , , , | 6 Comments

More short rounds: hackers and silly vicars

Posted on July 28, 2019 by smellincoffee

Needing a quick break from all the classics,  I read The Hacker Crackdown, a bit of cybersecurity history.  Sterling first delivers the background of the telecommunications system in the United States, specifically the expansive growth of AT&T and its recent … Continue reading →

Posted in history, Reviews | Tagged , , , | 8 Comments

Insanely Great

Posted on December 20, 2018 by smellincoffee

Insanely Great: The Life and Times of Macintosh, The Computer That Changed Everything © 1994, 2000 Steven Levy 304 pages Apple Computers had already made its mark before 1984, by pioneering personal computers long before IBM entered the consumer market.  … Continue reading →

Posted in history, Reviews | Tagged , , , , | 3 Comments

The One Device

Posted on December 13, 2018 by smellincoffee

The One Device: A Secret History of the iPhone pub. 2017 Brian Merchant 416 pages Love them or hate them, smartphones have revolutionized society like few other inventions. Entire sectors of the economy now exist which wouldn’t be there had … Continue reading →

Posted in history, Reviews | Tagged , , , , | 5 Comments

The Perfect Thing

Posted on December 12, 2018 by smellincoffee

The Perfect Thing: How the iPod Shuffles Commerce, Culture, and Coolness pub. 2006 Steven Levy 304 pages I’ve never had an iPod, but given that Audible was doing a sale this week and that I seemed to be doing an … Continue reading →

Posted in history, Reviews | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Jobs

Posted on December 11, 2018 by smellincoffee

Steve Jobs © 2011 Walter Isaacson 656 pages The past twenty years have been an amazing ride for Apple Computers, in which the ailing and speeding towards bankruptcy company suddenly metamorphosed into the most valuable company in the world, responsible … Continue reading →

Posted in Reviews | Tagged , , , , | 9 Comments

Short rounds and leftovers:

Posted on November 24, 2018 by smellincoffee

Hello, readers! Here’s hoping those of you in the US had an enjoyable Thanksgiving on Thursday. I thoroughly enjoyed the company of my cousins, though I did rather poorly in our board game of choice.  I blame the dice.   … Continue reading →

Posted in Reviews | Tagged , , , , | 11 Comments

Build Your Own PC for Dummies

Posted on September 29, 2018 by smellincoffee

Build Your Pwn PC For Dummies© 2009 Mark Chambers336 pages Both my increasing interest in learning how to work with computer hardware, and my nephew’s desire to build a gaming computer,  have led to me watching hours of build videos … Continue reading →

Posted in Reviews | Tagged , , | 6 Comments

Brave New World Revisited

Posted on July 24, 2018 by smellincoffee

Brave New World Revisited© 1958 Aldhous Huxley144 pages Aldous Huxley’s Brave New World (1931)  transported readers to a deeply creepy nightmare-vision of the future, in which man had disappeared as an independent being, instead becoming the raw materials for a new, … Continue reading →

Posted in Reviews, Society and Culture | Tagged , , , | 5 Comments