Software-Technology – Page 11 – Scott J. Pearson’s Book Review

Artificial Intelligence for Managers

By Scott J. Pearson | April 17, 2021November 8, 2025 by Scott J. Pearson

For decades, followers of technology have touted the value of Artificial Intelligence (AI) in computing. Some present a utopian future; others present a dystopian future. In this work, Upadhyay presents a realistic assessment of what’s inevitably coming. He overviews the essential parts of the technology – like convoluted neural networks or K-nearest-neighbor mapping – and then speculates on their business value. At 178 pages, this work does not waste unnecessary words. It instead provides a…

Software-Technology

Literate Programming by Donald Knuth

By Scott J. Pearson | March 28, 2021March 28, 2021 by Scott J. Pearson

Like any of Donald Knuth’s books, this work constitutes a classic of computer science. Knuth attempts to integrate the art of writing good literature with the art of writing computer code. Using a series of papers and articles published between 1974 and 1989, he illustrates the historical genesis of writing more understandable code. Although modern programmers will find many constructs to be dated, the historical and conceptual value of these writings cannot be underestimated. Without…

History Software-Technology

Leonardo to the Internet: Technology and Culture from the Renaissance to the Present

By Scott J. Pearson | December 17, 2020December 17, 2020 by Scott J. Pearson

Many people hold one of two views of technology and culture. Some think that technology determines how society evolve. Others contend that human affairs express themselves in the technologies they produce. Misa contends that technology and culture evolve together in a mixed group; neither determine the other. He makes this case by examining this evolution, as his title promises, from the days of Leonardo until the present. Generally, Misa sees the history of technology moving…

Software-Technology

Coders at Work: Reflections on the Craft of Programming

By Scott J. Pearson | November 26, 2020August 13, 2023 by Scott J. Pearson

Software developers are typically bright people but possess few social contacts who approach the world like them. Such loneliness is famously parodied by stereotypes. Even the most social among us have a difficult time relating to others what programming is like. In this work, Seibel provides interviews with 15 accomplished programmers and alleviates some of that alone-ness. In so doing, he explains to the English-speaking world how computer programming has grown and is currently practiced.…

Management-Business Software-Technology

Guide to Software Projects for Business People

By Scott J. Pearson | November 14, 2020November 14, 2020 by Scott J. Pearson

The business of making software is fairly unique. Software does not follow a traditional assembly-line process, but still borrows from many sources of theory to guide its production. Some projects follow a “waterfall” plan, and others follow an “agile” methodology; a wide array of differently named tests populates discussions. Crosby seeks to unify disparate voices such as these in one place and so to inform us of the business-side of software development. The author is…

Society Software-Technology

The Tangled Web We Weave: Inside The Shadow System that Shapes the Internet

By Scott J. Pearson | November 1, 2020November 1, 2020 by Scott J. Pearson

First, I must confess my biases. I develop software (browser- and mobile-based) for a living. I have committed my career to bettering the US healthcare system, both research and medical. I understand how the Internet works, in highly technical (and boring) detail. I work in a non-profit research university lab but willingly work with for-profit products. I mention this because Ball’s main audience in this work seems to be the general public and not me.…

Software-Technology

Software Engineering at Google: Lessons Learned from Programming Over Time

By Scott J. Pearson | October 8, 2020October 8, 2020 by Scott J. Pearson

Relatively little is known about how to organize/manage software projects so that they come to a successful, on-time resolution that lasts the test of experience. This is the field of software engineering, and over the last two decades, Google has mastered this art. They share their hard-wrought wisdom in this book. Many developers, like me, wish they could undertake several internships at leading companies like Apple, Google, Microsoft, or Facebook. They could learn the tricks…

History Software-Technology

From Gutenberg to OpenType: An Illustrated History of Type from the Earliest Letterforms to the Latest Digital Fonts

By Scott J. Pearson | August 9, 2020August 9, 2020 by Scott J. Pearson

Although I am not a graphic designer, I have followed graphic design and computerized fonts since the 1990s. Thus, many of the font-forms referenced in this book are familiar to me. This book narrates how letters have historically been formed by technology. As the title implies, it starts with ancient scripts, continues with Gutenberg’s printing press in the 1400s, and closes with modern fonts digitized in OpenType on computers. Dodd focuses her energies on how…

Software-Technology

Web Security for Developers: Real Threats, Practical Defense

By Scott J. Pearson | July 31, 2020August 3, 2020 by Scott J. Pearson

Much has been and continues to be written on the topic of computer security, but a lot of that content is directed towards computer security professionals. Few resources exist that are written for software developers, by developers. In this work, McDonald seeks to answer the need for a comprehensive exposition on this topic. In this attempt, he succeeds in providing a clear and thorough introduction of what developers need to know about security. The biggest…