Reference
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Aberdeen Corporation Transport and its Successors
Aberdeen Corporation Transport and its successors, Grampian Transport and FirstBus/First Aberdeen, can trace their history back to 1898 when they commenced tram operation within the city of Aberdeen. Motor buses were first operated in 1920. During that period, all vehicles other than special occasion vehicles wore a livery of Brunswick green and white, being replaced by Lincoln green and cream in 1954. Although the company ventured into operating rural routes in competition with Northern Scottish during 1986, the company has always been, and continues to be, the major bus service provider within the city of Aberdeen. This book, written by three co-authors with a long-standing interest in buses operated in Aberdeen and the north-east of Scotland, concentrates on the fleet purchased by Aberdeen Corporation Transport and Grampian Transport from the early 1960s up to 1998, when the green livery was replaced by First corporate livery. Also featuring some earlier vehicles as well as demonstrators, ancillary vehicles and others, this book is an excellent portrait of the bus fleet in the Granite City.Read more
£15.20 -
Abstractions and Embodiments: New Histories of Computing and Society (Studies in Computing and Culture)
Cutting-edge historians explore ideas, communities, and technologies around modern computing to explore how computers mediate social relations.
Computers have been framed both as a mirror for the human mind and as an irreducible other that humanness is defined against, depending on different historical definitions of “humanness.” They can serve both liberation and control because some people’s freedom has historically been predicated on controlling others. Historians of computing return again and again to these contradictions, as they often reveal deeper structures.
Using twin frameworks of abstraction and embodiment, a reformulation of the old mind-body dichotomy, this anthology examines how social relations are enacted in and through computing. The authors examining “Abstraction” revisit central concepts in computing, including “algorithm,” “program,” “clone,” and “risk.” In doing so, they demonstrate how the meanings of these terms reflect power relations and social identities. The section on “Embodiments” focuses on sensory aspects of using computers as well as the ways in which gender, race, and other identities have shaped the opportunities and embodied experiences of computer workers and users. Offering a rich and diverse set of studies in new areas, the book explores such disparate themes as disability, the influence of the punk movement, working mothers as technical innovators, and gaming behind the Iron Curtain.
Abstractions and Embodiments reimagines computing history by questioning canonical interpretations, foregrounding new actors and contexts, and highlighting neglected aspects of computing as an embodied experience. It makes the profound case that both technology and the body are culturally shaped and that there can be no clear distinction between social, intellectual, and technical aspects of computing.
Contributors: Janet Abbate, Marc Aidinoff, Troy Kaighin Astarte, Ekaterina Babinsteva, André Brock, Maarten Bullynck, Jiahui Chan, Gerardo Con Diaz, Liesbeth De Mol, Stephanie Dick, Kelcey Gibbons, Elyse Graham, Michael J. Halvorson, Mar Hicks, Scott Kushner, Xiaochang Li, Zachary Loeb, Lisa Nakamura, Tiffany Nichols, Laine Nooney, Elizabeth Petrick, Cierra Robson, Hallam Stevens, Jaroslav Švelch
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£24.90 -
Gamish: A Graphic History of Gaming
*Shortlisted for the British Book Design and Production Award for Graphic Novels*
‘A love letter to gaming in all its forms – from board games, to role-play, to virtual reality and video games. For fans of gaming, this is the perfect read. For those new to gaming, it is the perfect introduction’ The Scotsman
A thrilling illustrated journey through the history of video games and what they really mean to us
Pac-Man. Mario. Minecraft. Doom.
Ever since he first booted up his brother’s dusty old Atari, comic artist Edward Ross has been hooked on video games. Years later, he began to wonder: what makes games so special? Why do we play? And how do games shape the world we live in?
This lovingly illustrated book takes us through the history of video games, from the pioneering prototypes of the 1950s to the modern era of blockbuster hits and ingenious indie gems. Exploring the people and politics behind one of the world’s most exciting art-forms, Gamish is a love letter to something that has always been more than just a game.
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£16.40£19.00Gamish: A Graphic History of Gaming
£16.40£19.00 -
Madame Curie: A Biography (Da Capo Series in Science)
Marie Sklodowska Curie (1867-1934) was the first woman scientist to win worldwide acclaim and was, indeed, one of the great scientists of the twentieth century. Written by Curie’s daughter, the renowned international activist Eve Curie, this biography chronicles Curie’s legendary achievements in science, including her pioneering efforts in the study of radioactivity and her two Nobel Prizes in Physics and Chemistry. It also spotlights her remarkable life, from her childhood in Poland, to her storybook Parisian marriage to fellow scientist Pierre Curie, to her tragic death from the very radium that brought her fame. Now updated with an eloquent, rousing introduction by best-selling author Natalie Angier, this timeless biography celebrates an astonishing mind and a extraordinary woman’s life.Read more
£14.20 -
Read Write Own: Building the Next Era of the Internet
‘A compelling vision of where the internet should go and how to get there.’ Sam Altman, CEO, OpenAI
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A potent exploration of the power of blockchains to reshape the future of the internet – and how that affects us all – from technology entrepreneur and startup investor Chris Dixon.
The internet of today is a far cry from its early promise of a decentralized, democratic network of innovation, connection and freedom. In the past decade, it has fallen almost entirely under the control of a very small group of companies like Apple, Google, and Facebook.
In Read Write Own, tech visionary Chris Dixon argues that the dream of a creative, entrepreneurial internet doesn’t have to die and can, in fact, be saved with blockchain networks. He separates this movement, which aims to provide a solid foundation for everything from social networks to artificial intelligence to virtual worlds, from cryptocurrency speculation – a distinction he calls ‘the computer vs the casino’.
Drawing on a 25-year career in the software industry, Dixon lucidly shows how the history of the internet has been defined by three distinct eras that have brought us to the critical moment we’re in today. The first was the ‘read’ era, in which early networks democratized information. The second was the ‘read-write’ era, in which corporate networks democratized publishing. We are now in the midst of the ‘read-write-own’ era, sometimes called web3, in which blockchain networks are granting power and economic benefits to communities of users, not just corporations.
Read Write Own is a must-read for anyone – internet users, business leaders, creators, entrepreneurs – who wants to understand where we’ve been and where we’re going. It provides a vision for a better internet and a playbook to navigate and build the future.
‘A must for anyone who wants to better understand the real potential of blockchains and web3 to drive even greater innovation.’ Robert Iger, CEO, Disney
‘Fascinating . . . a refreshing and radical new take at a time when we need fresh thinking more than ever.’ Mustafa Suleyman, co-founder of DeepMind and author of The Coming Wave
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£19.00£23.80 -
SEO Mastery: The Science and Art of Optimizing Website Performance
Ready to take your website to the next level?SEO Mastery is the ultimate guide to mastering the science and art of optimizing website performance.
Learn how to increase organic traffic, improve search engine rankings, and maximize conversions with this comprehensive guide.
Get ready to unlock the secrets of SEO success and become an SEO master!
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£2.30 -
The Southern Railway, 1923-47: Steam on the Portsmouth Direct Line (Transport S.)
A history of the Southern Railway during its heyday, from 1923 to 1947, when it transported hundreds of passengers daily during the summer holiday months. Details the locomotives used, the make-up of passenger and freight trains, and individual performances.Read more
£6.70 -
The Story of Computing
Today computers shape every aspect of our lives. In our pockets, we carry mobile phones with computing power that was unimaginable just 50 years ago. Many industries are embracing the promises – and the risks – of artificial intelligence. The world is changing faster than ever, and computing is at the heart of technological development.
Dermot Turing explores the history of this rapidly evolving technology, from the Charles Babbage and his experiments with steam powered calculators to the computerised Go champion, AlphaGo. Featuring wonderful, full-colour images which illustrate this history, The Story of Computing is the essential guide to a subject that none of us can ignore.
Topics include:
• The birth of the computer
• Codebreaking in World War II
• Innovations in hardware and software
• Artificial intelligence
• The internet
• The challenges of cybersecurity.Read more
£8.70£9.50The Story of Computing
£8.70£9.50 -
Understanding Your ZX81 ROM (28) (Retro Reproductions)
Launched in 1981, Sir Clive Sinclair’s ZX81 – successor to his ZX80 released the year before – was designed to be a low-cost introduction to home computing for the general public. It was a hugely successful machine, with over one and a half million ‘official’ units being sold; many more unauthorised ‘clones’ were also produced, particularly in Russia and other Eastern Bloc countries of the era. One could either purchase the machine pre-built, or – as a significant number of consumers did – buy it in kit form for assembly at home at a slightly cheaper price. This ‘DIY’ approach, encouraged by Sinclair Research, became a core element of the computer’s genetic make-up. Those who were comfortable putting together the four silicon chips and other such components were just as keen to poke around the machine’s memory, learning as much as they could about its capability; the programs they would write could easily be shared once saved onto a standard audio cassette.
This book helps the reader truly understand how the ZX81 works, with sections covering everything from the structure of the Z80 microprocessor used in the machine to the computer’s registers, ALU and more.
With an introduction to both binary and hex, Understanding Your ZX81 ROM helped many people get the most out of their machine in the very earliest days of home computing.
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£9.50 -
Victorian Engineering (L.T.C. Rolt Collection)
L T C Rolt was an engineer and pioneer of industrial history; in this book he combined these two passions to give us a fascinating account of the men who ‘made’ Britain. From Brunel to Telford, he takes us on a journey from the first railway tracks being laid down to bridges spanning hitherto unimagined lengths, through to the ‘invention’ and mastery of the gas and electricity, which we take for granted today. The Victorians were at the forefront of modern technology in their time, but often came to see it as a blight on their landscape and struggled to adapt to the fast pace of this new industrial era. In this book, Rolt not only examines the creations that made Britain’s empire great, but also how the age of optimism turned to one of disillusionment with many of our inventors finding fame and fortune abroad. This unrivalled insight into our industrial heritage is compulsory reading for anyone wanting to appreciate the foundations on which our modern lives were built.Read more
£12.80£16.10Victorian Engineering (L.T.C. Rolt Collection)
£12.80£16.10
