NCW Libraries

"As a pioneer of ubiquitous computing-the embedding of technology in everyday objects from thermostats to doorbells-computer scientist Mark Weiser's descriptions of smart homes, now thirty years later, might seem to approach our reality. Weiser's views certainly influenced our technology's developers-his 1991 Scientific American article "The Computer for the 21st Century" was flagged a must-read by Microsoft's Bill Gates and then circulated among...

Breaking down while en route to Wisconsin, Grace MacBride, Annie Belinsky, and deputy Sharon Mueller stumble upon a nearly deserted town fraught with signs of foul play and are horrified to witness a double murder.

Haunted by a series of horrifying and violent episodes in their past, Grace McBride and the oddball crew of her software company, Monkeewrench, create a computer game where the killer is always caught, where the good guys always win. But their game becomes a nightmare when someone starts duplicating the fictional murders in real life down to the last detail.

When a hedge fund billionaire hires Stone Barrington to talk some sense into his wayward son, it seems like an easy enough job; no one knows the hidden sins and temptations of the ultra-wealthy better than Stone. But as Stone and his erstwhile protege, Herbie Fisher, probe deeper into the case--and an old one comes back to haunt him--he realizes that even he may have underestimated just how far some people will go to cover up their crimes...and plan...

Microsoft's CEO tells the inside story of the company's continuing transformation and offers his vision for the coming wave of intelligent technologies. He examines how people, organizations, and societies can and must transform, how they must 'hit refresh' in their persistent quest for new energy, new ideas, and continued relevance and renewal. Yet he feels strongly that one of our essential qualities -- empathy -- will become ever more valuable....