Wants to read The Computers That Made Britain
book
Rated Enshittification: Why Everything Suddenly Got Worse and What to Do About It 8/10
The book explains how four decades of ignoring monopolies resulted in a few horribly broken two-sided marketplaces, and how the incredibly broken copyright law (DMCA section 1201) that has been rolled out across most of the world has made it really hard for us to fix it. Yeah... all pretty depressing, although Cory gives plenty of concrete examples to allow you to channel your anger at the situation at specific players. I guess there's a reason the poop emoji on the cover is swearing. 💩🤬<br/><br/>The last part of the book takes a more optimistic look at what we individually and (mostly) as a society can do to claim back control of our digital and physical commons. It turns out that the small, often quite local, victories in right-to-repair can be replicated in other places and domains, and that this adds up.
Rated Inferno 8/10
I loved the build-up of the Tarot trilogy and found myself caught in this final book of Finn's story arc as much as in the first two installments. After defeating the demon king, Finn becomes the new ruler, and... well ok, maybe things don't end happily ever after, because there's still a game to be played.<br/><br/>I had somewhat hoped for a less shallow conclusion - either something either where Finn discovered he didn't need to 'revive' his late wife as he'd discovered his purpose in helping and collaborating with others around him, or maybe how (since his wife had been the initial model for what became the game's AI) he found enough of her in the game to bring closure to his longing. The simpler, more direct ending is satisfactory, but doesn't bring it to 5 star territory.
Rated Nexus: A Brief History of Information Networks from the Stone Age to AI 10/10
I read Sapiens a few years ago. Nexus feels familiar in tone but distinct in focus, which made it an accessible and thought-provoking read. I found myself deeply reflecting on the first two-thirds of the book in particular, as its framing of historical events is both unconventional and compelling.<br/><br/>Full review: https://puf.io/books/nexus---yuval-noah-harari
Rated Hardcore Software: Inside the Rise and Fall of the PC Revolution 8/10
Holy smoke, what a lot of pages!<br/><br/>An incredibly detailed deep dive into the early days of Microsoft Office development and Windows Visa through 8. If you're into this sort of information, Steven provides a lot of information that you've probably never read before. But it's definitely a biy thick and overly wordy for the amount of material it covers.<br/><br/>Full review on: https://puf.io/books/hardcore-software:-inside-the-rise-and-fall-of-the-pc-revolution---steven-sinofsky
Rated Eat That Frog!: 21 Great Ways to Stop Procrastinating and Get More Done in Less Time 6/10
It’s a simple self-improvement book, with 21 rules to prevent procrastination. Most of it boils down to being action oriented, and being intentional about what you do and don’t do. Outside of that, there’s a lot of overlap with (what I know of) the Getting Things Done methodology: so writing things down, maintaining lists, and moving things around between those.<br/><br/>The title reminded me of my late father, who used to try to do his toughest phone calls of each day right after he started work in the morning - and how his day after that always seemed better.
Rated Crucible of Gold 8/10
> In my mind I call this one "Temeraire in South America". At this point I really wish the author had used exactly this Tin Tin style naming for the episodes, as I remember book 6 as "Temeraire in Australia", book 4 as "Temeraire in Africa", etc.<br/><br/>I like how the series explores how different human societies have integrated with the dragons. Where in Europe the dragons are (initially) seen as "beasts" to be controlled by their riders and used for war, most of the other continents treat the dragons as whole creatures on their own. Here in South America it's each individual dragon leads a small society of "their" humans, whom they are very protective of.<br/><br/>I also liked the continuing evolution of Temeraire's feelings about dragons, their place in society, and justice in general.
Rated The Murder at the Vicarage 6/10