More Torrid Tales of Technology, Two

The last 20 years have witnessed a drastic refocus of computer literacy courses, due largely to major shifts in the ways people interact with and the expectations they have for their computers. Technical literature from the 90s focused largely on computer internals. Students had to know how to “hack” their own machines, and needed a strong grasp of the roles, maintenance, and upgradeability of components to effectively leverage technology in their lives. Today that isn’t the case. It would be folly, if not nearly impossible, for the average student to open up an iPad to replace the internal hardware. As manufacturers and consumers began treating computer hardware as “black boxes,” the pitfalls and difficulties of end user hardware maintenance became legion.

This book discusses a number of topics that, despite their limited-to-nonexistent coverage in most modern computer science books, prove critical to the average computer user. Many of these topics are avoided by traditional computer literacy curriculums for a variety of reasons: the moving target nature of technology can prove difficult to write about and publish before facing obsolescence, and many subjects including the Deep Web and the Darknet are sensitive for academia to discuss.

For example, standard traditional texts often address basic wireless networking, but fail to teach students how to effectively secure their networks from unauthorized access. Such a disregard for security leaves students ill-prepared for the realities of maintaining reliable and safe networks both at home and in industry. In response, this text provides students with a series of step-by-step instructions for securing home networks.

Due to equal parts rapid development, dizzying use of advanced cryptography, and moral concerns, many computer science books also give cryptocurrency the short shrift. Rather than shy away from the world of digital currencies, this text takes these topics head-on, discussing how virtual currency is generated, stored, and used.

All in all, this text will provide its readers with the knowledge to approach their digital lives with confidence. It addresses areas that most, if not all, computer users need to understand either to better utilize their machines or to live a fuller and more satisfying digital life. Here the reader will find a number of “hot” topics that will enrich their lives, both on screen and off.