Central Skagit Library District

"The revered New York Times bestselling author traces the development of technology from the Industrial Age to the Digital Age to explore the single component crucial to advancement--precision--in a superb history that is both an homage and a warning for our future."

In 1994 it would have taken about seven days to send someone a copy your holiday snaps. Now using a digital camera and email it takes about ten minutes. This fast-moving documentary takes us on a whistle-stop tour of the world of convergence. Technology change: In the early days computers were huge and needed to be kept in air-conditioned rooms. Next they moved to the desktop and the internet was developed. Memory and processing power increased, and...

Enterprises today rely on technology, control systems, robotics and automated machinery to deliver high-quality products and services to global markets quickly and cost effectively. Experts tell us that the next major wave of innovation will center on the expansion of automated processes as industries and organizations look to further drive down costs, improve product quality and time-to-market. This expansion which analysts are calling "job" or "labor"...

It’s a century-old obsession to find the right raw materials to build a car that is fit for both king and race car driver — perfectly luxurious and perfectly fast. The Bentley Motor Company has built common raw ingredients into their signature Mulsanne, an engineering achievement made possible by aluminum, leather, iron, wood and pigment.

The highway truck — a modern workhorse, a heavy hauler vital to commerce — carries an 80,000-pound payload and must operate in every condition from sub-zero cold to triple-digit heat. To survive, it must be strong, durable and fuel-efficient, like the Mack Pinnacle, an engineering achievement made possible by platinum, petroleum, copper, manganese and polyurethane.

Explore the science, innovation and sheer genius it takes to transform the most basic ingredients into powerhouse machines. From aircraft to big rigs to earth movers, venture deep inside factories and witness the hard work and craftsmanship necessary to build these incredible machines. Uncover the hidden stories of human ingenuity that have transformed the earth's most essential raw materials into monumental marvels of modern technology. Natural resources,...

Successful innovations must be desirable to consumers, technically feasible, and viable from a business point of view. But how do you meet these requirements? Tim Brown advocates using the three stages of "design thinking": inspiration, ideation, and implementation. For inspiration, innovators must look at the world through the eyes and the ears of users, perhaps studying analogous situations or extreme users to spark a generative process. Ideation,...

In this four-part special, technology columnist and best-selling author David Pogue takes a wild ride through the cutting-edge science that is powering a next wave of technological innovation. Pogue meets the scientists and engineers who are plunging to the bottom of the temperature scale, finding design inspiration in nature, and breaking every speed limit to make tomorrow's "stuff" "Colder," "Faster," "Safer," and "Wilder."

This food safety training program provides a comprehensive, yet easy top understand guide to the food laws and safe food handling practices.

Start your course with the basics of grilling: choosing wood, cleaning the grill, tools of the trade, and a few lessons in food safety. Then try your hand at three simple recipes—two types of steak and a grilled salad—to get a feel for cooking over live fire. This first lesson offers a wealth of rules of thumb..