Interesting Snippets from 2012-07-09

• Automate or Perish  - Technology Review

  In this month's Technology Review business report, we look at what it takes to succeed at the cutting edge of automation. Consider Amazon. The company not only automated book buying but also turned the computer systems it built to do so into a service called Amazon Web Services, making them available for anyone wanting to repeat the feat.

• LukeW | Evolving E-commerce Checkout

  Checkout is the lynchpin of e-commerce. It’s how customers buy and retailers get paid. Yet despite years of evolution, only a few changes have significantly impacted checkout conversion online. Knowing what worked, what didn’t, and what might can help improve checkout forms today and reveal what the future of digital shopping could be tomorrow.

• Steve Jobs on programming, craftsmanship, software, and the Web | Ars Technica

  On the importance of computer programming to cognitive ability: Jobs was asked what practical purpose he and other early Apple employees envisioned for programming personal computers. "It didn't have to do with using them for anything practical; we used it as a way to mirror our thought process. I think everyone should learn how to program a computer, because it teaches you how to think. I view computer science as a liberal art, something everyone should learn to do."

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