Greetings from Amazon.com Delivers Cyberculture
Editors, Julian Dibbell and Brooke Gilbert
FEATURED IN THIS E-MAIL:
* Just off the Presses: $ + media = bad mojo, a nation of
"little brothers," uncovering the networked world
* What's Hot? Cyberculture bestsellers at press time: "Code
and Other Laws of Cyberspace," "Faster," "User Friendly"
* Recommended Reading: "Zero: The Biography of a Dangerous Idea"
* Almost Published: Books that are selling before they've
even been printed
* Featured Interview: Mary Modahl of Forrester Research
JUST OFF THE PRESSES
********************
"Rich Media, Poor Democracy: Communication Politics in Dubious Times"
by Robert W. McChesney
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0252024486/ref=ad_b_cy_2
A noted historian of the early broadcasting age, Robert
McChesney turns his gaze to the present in this impassioned,
deeply researched critique of the state of communications in
America and around the globe. The increasingly tightfisted
corporate control of publishing, television, and radio is,
in McChesney's unabashedly left-wing view, one of the
leading threats to true, robust democracy in the world
today. Even the Internet, he argues in "Rich Media, Poor
Democracy," is falling under the sway of the conglomerates
faster than its democratic potential can be realized. His
idea of a remedy (increased funding for nonprofit journalism
and tighter regulation of corporate media) may not suit you,
but his sharp, stimulating analysis is hard to dismiss.
"Database Nation: The Death of Privacy in the 21st Century"
by Simson Garfinkel
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/1565926536/ref=ad_b_cy_2
Forget the common cold for a moment. Instead, consider the
rise of "false data syndrome," a deceptive method of
identification derived from numbers rather than more
recognizable human traits. Simson Garfinkel couples this
idea with concepts like "data shadow" and "datasphere" in
"Database Nation," offering a decidedly unappealing scenario
of how we have overlooked privacy with the advent of
advanced technology. According to Garfinkel, "technology is
not privacy neutral." It leaves us with only two choices: 1)
allow our personal data to rest in the public domain or 2)
become hermits (no credit cards, no midnight video jaunts--
you get the point).
"The Internet Edge: Social, Legal, and Technological
Challenges for a Networked World"
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/026219418X/ref=ad_b_cy_2
by Mark J. Stefik
It's hard enough keeping up with today's advances in
technology without worrying about tomorrow's--but that's
always where the action is. Xerox PARC scientist Mark Stefik
gets paid to think about and act on future technology, and
his fascinating, enjoyable report, "The Internet Edge,"
shows us what we're becoming as our information technology
gets more ubiquitous and transparent. Suits and nerds alike
will love his pragmatic, brainstorming style that reaches
back into our technological history to make sense of the
road ahead. Chapters cover portability, digital commerce,
publishing, privacy, and more, examining changes in the
breadth of our social experience as well as our work lives.
WHAT'S HOT?
***********
At the top of this month's Cyberculture bestseller list are
a study in cyberspace privacy, a fast-paced foray into our
fast-paced lives, and a joke book for techies.
"Code and Other Laws of Cyberspace"
by Lawrence Lessig
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/046503912X/ref=ad_b_cy_2
Everyone knows that cyberspace is a wild frontier that can't
be regulated, right? Everyone is wrong, and that's why we
should all read Harvard Law prof (and famous Microsoft trial
expert) Lawrence Lessig's eye-opening, jaw-dropping book
"Code," the best guide yet to the future that's heading our
way like a frictionless freight train. For such an
analytical book, it's also anecdote-studded and utterly fun
to read.
"Faster: The Acceleration of Just About Everything"
by James Gleick
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0679408371/ref=ad_b_cy_2
Never in the history of the human race have so many had so
much to do in so little time. That, anyway, is the
impression most of us have of civilized life at the turn of
the millennium, and "Faster" only sharpens it. Elegantly
composed and insightfully researched, "Faster" delivers a
brisk volley of observations on how microchips, media, and
economics, among other things, have accelerated the pace of
everyday experience over the course of the manic 20th
century.
"User Friendly"
by J.D. Illiad Frazer
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/1565926730/ref=ad_b_cy_2
Yes, it's a cliche, but it's true enough to be worth
repeating: "User Friendly" is to the open-source world what
Dilbert is to the swarming hives of Windows cubicles. Set in
an ISP company that keeps getting bought and sold, the
constant remains a team of cynical, hilarious
techies. M.B.A.s and marketers drift in and out, as do CEOs,
often making statements like, "I can't surf the Web. I think
the Internet is broken." For anyone who's dealt with similar
situations, "User Friendly" is the ultimate in-joke.
Explore our top 50 computer titles, updated weekly:
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/feature/-/17140/ref=ad_b_cy_2
RECOMMENDED READING: "ZERO: THE BIOGRAPHY OF A DANGEROUS IDEA"
**************************************************************
The seemingly impossible Zen task--writing a book about
nothing--has a loophole: people have been chatting,
learning, and even fighting about nothing for millennia.
"Zero," by noted science writer Charles Seife, starts with
the story of a modern battleship stopped dead in the water
by a loose zero, then rewinds back to several hundred years
BCE. Some empty-headed genius improved the traditional
Eastern counting methods immeasurably by adding zero as a
placeholder, which allowed the genesis of our still-used
decimal system.
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/067088457X/ref=ad_b_cy_2
ALMOST PUBLISHED
****************
Cyberculture guides that have garnered the most orders from
Amazon.com customers--before they've even been published.
"The Robot in the Garden: Telerobotics and Telepistemology
in the Age of the Internet"
edited by Ken Goldberg
Publication date: March 24
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0262072033/ref=ad_b_cy_2
The 17 essays collected in "The Robot in the Garden" are by
leading notables in the philosophy, art, history, and
engineering arenas and are organized into three sections:
Philosophy; Art, History, and Critical Theory; and
Engineering, Interface, and System Design. Among the
theories explored in this text are telerobotics and
telepistemology (the study of knowledge acquired at a
distance).
"Age of Access: How the Shift from Ownership to Access Is
Transforming Capitalism"
by Jeremy Rifkin
Publication date: March 27
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/1585420182/ref=ad_b_cy_2
Jeremy Rifkin, author of "The End of Work," has argued that
computers, robotics, telecommunications, and biotechnologies
are quickly replacing humans in most facets of our everyday
lives. "Age of Access" examines how "new technologies are
eliminating the concepts of 'property' and 'ownership' from
our lives," how we make transactions, and how we're
replacing physical property with "access-providers."
FEATURED INTERVIEW: MARY MODAHL OF FORRESTER RESEARCH
*****************************************************
In "Now or Never," Mary Modahl of Forrester Research
examines the challenges that companies--both traditional and
dot-com--must overcome in their adoption of e-commerce.
According to Modahl, successful companies must understand
what compels Internet consumers to go online and at the same
time master the new, and often counterintuitive, business
models made possible by the Net. Modahl recently spoke with
Amazon.com's Harry Edwards. She began the interview
discussing what she means by technographics, which Forrester
Research has been studying for several years.
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/feature/-/21524/ref=ad_b_cy_2
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You'll find more great books, articles, excerpts, and
interviews in Amazon.com's Computers & Internet section at
http://www.amazon.com/computers
******
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