Digital Dreams


Book Description

For the past half century, the Sony Corporation has been highly successful at tapping the seductive nature of consumer electronics. Around the globe their products are recognized as symbols of cutting-edge technology and innovative design, making Sony the undisputed leader in high tech and one of the most recognized brand names in the world. This book takes an unprecedented look inside the world's most influential design center and their products--many never before published--for the next millennium. With nearly 250 industrial designers--graphic, packaging, and logotype designers, user-interface specialists and Web designers--working in offices from Tokyo to San Francisco to Cologne, the Sony Design Center is responsible for nearly 2,000 new products, concepts, packaging schemes and design strategies every year. By shaping the most pivotal technologies of our time, the Design Center exerts a greater influence on popular culture and current trends in industrial and graphic design than any other single entity.--From publisher description.




The Digital Dream


Book Description

The Time? The future. Hours, days, weeks, months. A couple of years, maybe. The Place? Here, I guess. Wherever here is. Our computers and networks make the world a single place. ItOCOs all becoming one. IsnOCOt it? The Digital Dream dramatizes the world made new by electronic intelligences that not only manipulate, but also create people and places beyond the physical realm. Andrew Ross unwittingly pulls Kathleen Hennessey into a most dangerous dance with a ruthless phantom network called BAMBI made up of minds both human and electronic. A NASA bird inexplicably goes awry. Sikpuppi, Predator, Stryka, and Underdogg hack into BAMBI, a cyberforce beyond even their teenage fantasies. McAllister and Crieff, two wiley old cops, catch the spin. Who is Robert OOCORegan? What is Blackdawn? Does an outbreak of plague in an Adobe Flats laboratory have anything to do with a runaway train in Chicago or with the American Presidential election? Boson Books also offers Waking Caliban by Michael J. Cale. For an author bio and photo, reviews and a reading sample, visit bosonbooks.com."




The Internet Is Not the Answer


Book Description

The renowned Internet commentator and author of How to Fix the Future“expos[es] the greed, egotism and narcissism that fuels the tech world” (Chicago Tribune). The digital revolution has contributed to the world in many positive ways, but we are less aware of the Internet’s deeply negative effects. The Internet Is Not the Answer, by longtime Internet skeptic Andrew Keen, offers a comprehensive look at what the Internet is doing to our lives. The book traces the technological and economic history of the Internet, from its founding in the 1960s through the rise of big data companies to the increasing attempts to monetize almost every human activity. In this sharp, witty narrative, informed by the work of other writers, reporters, and academics, as well as his own research and interviews, Keen shows us the tech world, warts and all. Startling and important, The Internet Is Not the Answer is a big-picture look at what the Internet is doing to our society and an investigation of what we can do to try to make sure the decisions we are making about the reconfiguring of our world do not lead to unpleasant, unforeseen aftershocks. “Andrew Keen has written a very powerful and daring manifesto questioning whether the Internet lives up to its own espoused values. He is not an opponent of Internet culture, he is its conscience, and must be heard.” —Po Bronson, #1 New York Times–bestselling author




China's Digital Dream


Book Description

With contributions from mainland China, Singapore, India, the United States, and Europe.Part I Proactive and Reactive Stances towards the Internet -Internet in China and Southeast Asia1. The Internet and Civil Society in China and Southeast Asia. Shanthi Kalathil, pp. 31-462. Telecom Taxonomy: How are the One Party States of East Asia Controlling the Political Impact of the Internet? Nina Hachigian, pp. 47-80Part II Social and Economical Impacts3. Digital Divide and E-Learning - Chances and Problems in China's Approach. Junhua Zhang, pp. 81-1084. The Reality and Potential of Online Trading in China. Haifeng Huang / Ren Ma / Lin Jian / John Liang, pp. 109-1205. Internet Use in China - A Comparative Analysis. Guo Liang / Bu Wei, pp. 121-144Part III Globalization and the Clash of Civilizations6. Accession to the WTO and the Development of China's Digital Media. Xupei Sun, pp. 145-1647. The Internet Transforms China into an "Open Society". Martin Woesler, pp. 165-187Part IV Nation-Building and Information Warfare8. Assessing China ́s Efforts in Constructing an e-government. Peter Lovelock / John Ure, pp. 187-2119. Is the "wolf" coming? - An empirical study on cultural in-formation spread on Chinese websites. Peng Lan, 212-23010. Technology, Markets and Nation-Building in Chinese Cyber-space. Christopher R. Hughes, pp. 231-246.11. Between Rhetoric and Reality - A Critical Examination of the Theories and Praxis of Information Warfare in China in the Light of Post-Iraq War 2003. Junhua Zhang, pp. 247-270.Part V Governance and Information Policy12. Development of E-government in China - Present Status, Problems, and Future. Xinjiao Tan, pp. 271-294.13. Internet Censorship Focus: 'Human Rights not found' in the Chinese Web. Martin Woesler, pp. 295-325Index etc.




Digital Dreaming


Book Description

Will youa beneficiary of the information agepass down a tidal wave of fragmented and soulless keepsakes to the next generation? If youre serious about knowing family and you want to discover how to keep family stories, then Digital Dreaming is the book for you. Inside this book you will discover how to: declutter and organize photos and documents, keep your treasured family keepsakes meaningful now and for the future, and organize and share fragmented and dispersed mementos with family and lifelong friends. Will your benefactors hit the delete key and look longingly at the local council clean-up calendar to see when to offload the boxes of photos and documents? In 2013 these questions confronted R.L. Black. He had become stranded on Family Heritage Island with thousands of keepsakes strewn about like flotsam and jetsam after the death of his late father. Determined to escape his anxiety and guilt on the island, he set about saving the mementos by building a digital lifeboat to rescue his family knowing.




Digital Dreams


Book Description




Digital Gothic


Book Description

"Digital Gothicfocuses fascinatingly on the pre-soporific roots of the group and their place in a cool electronic lineage which traces right up to Detroit techno."-Mojo"A stimulating companion to the group's music."-The WirePaul Stump picks his way through a minefield of releases, assessing Tangerine Dream's long career with a highly critical eye, and for the very first time places their mammoth output within an ordered perspective.




The Digital God


Book Description

As humans charge up the steep slope of technological innovation, digital age media increasingly shapes our perception of everything--even spiritual matters. The next stage of spiritual development may be the product of a digital interface between our own image of the divine, virtual reality technology that produces real perceptions, and with devices that stimulate areas of the brain associated with spiritual experience. This book explores the influence of digital media on spirituality and the impact of the digital environment on our experience of the spiritual world. The author predicts a future in which digital technology and neuroscience will combine to create a new understanding of the divine. Instructors considering this book for use in a course may request an examination copy here.




Smart Cities in Canada: Digital Dreams, Corporate Designs


Book Description

"Smart cities" use surveillance, big data processing and interactive technologies to reshape urban life. Transit riders can see the bus coming on a map on their phones. Cities can measure and analyze the garbage collected from every household. Businesses can track individuals' movements and precisely target advertisements. Google's failed Sidewalk Labs proposal in Toronto, which drew sharp criticism over surveillance and privacy concerns, is just one of the many smart city projects which have been proposed or are underway in Canada. Iqaluit, Edmonton, Guelph, Montreal, Toronto and other cities and towns are all grappling with how to use these technologies. Some cities have quickly partnered with digital giants like Uber, Bell and IBM. Others have kept their distance. Big tech companies are hard at work recruiting customers and shaping – sometimes making – public policy on data collection and privacy. Smart Cities for Canada: Promise and Perils is the first book on smart cities in Canada. In this collection, experts from across the country investigate what this new approach means for the problems cities face, and expose the larger issues about urban planning and democracy raised by smart city technology. This is a valuable, timely, independent‐minded book for Canadians.




Wiring Your Digital Home For Dummies


Book Description

Beef up your home's wiring infrastructure and control systems to accommodate the latest digital home products. Upgrade wiring in your existing home room-by-room, system-by-system or wire the home you're building. Learn wiring for the latest digital home technologies -- whole home audio, outdoor audio, VoIP, PA systems, security systems with Web cams, home theater, home networking, alarms, back-up systems, and more. Perfect whether you do your own electrical work or want to talk intelligently to an electrical contractor.