The big switch : rewiring the world, from Edison to Google / Nicholas Carr.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Carr, Nicholas G., 1959-

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Computers and civilization.

Information technology--Social aspects.

Information technology.

Technological innovations.

Internet.

Physical Description:

vii, 278 pages ; 25 cm

Edition:

First edition.

Other Title:

Rewiring the world, from Edison to Google

Place of Publication:

New York : W. W. Norton & Co., [2008]

Summary:

A hundred years ago, companies stopped producing their own power with steam engines and plugged into the newly built electric grid. The cheap power pumped out by electric utilities not only changed how businesses operated but also brought the modern world into existence. Today a similar revolution is under way. Companies are dismantling their private computer systems and tapping into rich services delivered over the Internet. This time it's computing that's turning into a utility. The shift is already remaking the computer industry, bringing new competitors like Google to the fore and threatening traditional stalwarts like Microsoft and Dell. But the effects will reach much further. Cheap computing will ultimately change society as profoundly as cheap electricity did. Here, business journalist Carr weaves together history, economics, and technology to explain why computing is changing--and what it means for all of us.--From publisher description.

Contents:

Burden's wheel

The inventor and his clerk

Digital millwork

Goodbye, Bill Gates

The White City

World Wide Computer

From the many to the few

The great unbundling

Fighting the net

A spider's web

iGod

Flame and filament.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references (pages 235-260) and index.

ISBN:

9780393062281

0393062287

OCLC:

154706854