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

By: Publication details: New York : W. W. Norton & Co., c2008.Edition: 1st edDescription: vii, 278 p. ; 25 cmISBN:
  • 9780393062281 (hardcover) :
  • 0393062287 (hardcover) :
Other title:
  • Rewiring the world, from Edison to Google
Subject(s): DDC classification:
  • 303.48/34 22
LOC classification:
  • QA76.9.C66 C38 2008
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.
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.
Holdings
Item type Current library Shelving location Call number Copy number Status Date due Barcode
Book Book NMC Library Stacks QA76.9 .C66 C38 2008 1 Available 33039001073476

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

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.

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.

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