50 Digital Ideas You Really Need to Know
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Product Description
Product Description
Have you ever wondered what the difference is between a MUD and an API? Don't know your OCR from your PPC? Not quite clear on crowd-sourcing and culture jamming? Then this book is for you. In a series of accessible and engagingly written essays, 50 Digital Ideas You Really Need to Know introduces and explains all the key aspects of the digital world and how it works. It is a book that will be welcomed by anyone who wants to understand one of the most powerful forces shaping our world. Aggregation; API; Augmented reality; Automatic translation; Avatars; Blogging and micro-blogging; Browser wars; Chat; Cloud computing; Commenting; Creative commons licence; Crowd-sourcing; Culture jamming; Download universe; eGovernment; Ego-surfing; Electronic mail; File sharing; Flow; Feeds (RSS & Atom); Freemium; Gaming; Geo-location and hyperlocal; GUIs; HTTP/HTML; Hosting; ICANN; Mashups; Micro-payments; MUD; Netiquette; Open sourcing; OCR; Pay-per click; Privacy; Proxy servers; Rating systems; Rich internet applications; Search; Semantic web; Smartphones; Social networking; Spam; Streaming; Tagging; Traffic analytics; Unplugging; Virality; Virtual goods; Web 2.0/3.0; Wikis.
From the Inside Flap
We are in the throes of a revolution, yet most of us are so disorientated by the rapid pace of technological and cultural changes that we find it difficult to understand what's going on. 50 Digital Ideas You Really Need to Know provides a clear path through the confusion and misinformation surrounding those technologies that, for better or for worse, are transforming the world we live in and even the sort of people we are. Leading technology writer Tom Chatfield is a sure-footed guide to the seminal digital phenomena of our time, from the basic browsers that we use to surf the web and update our status on social networking sites, through to the implications for privacy of our permanently distracted world, to the culture jamming that is increasingly being used by protest movements in their clashes with traditional authority. Whether exploring the deep web that represents well over 99 per cent of the internet and remains inaccessible to most search engines, or the augmented reality that will soon change the very way we interact with the world, this is an indispensable road map for the inevitable journey towards a digital future. From malware to mashups; from spam to the semantic web; and from email to avatars, this book is essential reading for anyone who wants to understand the profound social and behavioural changes wrought by the emerging digital age.
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
The title of Tom Chatfield's book is really rather a misnomer as this is not so much a book about important ideas as a dictionary defining 50 digital terms you're likely to have heard of but may not know that much about.
One of the "ideas" for example is email. The mini-history of email is interesting and well-written, but it's not the sort of grand idea the book title might make you expect.
By presenting a potted history of how email (and the other 49 subjects) evolved, the book provides detail which all but the most knowledgeable reader will find new and interesting.
I suspect the book will appeal most to those who regularly use the internet but do not know much about the technology. What is a "server" which you sometimes see an error about not responding? Why is Babel Fish the name of a translation service? Isn't free software just stuff you don't pay for? These are the sorts of questions to which the book provides the reader with answers.
If those are questions you already know all about, the chances are the book will feel like a lot of reading for not much new knowledge. But if those questions are of interest and make you wonder about things you've heard of, yet not really thought about, then the book is for you.
One of the "ideas" for example is email. The mini-history of email is interesting and well-written, but it's not the sort of grand idea the book title might make you expect.
By presenting a potted history of how email (and the other 49 subjects) evolved, the book provides detail which all but the most knowledgeable reader will find new and interesting.
I suspect the book will appeal most to those who regularly use the internet but do not know much about the technology. What is a "server" which you sometimes see an error about not responding? Why is Babel Fish the name of a translation service? Isn't free software just stuff you don't pay for? These are the sorts of questions to which the book provides the reader with answers.
If those are questions you already know all about, the chances are the book will feel like a lot of reading for not much new knowledge. But if those questions are of interest and make you wonder about things you've heard of, yet not really thought about, then the book is for you.
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
I found this book clear, easy to read, informative and thought provoking. Highly recommended for anyone who wants to understand the digital age we live in now and what the future might hold.
Most Helpful Customer Reviews on Amazon.com (beta)
Amazon.com:
2 reviews
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful
Good book, misleading title
7 Dec 2011
Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase
Let me first say that I am a fan of this series of books, and own and have read most of them and give high mark to all. I would give high marks to this one as well except for one looming issue I have with it. The title and description are completely wrong and misleading.
Yes, my fault for judging a book by its title, I will own that failing here and now. But what I was expecting was a book that would cover Digital. That means binary, bits, bytes, hexidecimal, logic circuits, processors, programming, machine language, packets, storage, error correction, memory, sampling rates, bit streams, parallel v. serial data, aliasing, cloning, audio and video media... in short, all the things that apply to digital technology that make it work, in a wide variety of applications. From watches, to cameras, to calculators, to telephones; the list is endless at this point. That is what I was expecting to get from the title. A bit dry perhaps, but that was what I was looking for and expecting.
What I got was a book on the internet. One facet of the digital world that, as a whole, has been in a constant state of evolution for at least 60 years. Fact is, this book is really not about digital at all, it is only about the internet and not really about how the net works digitally at all. Far more descriptive and accurate title for this book would have either beem "50 Web Ideas..." or "50 Internet Ideas..." Either would have been an honest indicator of the subject matter. Ditto for the product description here on Amazon. No indication is given that this is an all internet, and nothing but internet offering.
All that aside, if you are looking for a good review or a synopsis of current and some background on the internet, this is a good book and worth the quick overview that it provides. If however, if you are looking for actual digital technology being explained as the title would lead one to believe, look elsewhere, this will definitely not be what you are looking for.
Yes, my fault for judging a book by its title, I will own that failing here and now. But what I was expecting was a book that would cover Digital. That means binary, bits, bytes, hexidecimal, logic circuits, processors, programming, machine language, packets, storage, error correction, memory, sampling rates, bit streams, parallel v. serial data, aliasing, cloning, audio and video media... in short, all the things that apply to digital technology that make it work, in a wide variety of applications. From watches, to cameras, to calculators, to telephones; the list is endless at this point. That is what I was expecting to get from the title. A bit dry perhaps, but that was what I was looking for and expecting.
What I got was a book on the internet. One facet of the digital world that, as a whole, has been in a constant state of evolution for at least 60 years. Fact is, this book is really not about digital at all, it is only about the internet and not really about how the net works digitally at all. Far more descriptive and accurate title for this book would have either beem "50 Web Ideas..." or "50 Internet Ideas..." Either would have been an honest indicator of the subject matter. Ditto for the product description here on Amazon. No indication is given that this is an all internet, and nothing but internet offering.
All that aside, if you are looking for a good review or a synopsis of current and some background on the internet, this is a good book and worth the quick overview that it provides. If however, if you are looking for actual digital technology being explained as the title would lead one to believe, look elsewhere, this will definitely not be what you are looking for.
50 Digital Ideas... Updated Information to Understand the Web
16 Oct 2011
Format:Hardcover
A beautifully written book that serves as a wonderful survey of the internet and associated technologies. Ideal for the person seeking an overview of the internet, its terms, and how we got where we are today. The book is terrifically organized and takes the student through its history, how it works, and terms, as well as, the many acronyms, each explained in a simple straight forward manner. Sadly not available yet for Kindle or other readers.
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