He has a very lively style, and he goes just deep enough into the technology that the lay reader can understand it, but not so deep that a non-expert feels overwhelmed. The author then argues that an analogous process is happening with information technology. [return][return]Carr’s work is easy to read — clearly the work of a writer who excels at expressing himself clearly. If nothing else it certainly indicates that access to the Internet will be as important as access to electricity. In a new chapter for this edition that brings the story up-to-date, ⦠The author compares the rise of cloud or utility computing with the rise of central electricity generation at the beginning of the 20th century. I'll admit it's difficult to fairly judge a book where the initial premise is that my career field is doomed and disappearing as he writes. It is written in two parts. Computing will soon become a utility like electricity. In a similar trajectory, software and hardware services are increasingly provided over the Internet by centralised data-processing plants, turning computing into a general purpose utility as well. This allowed factories to get rid of their power generation departments and to save boat loads of money and become more efficient. The ease at which one can read the words, though, only underscores the utterly transformative nature of the world now emerging. And now everyone has embraced the cloud just 5 years later (ok, not everyone, but far more than in 2008). Thorough, well-researched and documented. New for the paperback edition, the book now includes an A-Z guide to the companies leading this transformation. So glad I persevered to the end: chapter 8 was so illuminating both culturally and politically. The Big Switch originally hit shelves in 2008. Below are key excerpts from the book that I found particularly insightful: Reason for inclusion on Reading List: (1-2 paragraphs). Far from being a crazed screed seeking to eradicate the jobs of IT professionals, Nick Carrâs The Big Switch is more of a clinical look at a possible dystopic future where the Googlbot & itâs groupies rule our lives, screwing things up due to being single points of failure in a frail âWorld Wide Computer.â I was expecting a book that would argue the case for moving most ⦠“Despite the wh. Draws an elegant and illuminating parallel between the late-19th-century electrification of America and todayâs computing world.ââSalon Hailed as âthe most influential book so far on the cloud computing movementâ (Christian Science Monitor), The Big Switch makes a simple and profound statement: Computing is turning into a utility, and the ⦠As centralized, general purpose technologies, both electricity and the internet have reshaped business and culture in profound ways. There are no discussion topics on this book yet. An infrastructure built on the knowledge embedded in the choices each of us make online and the machine’s comprehension of the knowledge gleaned from the scans of the books of the world’s libraries. These switches are 4 times bigger on each side than a normal MX switch. The second part is more significant. Start by marking “The Big Switch: Rewiring the World, from Edison to Google” as Want to Read: Error rating book. . In many ways you can see the similarities and that may potentially help provide some guidance as to the future development of the Internet. ... And his debut novel, The Big Switch, was an honest attempt at sharing the message that itâs never too late to follow oneâs passion. Similar problems with data transmission have recently been solved, and he makes it sound inevitable that everything's going to the cloud. In this book, he makes an analogy between how electricity became a utility and how computing power is becoming a utility. Author: John Thomas. Then he makes you really depressed because everything's going to the cloud. Itâs hard to imagine now, but in 2008 cloud computing was a new and largely unproven concept, and the common wisdom was that it wouldnât work. In short, it remade the world as we know it. As the Germans and their Polish allies slam into the gut of the Soviet Union in the west, Japan pummels away in the east. Keith is a software engineer caught in a dead end job he doesnât enjoy, a career he sees no future in. Eventually, PC's will be replaced with thin clients, and office software and data storage will be implemented centrally via information companies. In this book, he makes an analogy between how electricity became a utility and how computing power is becoming a utility. The cheap power pumped out by electric utilities not only changed how businesses operated but also brought the modern world into existence. Hailed as âthe most influential book so far on the cloud computing movementâ (Christian Science Monitor), The Big Switch makes a simple and profound statement: Computing is turning into a utility, and the effects of this transition will ultimately change society as completely as the advent of cheap electricity did. All switches come with a matching keycap. The Big Switch â Book Review. An overly enthusiastic introduction to the concept of 'digital utilities'. A decent job? Love? I honestly hadn't known that, in the early days of electricity, the generating plant had to be very close to where the electricity was needed, because the problem of long-distance transmission hadn't been solved. But, I believe that for a Computer Science student like me, or anyone involved in any kind of IT work, this is a must read. I love Carr's writing on technology. Excuse my cynicism, read and you'll see ;). Keith has both. The big switch by Harry Turtledove, 2011, Del Rey/Ballantine Books edition, in English - 1st ed. He talks about how centralizing the storage, analysis and presentation of data gives a lot more power to governments and big corporations. Companies are dismantling their private ⦠Carr predicts something possibly either apocalyptic or utopian, but doesn't offer analysis or insight or a unique conclusion. In a similar trajectory, software and hardware. Carr's book presents the present day technology and what's to be expected by compering it to the first steps towards the Electric era. This allowed factories to get rid of their power generation departments and to save boat loads of money and become more efficient. I read Carr's The Shallows before I read this book. Today a similar revolution is under way. "A fantastic book" (Wired)
"Witty and instructive" (Wall Street Journal)
"Switch is likely to prove invaluable to anyone wanting to make long-lasting change a reality" (BBC Focus) --(BBC Focus)"Whether you're a manager, a parent or a civic leader, getting people to change can be tricky business. . The first gives a charming history of the electricity industry and some comparisons to the computer industry. The Big Switch â Book Review. Initially, every factory had its own power generation plant and a department to run the plant. Discover similar books recommended by the world's most successful people in 2020. The whole story of the insights and inventions that got us from point A to B is quite interesting. I tried hard to not have too big of a chip on my shoulder, and to the extent I succeeded, here's what I have to say: Nicholas Carr’s “The Big Switch” takes us through the electrification of the world and the rise of cloud computing, and describes the similarities of both phenomena and their wide-ranging impacts on society. A Wall Street Journal bestseller, Nicholas Carrâs The Big Switch: Rewiring the World, from Edison to Google is a ârivetingâ and âmagisterialâ examination of how a revolution in computing â the cloud â is reshaping business, society, and culture. Unlike electricity though the applications of it can also be viewed as a service. Hailed as âthe most influential book so far on the cloud computing movementâ (Christian Science Monitor), The Big Switch makes a simple and profound statement: Computing is turning into a utility, and the effects of this transition will ultimately change society as completely as the advent of cheap electricity did. Because they don't have to be produced locally, they can achieve the scale economies of central supply." It turns out that Google's real goal is to build the first real AI. . When it comes to computers, I want to know two things: "Is it working?" When Kristin Hannah, the bestselling author of The Nightingale, began her new historical epic centered on the Dust Bowl and the Great... To see what your friends thought of this book, The Big Switch: Rewiring the World, from Edison to Google. Ultimately, I found this book disappointing. My second book, The Big Switch: Rewiring the World, from Edison to Google, celebrates its tenth birthday this year.The book, which came out in January 2008, heralds the coming of the cloud and speculates on its consequences. Ask just about anyone who knows me well and they'll tell you that I could not care less about anything to do with computers. Nicholas Carr’s “The Big Switch” takes us through the electrification of the world and the rise of cloud computing, and describes the similarities of both phenomena and their wide-ranging impacts on society. He wrote this one first, and there is some overlap. The former editor of the Harvard Business Review, Nicholas Carr uses the story of electricity as a backdrop for considering the evolution and future of our digitally connected economy and society ("living in the cloud"). 10 years later and today we're clearly seeing the repercussions in every possible way. For my money, entirely insufficient attention is paid to the potential *costs* of said utility infrastructure. “Despite the whimsical furniture and other toys, “Dyson would later recall of his visit, “I felt I was entering a 14th-century cathedral — not in the 14th century but in the 12th century, while it was being built. What I Liked About The Big Switch. In a new chapter for this edition that brings the story up-to-date, ⦠The book begins with a history of electric power generation. It is like a story told to put across a message; a well-told story yes, but for me, it is a self-help book in the garb of fiction is obvious. Towards the end of the last chapter of his book, Nicholas Carr relates an anecdote about the visit of a guest speaker to the Google headquarters:[return][return] George Dyson, a historian of technology…, Freeman Dyson, was invited to Google’s headquarters in Mountain View, California, in October 2005 to give a speech at the party celebrating the sixtieth anniversary of von Neumann’s invention [of an electronic computer that could store in its memory the instructions for its use]. I never could have thought that electricity and computers and networks would have so many similarities while also we get to learn even more from all of their dif. The big switch by Muriel Box, 1964, Macdonald & Co edition, in English The Big Switch Rewiring the World, From Edison to Google (Book) : Carr, Nicholas G. "But electricity and computing share a special trait that makes them unique even among the relatively small set of general purpose technologies: they can both be delivered efficiently from a great distance over a network. Kindle Edition: 239 Pages. So I'm an invested but ignorant audience on the subject of the economic and cultural consequences of changes in network technology.
"Witty and instructive" (Wall Street Journal)
"Switch is likely to prove invaluable to anyone wanting to make long-lasting change a reality" (BBC Focus) --(BBC Focus)"Whether you're a manager, a parent or a civic leader, getting people to change can be tricky business. . The first gives a charming history of the electricity industry and some comparisons to the computer industry. The Big Switch â Book Review. Initially, every factory had its own power generation plant and a department to run the plant. Discover similar books recommended by the world's most successful people in 2020. The whole story of the insights and inventions that got us from point A to B is quite interesting. I tried hard to not have too big of a chip on my shoulder, and to the extent I succeeded, here's what I have to say: Nicholas Carr’s “The Big Switch” takes us through the electrification of the world and the rise of cloud computing, and describes the similarities of both phenomena and their wide-ranging impacts on society. A Wall Street Journal bestseller, Nicholas Carrâs The Big Switch: Rewiring the World, from Edison to Google is a ârivetingâ and âmagisterialâ examination of how a revolution in computing â the cloud â is reshaping business, society, and culture. Unlike electricity though the applications of it can also be viewed as a service. Hailed as âthe most influential book so far on the cloud computing movementâ (Christian Science Monitor), The Big Switch makes a simple and profound statement: Computing is turning into a utility, and the effects of this transition will ultimately change society as completely as the advent of cheap electricity did. Because they don't have to be produced locally, they can achieve the scale economies of central supply." It turns out that Google's real goal is to build the first real AI. . When it comes to computers, I want to know two things: "Is it working?" When Kristin Hannah, the bestselling author of The Nightingale, began her new historical epic centered on the Dust Bowl and the Great... To see what your friends thought of this book, The Big Switch: Rewiring the World, from Edison to Google. Ultimately, I found this book disappointing. My second book, The Big Switch: Rewiring the World, from Edison to Google, celebrates its tenth birthday this year.The book, which came out in January 2008, heralds the coming of the cloud and speculates on its consequences. Ask just about anyone who knows me well and they'll tell you that I could not care less about anything to do with computers. Nicholas Carr’s “The Big Switch” takes us through the electrification of the world and the rise of cloud computing, and describes the similarities of both phenomena and their wide-ranging impacts on society. He wrote this one first, and there is some overlap. The former editor of the Harvard Business Review, Nicholas Carr uses the story of electricity as a backdrop for considering the evolution and future of our digitally connected economy and society ("living in the cloud"). 10 years later and today we're clearly seeing the repercussions in every possible way. For my money, entirely insufficient attention is paid to the potential *costs* of said utility infrastructure. “Despite the whimsical furniture and other toys, “Dyson would later recall of his visit, “I felt I was entering a 14th-century cathedral — not in the 14th century but in the 12th century, while it was being built. What I Liked About The Big Switch. In a new chapter for this edition that brings the story up-to-date, ⦠The book begins with a history of electric power generation. It is like a story told to put across a message; a well-told story yes, but for me, it is a self-help book in the garb of fiction is obvious. Towards the end of the last chapter of his book, Nicholas Carr relates an anecdote about the visit of a guest speaker to the Google headquarters:[return][return] George Dyson, a historian of technology…, Freeman Dyson, was invited to Google’s headquarters in Mountain View, California, in October 2005 to give a speech at the party celebrating the sixtieth anniversary of von Neumann’s invention [of an electronic computer that could store in its memory the instructions for its use]. I never could have thought that electricity and computers and networks would have so many similarities while also we get to learn even more from all of their dif. The big switch by Muriel Box, 1964, Macdonald & Co edition, in English The Big Switch Rewiring the World, From Edison to Google (Book) : Carr, Nicholas G. "But electricity and computing share a special trait that makes them unique even among the relatively small set of general purpose technologies: they can both be delivered efficiently from a great distance over a network. Kindle Edition: 239 Pages. So I'm an invested but ignorant audience on the subject of the economic and cultural consequences of changes in network technology.