Tag Archives: Man vs Machine

Doctorow duo on digital rights activism

Posted on June 2, 2022 by smellincoffee

I recently read two short titles by Cory Doctorow, a SF author and internet freedom activist. For  at least the last twenty years, Cory Doctorow has been thinking about the future of intellectual property, copyright, and the open internet. He … Continue reading →

Posted in Reviews | Tagged , , , , , | 3 Comments

The Warehouse

Posted on September 5, 2021 by smellincoffee

Paxton used to be a man with a promising idea, one that was flourishing in the market — but then The Cloud said “Lower your prices”. The Cloud wasn’t the voice of God, floating in the heavens — but it … Continue reading →

Posted in Reviews, science fiction | Tagged , , , | 1 Comment

Broadcast

Posted on August 9, 2021 by smellincoffee

Broadcast© 2017 Liam Brown288 pages Most people, if approached by a corporation and asked for permission to plant a microchip in their brainstem, would say “Nope” and back away from the crazy man. But David Callow isn’t most people: he’s … Continue reading →

Posted in General, Reviews | Tagged , , , | 8 Comments

The Circle

Posted on September 9, 2017 by smellincoffee

The Circle 2013 Dave Eggers 507 pages Sharing is Caring. Privacy is Theft. Secrets are Lies. Imagine an internet transformed by a company  so innovative and ambitious that it had swallowed Facebook, Google, etc. whole.  It began with TruYou, a … Continue reading →

Posted in Reviews, science fiction | Tagged , , , , , , , | 4 Comments

Future Crimes

Posted on January 24, 2016 by smellincoffee

Future Crimes; Everything is Connected, Everyone is Vulnerable, and What We Can Do About ItPaperback subtitle: Inside the Digital Underground and the Battle for Our Connected World © 2015 Marc Goodman608 pages “It’s not safe out here. It’s wondrous, with treasures to … Continue reading →

Posted in General | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

The Internet Police

Posted on February 14, 2015 by smellincoffee

The Internet Police: How Crime Went Online (and the Cops Followed)© 2014 Nate Anderson 310 pages  Not since the steam engine has the world been so utterly transformed than by the Internet. Originally a military network, it is now infrastructure, undergirding modern life … Continue reading →

Posted in Reviews | Tagged , , , , , , , | 4 Comments

Player Piano

Posted on November 6, 2014 by smellincoffee

Player Piano© 1952 Kurt Vonnegut352 pages “I’d be in exile now, but everywhere’s the same…”      Not since the roaring twenties was American society so giddily obsessed with newfangled stuff than in the 1950s.  Americans were awash in material prosperity, … Continue reading →

Posted in Reviews, science fiction | Tagged , , , , , | 3 Comments

Divergent

Posted on June 5, 2014 by smellincoffee

Divergent © 2011 Veronica Roth 487 pages Every major city has problems with organized gangs, but the Chicago of Divergent’s future has nothing else. The entire society is organized in five factions devoted to an ideal;  Dauntless, Abnegation, Erudition, Amity, … Continue reading →

Posted in Reviews, science fiction | Tagged , , , , , | 6 Comments

The Hunger Games

Posted on December 31, 2012 by smellincoffee

The Hunger Games © 2008 Suzanne Collins 378 pages             Once every year,  two teenagers are chosen at random to represent their region in a nation-wide game….the Hunger Games. But they’re not competing in track and field … Continue reading →

Posted in Reviews, science fiction | Tagged , , , , , , | 4 Comments

Brave New World

Posted on August 11, 2009 by smellincoffee

Brave New World © 1932 Aldous Huxley 270 pages In Amusing Ourselves to Death, Neil Postman introduced the book with his suspicion that Brave New World’s predictions were coming to fruition — namely, that human happiness will be pursued by … Continue reading →

Posted in Reviews | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 3 Comments