The Internet Edge: Social, Technical, and Legal Challenges for a Networked World

It's hard enough keeping up with today's advances in technology without worrying about tomorrow's--but that's always where the action is. Xerox PARC scientist Mark Stefik gets paid to think about and act on future technology, and his fascinating, enjoyable report, The Internet Edge, shows us what we're becoming as our information technology gets more ubiquitous and transparent.

Suits and nerds alike will love his pragmatic, brainstorming style that reaches back into our technological history to make sense of the road ahead. Chapters cover portability, digital commerce, publishing, privacy, and more, examining changes in the breadth of our social experience as well as our work lives. What will libraries look like in 10 years? What will "trust" mean in a world of instant information access? Will we ever stop watching television?

Stefik addresses these questions and goes beyond them to ask about the meaning of rapid change in our lives: how will we cope? He presents a convincing picture of a culture struggling with inevitable transformation, with thousands of small changes absorbed but not fully understood. Change is always stressful, even the many new Net-derived benefits he describes. Our best hope to survive the transition is deeper analysis of what's happening to us and why, which you'll find in The Internet Edge. --Rob Lightner