The Big Switch: Rewiring the World, from Edison to Google | 
 enlarge | Author: Nicholas Carr
Publisher: W. W. Norton
Category: Book
List Price: $25.95
Buy New: $11.00
You Save: $14.95 (58%)
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Rating:  35 reviews
Sales Rank: 12913
Media: Hardcover
Pages: 276
Number Of Items: 1
Shipping Weight (lbs): 1.2
Dimensions (in): 9.3 x 6.3 x 1
ISBN: 0393062287
Dewey Decimal Number: 303.4834
EAN: 9780393062281
ASIN: 0393062287
Publication Date: January 7, 2008
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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Product Description
An eye-opening look at the new computer revolution and the coming transformation of our economy, society, and culture.
A hundred years ago, companies stopped producing their own power with steam engines and generators 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. In this lucid and compelling book, Nicholas Carr weaves together history, economics, and technology to explain why computing is changing—and what it means for all of us.
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| Customer Reviews: Read 30 more reviews...
 Long winded December 12, 2008
Matt B (Washington St)
0 out of 1 found this review helpful
This book starts off well, but it could make its point well with about 100 less pages.
More than one way to reach the same destination December 9, 2008
CAGM (California)
After doing some research on Cloud Computing, Virtualization, and the future of computing as a utility, I decided to give the book a try after reading a recent interview of Nicholas Carr. The book provides great comparisons of historical facts and the current state of technology; in most cases it points the obvious but allows you to associate the relevance to your own individual situation. Computing is and will be a utility and it will change the way we look at technology, in the next 10 years we will see drastic changes both socially and economically. The only draw back is that some chapters in the book have negative tone to them (felt depressed afterwards) and some chapters have conspiracy theory flavor to them. Good reading... but be prepared and open minded to the overall theme of the book.
 What is the boundary between the internet and you? November 16, 2008
Ron Tarro (Delray Beach, Florida USA)
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
Nicholas Carr is the Harvard professor who wrote the "Does IT Matter?" article in the Harvard Business Review a few years ago (and who consequently got a bunch of people agitated). In the Big Switch, he looks at the evolving structure of the internet and sees parallels with how the electrical grid evolved over the last century. He rolls the story forward and like Jonathan Zittrain in "The Future of the Internet and How To Stop It" he finds some things to worry about. They are big things.
What are the implications when in the name of convenience, simplicity, personalization, and good service your every click is understood by Google (or whomever)? What are the human implications of Google knowing (or being able to infer) lots about lots, and lots about you - all without your knowledge? What are the implications that the device on your belt or on your desk is not fully in your control? Here's a couple real world teasers that the tech savvy among you will spot as technologically trivial: Did you know that your PC camera and microphone can be turned on without your knowledge? Same for cell phones ... even when they are powered off. Same for "OnStar in your car").
This book and others begin an interesting debate about the boundary between the internet and you. If the internet becomes the world's "brain" what does that mean? And if this does comes to pass, what is your future as an autonomous individual? This is a big question. It's not yet answered (and only marginally posed). But it does get me thinking about those old Star Trek scenes about "assimilation by the borg". Before the borg got all pushy about joining the club, did they actually have a sales pitch? Would it be familiar to what we hear today? Just wondering ...
 A Fascinating Look at What Lies Ahead for Us in Technology November 10, 2008
Robert L. Stinnett (Boonville, MO)
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
Watch Video Here: http://www.amazon.com/review/RFIY656SRH4RU What does electricity and computing have to do with each other, besides the fact you need electricity to make your computer work? In "The Big Switch" you are taken on a fascinating journey to show how computing is following much the same path as elecricity did when it was first rolled out to the masses. Whereas there was a time when electricity was generated on-site where it was needed, the same can be said of computing power today -- we have our own IT departments and computer installations. In the future the author argues much of this will be moved to the "cloud" where our ideas of how we use computers will change radically. In this video I walk you through some of the concepts of cloud computing and introduce you more to this fascinating book that is sure to have IT-geeks and non-geeks alike reading to find out what lies ahead for us in the not too distant future.
The Dark Underside of the Internet October 23, 2008
D. S. Bornus (St. Paul, MN)
2 out of 2 found this review helpful
In the 1990's the internet was heralded as a transformative medium that would level society and provide free information. Now after the "dot-com bust", we are seeing a different perspective. Carr describes how the internet is indeed having profound effects, and some of them may not be as benign as we anticipated:
* professionalization dwindling in the wake of internet amateurs/volunteers doing the work.
* "unbundling" of services and media - so that we only look at what's most attractive and ignore other things (which may be actually more important)
* IT departments disappearing as everyone accesses computing services as a generic "utility" provided by an outside vendor.
* our every action on the net is tracked/recorded/compiled, whether we think we are "anonymous" or not, and this info is of intense interest to industry and government.
* cyberspace isn't as immune to censorship and government control as we thought.
Carr's thesis is that "computing" will increasingly be done by outside vendors whom we all will access/interface with. He likens it to the growing acceptance and ubiquity of public electrification as a "utility" that replaced in-house power/lighting sources (generators, gaslight, etc.)
However, I didn't completely agree with his analogy. The big difference between electricity and computing is that computing involves information, which is infinitely more valuable. If someone taps into my electrical power, my lights might brown out. But if someone taps into my data, it could be disastrous and irremediable. For this reason, I have doubts as to whether business, governments and individuals will be quite so willing to rely so heavily on an outside vendor for their computing and critical infrastructure. It's one thing if you're running a business like a photoshop utility or blog. It's quite another when you're handling sensitive financial information or public safety systems which cannot be allowed to fail or be compromised.
However, the book does provide rich food for thought and so I recommend it. I just caution that in the 1990's there was a lot of hubris associated with the "power" of the internet. In this book, it seems like some of the hubris has just assumed a different form and should still be taken with a grain of salt.
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