A Prehistory of the Cloud (Audible Audio Edition) TungHui Hu Steve Toner University Press Audiobooks Books
Download As PDF : A Prehistory of the Cloud (Audible Audio Edition) TungHui Hu Steve Toner University Press Audiobooks Books
We may imagine the digital cloud as placeless, mute, ethereal, and unmediated. Yet the reality of the cloud is embodied in thousands of massive data centers, any one of which can use as much electricity as a midsized town. Even all these data centers are only one small part of the cloud. Behind that cloud-shaped icon on our screens is a whole universe of technologies and cultural norms, all working to keep us from noticing their existence.
Hu shows that the cloud grew out of such older networks as railroad tracks, sewer lines, and television circuits. He describes key moments in the prehistory of the cloud, from the game Spacewar as exemplar of time-sharing computers to Cold War bunkers that were later reused as data centers. Countering the popular perception of a new "cloudlike" political power that is dispersed and immaterial, Hu argues that the cloud grafts digital technologies onto older ways of exerting power over a population. But because we invest the cloud with cultural fantasies about security and participation, we fail to recognize its militarized origins and ideology. Moving between the materiality of the technology itself and its cultural rhetoric, Hu's account offers a set of new tools for rethinking the contemporary digital environment.
A Prehistory of the Cloud (Audible Audio Edition) TungHui Hu Steve Toner University Press Audiobooks Books
Although I'm a huge believer that semantics impact thinking, the fact that so many of his arguments are rooted in anecdotes or connotations makes this a difficult read at times. That said, it certainly gets one thinking and is enlightening for non-engineers about internet infrastructure and regulation.Product details
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A Prehistory of the Cloud (Audible Audio Edition) TungHui Hu Steve Toner University Press Audiobooks Books Reviews
If I could organize a book burning, this would be the book I'd choose to burn.
This is not your regular IT book. It's a book about cloud technology, written by an author who also writes poetry.
It presents an original view of technology and the history of communication media. The style is more metaphorical and associative than "straight to the point". But this "otherness" makes it a very relaxed and refreshing read.
It is much more structured and comprehensible than Kittler, but it has some of the flavour.
It feels like "Imperial" by William Vollmann. If you like Thomas Pynchon you will like this book.
If you like post-modernism and words like "otherness," "modalities," and "referential" then this book is for you. It shares a lot in common with a lot of other works in sociology and philosophy that assume that attempt to blur the differences that we perceive between things.
For the more ordinary reader, there is not a lot to recommend about this book. I bought it after having read Tubes and hoped it would be to cloud computing what Tubes was for the internet. It's not; however, if you happen to purchase it by accident, or see it in the bookstore, it does contain a few facts (the first 10 pages or so tell us that SPRINT and Quest are defended from the Union Pacific Railroad).
Intriguing book on the pre and present (and post?) history of the network.
What you will find in this book
- A beautifully written narrative about how the cloud became to be what it is today, from the physical infrastructure to the other constructs (including political).
- Almost poetic language, which is a rarity for such a technical field.
- Without a doubt, insight or two you didn't know about - or think about.
- Food for thought; you will never think about the "cloud" quite the same way.
What you won't find
- detailed technical descriptions of what a data centre is
- diagrams or schematics
- a textbook
If you think you know everything about the cloud - and even if you've been in the industry for the past decades - Hu's book will almost certainly bring you some fresh perspectives. For that reason alone, I highly recommend it.
Gives a very technical history. Hard to follow at times
A scholarly yet readable "prehistory" of our cloud-based information age, a more up-to-date study than James Gleick's INFORMATION, and written in a rigorously researched yet poetical style that is a delight for general readers. Highly recommended.
Although I'm a huge believer that semantics impact thinking, the fact that so many of his arguments are rooted in anecdotes or connotations makes this a difficult read at times. That said, it certainly gets one thinking and is enlightening for non-engineers about internet infrastructure and regulation.
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