false 89712 2 How many times has your PC crashed today? While Gordon Moore's now famous law projecting the doubling of computer power every 18 months has more than borne itself out, it's too bad that a similar trajectory projecting the reliability and usefulness of all that power didn't come to pass, as well. Advances in information technology are most often measured in the cool numbers of megahertz, throughput, and bandwidth--but, for many us, the experience of these advances may be better measured in hours of frustration.<p> The gap between the hype of the Information Age and its reality is often wide and deep, and it's into this gap that John Seely Brown and Paul Duguid plunge. Not that these guys are Luddites--far from it. Brown, the chief scientist at Xerox and the director of its Palo Alto Research Center (PARC), and Duguid, a historian and social theorist who also works with PARC, measure how information technology interacts and meshes with the social fabric. They write, "Technology design often takes aim at the surface of life. There it undoubtedly scores lots of worthwhile hits. But such successes can make designers blind to the difficulty of more serious challenges--primarily the resourcefulness that helps embed certain ways of doing things deep in our lives."<p> The authors cast their gaze on the many trends and ideas proffered by infoenthusiasts over the years, such as software agents, "still a long way from the predicted insertion into the woof and warp of ordinary life"; the electronic cottage that Alvin Toffler wrote about 20 years ago and has yet to be fully realized; and the rise of knowledge management and the challenges it faces trying to manage how people actually work and learn in the workplace. Their aim is not to pass judgment but to help remedy the tunnel vision that prevents technologists from seeing larger the social context that their ideas must ultimately inhabit. <I>The Social Life of Information</I> is a thoughtful and challenging read that belongs on the bookshelf of anyone trying to invent or make sense of the new world of information. <I>--Harry C. Edwards</I> 230663 2000 The Social Life of Information total:148|5:30|4:48|3:52|2:15|1:3| 148 531 306 22 3 0 false false Tue Dec 31 00:00:00 -0800 2002 Sat Sep 26 17:06:56 -0700 2009 Sat Sep 26 17:06:56 -0700 2009 more...]]> 5 1 false false Thu Jul 26 20:10:59 -0700 2007 Thu Jul 26 20:10:59 -0700 2007 more...]]> 3 0 false false Sat Feb 21 00:00:00 -0800 2009 Sat Feb 21 17:02:00 -0800 2009 Sat Feb 21 17:05:18 -0800 2009 more...]]> 3 0 false false Mon Dec 01 00:00:00 -0800 2003 Thu Aug 16 15:22:52 -0700 2007 Thu Aug 16 15:29:11 -0700 2007 more...]]> 4 0 false false Tue Aug 04 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Wed Aug 05 18:27:03 -0700 2009 Wed Aug 05 18:28:44 -0700 2009 2 0 false false Sat Feb 21 08:23:11 -0800 2009 Sat Feb 21 08:38:09 -0800 2009 4 0 false false Wed Nov 26 14:23:54 -0800 2008 Wed Nov 26 14:23:54 -0800 2008 3 0 false false Tue Mar 17 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Thu Mar 05 06:42:19 -0800 2009 Sun Mar 22 06:55:29 -0700 2009 0 0 false false Sun Oct 04 10:57:58 -0700 2009 Sun Oct 04 10:57:58 -0700 2009 5 0 false false Sun Jun 01 00:00:00 -0700 2008 Wed Aug 22 08:42:58 -0700 2007 Tue Jul 15 11:16:59 -0700 2008 more...]]> 4 0 false false Sat Nov 01 00:00:00 -0700 2008 Thu Jan 22 06:04:56 -0800 2009 Thu Jan 22 06:05:29 -0800 2009 3 0 false false Sun Oct 01 00:00:00 -0700 2006 Fri Feb 16 15:36:19 -0800 2007 Fri Feb 16 15:39:55 -0800 2007 more...]]> 2 0 false false Fri Aug 08 00:00:00 -0700 2008 Wed May 28 15:44:15 -0700 2008 Sat Aug 09 04:11:27 -0700 2008
I read mostly for the section on distance learning. JSB thinks that most learning happens outside the classroom which isn't covered by the distance learning crowd. I think that is no longer true. At least from the programs I have seen. one thing that the distance learning appro...more...]]> 4 0 false false Wed Oct 01 00:00:00 -0700 2008 Sun Nov 09 19:49:13 -0800 2008 Sun Nov 09 19:52:25 -0800 2008 3 0 false false Wed Sep 24 17:28:06 -0700 2008 Wed Sep 24 17:30:06 -0700 2008 1 0 false false Tue Jul 10 19:41:50 -0700 2007 Thu Jul 19 17:56:14 -0700 2007 5 0 false false Sun Oct 04 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Thu Jul 16 06:23:01 -0700 2009 Sun Oct 04 16:15:13 -0700 2009 1 4 0 false false Sat Jan 01 00:00:00 -0800 2000 Sat Feb 23 05:01:48 -0800 2008 Sat Feb 23 05:02:32 -0800 2008 2 0 false false Sat Mar 01 00:00:00 -0800 2008 Tue Apr 29 22:07:30 -0700 2008 Tue Apr 29 22:09:25 -0700 2008 1 0 false false Thu Jan 01 00:00:00 -0800 1998 Mon Dec 03 18:56:34 -0800 2007 Mon Dec 03 18:56:58 -0800 2007