Internet and Personal Computing Fads

Abstract

Internet and Personal Computing Fads Mary Ann Bell, Mary Ann Berry, and James L. Van Roekel. New York: Haworth Press, 2004. This wide-ranging, -well-researched book attempts to give an overview of the world created by computers, and the obvious advantages and frightening problems that came with it. Their history can be traced back as early as 450 BC and the abacus. The first mechanical computer was developed by Wilhelm Schikard, a German, in the early seventeenth century. Britain's Charles Babbage invented his analytical machine and the card system in 1834; his assistant, Lady Lovelace, Lord Byron's daughter, wrote directions from which programs were developed. From the early history, women played a vital role in developing computer technology and our move into Cyberspace. The history of the Internet began when the Soviets launched Sputnik in 1957, and in 1972, Ray Tomlinson created the first e-mail program. The World Wide Web (WWW) was released to the world in 1992. Today we see people carrying and using pagers, cell phones, PDAs, laptops, CD players, and many new items. In his book What Will Be (1997), Michael Dertouzos described a world in which people will not wear conventional clothes but techno-bodysuits. The book is not divided into conventional chapters, but alphabetical topics, beginning with Acceptable Use Policy and concluding with Y2K. Included are items that many never have heard of-or at least never used. Examples are Power Point Poisoning, Shareware, Spamming, Twain, URL, Usenet, Webcams, and Webquests. The goal is to include as much data as possible. Two of the three editors are assistant professors of library science, and the third (James Van Roekel) is the director of academic instruction technology and distance learning. All see this as a handbook that takes a practical look into the computer world. They employ short, jargon-free explanations of terms often used but not always understood. They want to show us how to deal with all of these culture benders. The editors make no value judgments, but some of us floating about (often lost) in the world of computers, Internet, e-mail, and indigestible spam think that we should and must take value judgments and ask, Where are we going? Do we want to be there? Will all of this enhance our lives? Is a little learning a dangerous thing, as Alexander Pope warned? New computer worries emerged in 2004 when the Silicon Valley Toxics Coalition issued a warning about e-waste. Now e-mail isn't alone as a problem. …