Facebook, Google and Apple make the headlines, but there are many inspiring startups to dissipate the sense of techno-dreadA quarter of a century ago, the Canadian author Douglas Coupland published his third novel. Microserfs was the tale of a group of young Microsoft employees who decide to exit the realm of Bill Gates in Washington state and chase a dream of their own in California places that, back then, sounded like the epitome of futuristic magic: Palo Alto, Menlo Park. As well as prescient flashes of the world to come – “Beware of the corporate invasion of private memory,” warned one of its protagonists – what always stuck with me was its air of techno-optimism, perfectly crystallised right at the end, when the central character’s mother has a stroke and is rescued from silence by a set-up attached to an Apple Macintosh. She communicates via such staccato sentences as “I am here”, and “I feel U”; the novel’s closing pages capture her and her family marvelling at the fact that she has become “part woman/part machine, emanating blue Macintosh light”.The book was published in 1995, when computers suddenly offered an ever-expanding window on to the world. Many of us had no doubt that the leap from old to new represented nothing but progress. By the start of this decade social media platforms were being hailed as a means of individual and collective emancipation. But where has this faith in the future gone? Related: The rise of technology in care: how will it affect... Continue reading at 'The Guardian'
[ The Guardian | 2018-12-05 00:00:00 UTC ]
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A number of gadgets remain on sale as we head into the holiday weekend. Apple's latest AirPods remain $30 off and down to $150, and you can pick up the AirPods Pro for $175. Certain colors of the Apple Watch Series 7 are on sale for as low as $313, plus you can save on a bunch of Surface devices... Continue reading at Engadget
[ Engadget | 2022-04-15 15:45:19 UTC ]
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"Station Eleven" author Emily St. John Mandel explores time travel and the nature of reality. Continue reading at The Washington Post
[ The Washington Post | 2022-04-12 13:40:01 UTC ]
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The rights and royalties management company aims to help publishers keep up with the changing industry through innovative solutions and technology offerings (Sponsored) Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2022-03-28 04:00:00 UTC ]
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A slew of gadgets went on sale this week and many remain discounted as we head into the weekend. A number of Apple devices are on sale right now, including the AirPods Pro for $175, the iPad mini for $459 and the new iPad Air with the M1 chipset for $570. Elsewhere, Amazon's Fire HD 8 table is... Continue reading at Engadget
[ Engadget | 2022-03-25 15:45:31 UTC ]
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He was barely equipped for the presidency, but he had an outsize impact, Jeffrey Frank writes. Continue reading at The Washington Post
[ The Washington Post | 2022-03-11 13:00:22 UTC ]
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Following the death of legendary Random House editor Jason Epstein, who cofounded On Demand Books with Dane Neller in 2003, Neller said that he believes there is still a place for ODB's signature creation, which the company has called “an ATM for books.” Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2022-03-04 05:00:00 UTC ]
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From domestication and selective breeding to synthetic insulin and CRISPR, humanity has long sought understand, master and exploit the genetic coding of the natural world. In The Genesis Machine: Our Quest to Rewrite Life in the Age of Synthetic Biology authors Amy Webb, professor of strategic... Continue reading at Engadget
[ Engadget | 2022-02-19 16:30:24 UTC ]
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Author of Chocolat says she does not use words ‘accidentally’The bestselling author Joanne Harris has turned down a US book deal after the publishers demanded she take out an “f-bomb” from the novel.The Chocolat author, who lives near Huddersfield in West Yorkshire, tweeted on Saturday: “Today I... Continue reading at The Guardian
[ The Guardian | 2022-02-19 14:04:53 UTC ]
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Take a look into our present and future with these near-future science fiction books that are eerily prescient, including Firebreak by Nicole Kornher-Stace6. Continue reading at Book Riot
[ Book Riot | 2022-02-17 11:35:00 UTC ]
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Many of Amazon's gadgets went on sale at the start of this week and continue to be discounted today. Key among them are both new Kindle Paperwhites — the standard version and the Signature Edition — along with the second-generation Echo Show 8 and the Fire TV Cube. On top of that, Apple's... Continue reading at Engadget
[ Engadget | 2022-02-11 16:45:29 UTC ]
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“Start where you are. Use what you have. Do what you can.” –Arthur Ashe * Years ago, when I was still a budding fiction writer, I published an essay about how hard skateboarding is to write about. I focused on a few novelists who had skater characters in their books but who clearly didn’t skate […] Continue reading at Literrary Hub
[ Literrary Hub | 2022-02-09 09:55:45 UTC ]
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A bunch of new tech sales cropped up at the start of the week for things like robot vacuums, game controllers and more, and many of them are still around today. A trio of iRobot devices remain discounted, with the most affordable of the bunch coming in at $179. Some of Amazon's Fire tablets are... Continue reading at Engadget
[ Engadget | 2022-01-21 16:45:26 UTC ]
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John Murray’s new literary crime and thriller imprint is launching with a line-up of authors including Mick Herron, Frankie Boyle and Kaoru Takamura, among others. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2022-01-18 00:15:20 UTC ]
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A narrator can make or break the listening experience. Over several related novels, they can become friend (or foe). Continue reading at The Washington Post
[ The Washington Post | 2022-01-16 13:00:49 UTC ]
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This week brought deals on Apple devices, gaming gear and more. The Mac Mini M1 remains on sale for $600 while the 3rd-generation AirPods are back down to a record low of $140. Nintendo's Ring Fit Adventure is back in stock and $25 off, while you can still get a one-year Switch Online family... Continue reading at Engadget
[ Engadget | 2022-01-14 16:45:01 UTC ]
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Taylor Harris discusses 'This Boy We Made,' her memoir on seeking answers about her son, the anxieties of Black parenting and her evolving faith Continue reading at Los Angeles Times
[ Los Angeles Times | 2022-01-11 14:00:41 UTC ]
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PC gaming Giant Take-Two has announced that it's making a big move into mobile gaming with the acquisition of Zynga for a total price of approximately $12.7 billion. Take-Two already owns Rockstar Games, Codemasters and 2K, producing games like Grand Theft Auto, Red Dead Redemption, Bioshock and... Continue reading at Engadget
[ Engadget | 2022-01-10 13:17:58 UTC ]
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Regardless of how 2021 went for you, 2022 is another chance for all of us to make the new year better than those that came before it. We set New Year’s resolutions with the best of intentions, but it’s no wonder that so many people fail after just a few weeks – old habits die hard. Just as it’s... Continue reading at Engadget
[ Engadget | 2022-01-01 14:34:42 UTC ]
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In spite of all the advancements we’ve seen in tech, the industry as a whole has consistently neglected people with disabilities. There have been some improvements, including video call apps like FaceTime, Zoom, Microsoft Teams, Google Hangouts and more adding better support for sign language... Continue reading at Engadget
[ Engadget | 2021-12-31 21:00:34 UTC ]
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