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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Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone is named the 'nation's favourite' children's book in a vote by reading charity Booktrust. Continue reading at BBC News
[ BBC News | 2013-11-25 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Angelica Huston's memoir has received mainly positive reviews and is the first of a planned two-part work. Continue reading at The Christian Science Monitor
[ The Christian Science Monitor | 2013-11-21 00:00:00 UTC ]
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George Walkley, head of digital at Hachette UK, has defined the three essential, bedrock skills... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2013-11-21 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Local World's chairman, David Montgomery, has revealed his vision of the future role for journalists employed by his regional newspaper group.According to a Press Gazette report based on a sight of Monty's mission statement, a single journalist will fill a weekly paper by "skimming online... Continue reading at The Guardian
[ The Guardian | 2013-11-21 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Novelist John Grisham talks about his return to Ford County in 'Sycamore Row' and an unpleasant stint as a politician.John Grisham is the world's most successful author of legal thrillers (and one baseball novel, last year's "Calico Joe") with sales of more than 275 million copies to his credit.... Continue reading at Los Angeles Times
[ Los Angeles Times | 2013-11-16 00:00:00 UTC ]
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It's common practice for musical artists to create their own labels in order to dip into that part of the industry. However, even though it's, more or less, the same thing, New York Yankees shortstop Derek Jeter is taking the uncommon step of launching his own book publishing imprint, Jeter... Continue reading at Silicon Valley Business Journal
[ Silicon Valley Business Journal | 2013-11-16 00:00:00 UTC ]
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A recipe for butterbeer, a beverage beloved by 'Harry Potter' characters,' is making the rounds and fans say you can order one at Starbucks locations. Continue reading at The Christian Science Monitor
[ The Christian Science Monitor | 2013-11-13 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Microsoft, Google, Yahoo, Facebook and LinkedIn are objecting to the U.S. government's decision to provide them only a redacted version of its response to the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court to a request by the companies that they be allowed to publish information on users' data requests... Continue reading at PC World
[ PC World | 2013-11-13 00:00:00 UTC ]
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British multi-platform publisher YUDU is favoring publishing in the robust iBooks platform over stand-alone apps, which entail greater expense and risk. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives
[ Publishing Perspectives | 2013-10-30 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Vintage Classics will publish a third book by Stoner author John Williams in January 2014.... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2013-10-28 00:00:00 UTC ]
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"City of Night" was not the first overtly gay-themed book but it may be the most unapologetic, a searing screed of life on the edge.I spent part of Wednesday afternoon at UCLA, on a panel to celebrate the 50th anniversary of John Rechy’s novel “City of Night,” newly reissued to commemorate the... Continue reading at Los Angeles Times
[ Los Angeles Times | 2013-10-24 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Two years ago, Samir Patil surveyed his publishing floor in Mumbai, one of 10 he owned, and saw death. It was not for a lack of lively activity. His company, ACK Media, shipped roughly six million books, magazines and DVDs across India every month. I ... Continue reading at Editor & Publisher
[ Editor & Publisher | 2013-10-24 00:00:00 UTC ]
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The London Book Fair has begun a consultation over the fair's future location following the... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2013-10-23 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Chet Van Duzer has spent a lot of time hunting sea monsters. Combing through centuries-old maps in libraries and museums around the world, he's found and studied scores of strange creatures. His new book explores how medieval and Renaissance cartographers drew on myths, literature, and the... Continue reading at Wired
[ Wired | 2013-10-22 00:00:00 UTC ]
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The future of epic fantasy will be explored on a PW Webcast set for 1 p.m. today. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2013-10-16 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Oxmoor House, MyRecipes.com, and Digimarc Discover has collaborated to created new interactive cookbooks that let cooks save recipes and automate shopping lists on smartphones. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives
[ Publishing Perspectives | 2013-10-15 00:00:00 UTC ]
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It's 2050. Somehow we haven't joined the dinosaurs in extinction, succumbed to the Secret Society of Super Villains, or been raptured up to the clouds. And the robots are friendly, not evil. Futurologist and environmentalist Sir Jonathan Porritt's The World We Made: Alex McKay's Story from 2050,... Continue reading at Fast Company
[ Fast Company | 2013-10-11 00:00:00 UTC ]
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I say we scramble all the private jets in Silicon Valley and get the "Lean In" book star to D.C. to lean on some pols to open the government again, tout de suite! Continue reading at AllThingsD
[ AllThingsD | 2013-10-10 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Apple, Dropbox, Facebook, Google, Mozilla, Reddit, Tumblr, Twitter, Yahoo and other tech companies today sent a letter to the heads of the U.S. Senate and House Judiciary Committees in support of proposed legislation that would allow them to publish statistics about secret national security... Continue reading at AllThingsD
[ AllThingsD | 2013-09-30 00:00:00 UTC ]
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It's a day for launching advertiser tools: not just Tremor Video but data leviathan Acxiom, as well, is bringing a new tool to the digital marketplace, and where Tremor has extensive publisher relationships to leverage its new DSP, Acxiom has all the information anyone could ever want about more... Continue reading at AdWeek
[ AdWeek | 2013-09-23 00:00:00 UTC ]
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