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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Scam artists are selling fake early access to the Pottermore Web site or asking for personal data to register an "account." Either way, you're going to be sorry if you interact with them. Continue reading at PC World
[ PC World | 2011-08-05 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Magazine publisher Future has appointed a new non-executive chairman, Peter Allen, who will take over from longtime incumbent Roger Parry in the autumn. Continue reading at Media Week
[ Media Week | 2011-08-05 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Written By: Charlotte Williams Publication Date: Fri, 29/07/2011 - 11:18 John Murray has acquired a non-fiction title by ex-paratrooper Lieutenant Colonel Stuart Tootal about the Second World War British operation to take the Merville Gun battery, part of the Nazi's Atlantic Wall, to help the... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2011-07-29 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Written By: Philip Jones Publication Date: Fri, 22/07/2011 - 14:57 Greek bookstore chain Eleftheroudakis has opened a new flagship store in the heart of Athens, replete with an Espresso Book Machine and trained librarians. read more Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2011-07-22 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Written By: Graeme Neill Publication Date: Thu, 21/07/2011 - 09:00 Murdoch Books has bought a healthy living cookbook from "Grease" star Olivia Newton-John. Managing director Christine Jones bought US, UK, Australian and New Zealand rights from Louise Georgeson. LivWise will be published in... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2011-07-21 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Written By: Katie Allen Publication Date: Thu, 21/07/2011 - 12:40 Angry Robot is to publish a debut novel by Canadian writer Madeline Ashby. vN is set in a near-future where robots and humans live side by side, and follows Amy, who has grown up with a cybernetic mother and human father. Alone... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2011-07-21 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Written By: Neill Denny Publication Date: Thu, 21/07/2011 - 08:45 John Blake has signed a book by a journalist-turned-lawyer on the Rupert Murdoch story, for publication next February. Called The Rise and Fall of the Murdoch Empire the book will be written by John Lisners, who worked for... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2011-07-21 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Written By: Philip Jones Publication Date: Mon, 18/07/2011 - 17:28 The claim that J K Rowling's fourth Harry Potter book plagiarised a work by author Adrian Jacobs has been thrown out of court after the clamants failed to come up with the £850,000 demanded by the courts for the case to... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2011-07-18 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Magazine publisher Future is restructuring its business in the UK and US following a 5% fall in group revenues over the past nine months. Continue reading at Media Week
[ Media Week | 2011-07-15 00:00:00 UTC ]
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In October of this year, youll be able to grab a butterbeer, pull up a chair, and log on to Pottermore, the new virtual world for all things Harry Potter. It isnt clear just yet what the sites primary function will be, but early reports say Pottermore will be home to the first-ever Harry... Continue reading at AdWeek
[ AdWeek | 2011-06-24 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Written By: Philip Jones and Charlotte Williams Publication Date: Thu, 23/06/2011 - 11:53 J K Rowling has confirmed that she will release paid-for ebook versions of her incredibly successful Harry Potter books from her new website Pottermore "in partnership with J K Rowlings publishers... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2011-06-23 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Written By: Philip Jones Publication Date: Thu, 23/06/2011 - 07:30 E-book versions of the seven Harry Potter novels are likely to move a step closer today with the launch of an immersive website based on the Harry Potter universe. read more Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2011-06-22 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Written By: Graeme Neill Publication Date: Thu, 26/05/2011 - 13:52 Press Books m.d. John Bond is leaving HarperCollins by the end of June "following a mutual agreement" between himself and HC c.e.o. Victoria Barnsley. The division, which comprises Fourth Estate and HarperPress, will be run by... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2011-05-26 00:00:00 UTC ]
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John Malone, the chairman of Liberty Media, explained why his company made a buyout bid for Barnes & Noble valuing it at $1 billion. The decision came down to Liberty's bid for Sirius and his outlook for Nook, he said. You might look at the experience we've had with Sirius XM, Malone told... Continue reading at AdWeek
[ AdWeek | 2011-05-24 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Future plc, the U.K.-based enthusiast publisher with a U.S operation in San Francisco, released half-year results for its fiscal 2011 and digital has become the star performer. Continue reading at Folio Magazine
[ Folio Magazine | 2011-05-24 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Written By: Benedicte Page and Charlotte Williams Publication Date: Fri, 20/05/2011 - 12:00 Publishers, writers, agents and trade bodies have responded with relief to todays news of the acquisition of Waterstones by Alexander Mamuts A&NN Group, welcoming the surprise arrival of James... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2011-05-20 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Written By: Graeme Neill Publication Date: Thu, 12/05/2011 - 09:19 Charlaine Harris, author of the Sookie Stackhouse series of novels, has become the latest writer to sell more than one million Kindle ebooks through Amazon. The author, who is published by Gollancz in the UK, joins Stieg... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2011-05-12 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Push Pop Press, a digital book publishing platform, went live with its first title this week, Al Gore's "Our Choice," available as an iOS app for $4.99. Continue reading at AllThingsD
[ AllThingsD | 2011-04-29 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Written By: Lisa Campbell Publication Date: Wed, 27/04/2011 - 15:46 John Smith & Son deputy chairman Willie Anderson has retired after 38 years' service. Anderson began his career at the academic bookseller as a bookshop sales assistant in 1973 and was the first staff member to be... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2011-04-27 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Written By: Philip Jones Publication Date: Fri, 15/04/2011 - 11:33 Roland Philipps at John Murray has bought a book on digital written by the author Nick Harkaway, which argues that the new technologies will make us more human. Philipps bought British Commonwealth rights through Patrick Walsh... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2011-04-15 00:00:00 UTC ]
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