"Computing is not about computers anymore.  It is about living."1

        Mr. Negroponte's book deals with the fact that people are relying on
computers more & more as technology continues to improve.  Eventually we
will be able to use them even more for everyday uses as their size shrinks
and they become more portable.
Soon we will be dealing with computers in every aspect of living.
Entertainment, business & media are just a few areas of our lives that will
be affected.  We may be able to choose what we want to watch on television,
but we can't customize when we want to watch it. The same thing holds true
for newspapers and magazines.  We can skip over certain articles, but we
don't have a say in the overall content of the publication.
Human interaction is slowly becoming a thing of the past because with a
click of a button we can do anything from checking on a bank account to
ordering a bathing suit.  Personally, I'm all for progress.  The idea of
being able to do mundane tasks, like paying bills and banking from the
comforts of my own home excites me.  However, in my experiences, humans need
to interact with each other.  I just hope our fate is not to become a
society of recluses.

1. Being Digital.  Nicholas Negroponte.  Alfred A. Knopf, inc., NY:  1995

reviewed by John Konow
In the book Being Digital, Nicholas Negroponte does what I previously considered impossible; he writes a book about future technology which is easy to read. Negroponte describes such technical things as bits and and bandwidths in a way that will make the computer illiterate (such as I) understand.

He also points out how inherently wrong our communication system is at present where all intelligence is at the point of transmission. For example, as consumers our decisions concerning the television are only based upon if we choose to watch what is provided for us to watch. We have virtually no say on what is televised and when. The same holds true for newspapers.
Throughout the rest of the book, Negroponte brings forward some fascinating and interesting issues. Again he does so in a way that is entertaining and informative to both experts and novices.

One of the issues that Negroponte deals with is television technology, and how it has been applied incorrectly. He feels that far too much time and money has been used to deal with such things as a television¹s resolution. He envisions a future where you can use your computer as a TV to do such things as watch a foreign movie in your own language, change X-rated movies to PG (or reverse), and because most television doesn¹t have to be watched in real time (with the exception of sports and elections) the ability to watch whatever show you want to watch whenever you choose to do so.

Another issue that Negroponte brings up is the regulation of these new communication systems. He does not feel that it will be possible to regulate bits in the same fashion that the FCC regulates the airwaves now. Also, copyrighting laws will be all but obsolete in this new world, because bits are basically formless, they can be transmitted and then transformed at the whim of the consumer.

In this new digital world, multi-media will also take on a whole new meaning. Things that are looked at as cutting edge now (like CD-ROMs) will very shortly be obsolete. Also, with this new technology multimedia will not consist of a computer on your desk or a lap top, but something much more manageable, say the size of a book that you can read and interact with anywhere.

Negroponte also envisions the interface between people and humans as one where the computer can pick up signals by a person talking, pointing or even looking. This method would be able to control all of your appliances, not just the computer. For instance, a person could program his VCR by simply telling it to tape Channel 4 at 6 o¹clock.

Negroponte also takes a look at the field of virtual reality. He points out the current problems such as ³jagged² graphics, and the fact that it reacts too slowly (has a lag). For instance, in one of today¹s machines, if a person turns there head to the side, there is a noticeable time where the machine has to catch up. This he sees as the real problem with virtual reality today. He feels that the virtual reality experience can be maximized if we concentrate on speed, along with additional sensory effects like sound and motion, rather than spend all our effort on resolution.
The whole idea of the computer-human interaction is studied in one chapter. One possibility that he sees in the future really intrigued me. He thinks it may be possible within twenty years to give orders to a group of eight inch high holographic figures walking across your desk instead of typing into a computer.

Negroponte also sees us using the computer as a type of butler. The butler should answer the phone, recognize the callers, only disturb you when it is appropriate, and even tell a white lie about your whereabouts if necessary.

Negroponte also foresees computers developing our own personal newspapers. The newspaper content would be garnered from all the wire services, but the computer would only include articles that would relate to our interests, likes, situational needs and time available for reading in our personal newspaper. Finally, with its intimate knowledge of our characteristics and likes, it could act as a sort of referral agent, that would recommend movies or television shows that we would like.

We are entering into an era which Negroponte entitles the post-information age. Everything in this age would be made to order. There will be no such things as demographics because everything would be custom made to meet each individual¹s tastes, interests,etc. Advertising would no longer be needed, because your computer will be aware of all advertising information and will alert you to any that you may be interested in. i.e. a sale on your favorite wine.
Additionally, where you are at a particular time will no longer be an issue. E-mail and other communication modes will make you available (assuming you want to be) no matter where the physical you is located.

Negroponte also discusses the educational ramifications of the post-information age. He discusses different applications of computers for learning. Most of these fall into the learning by doing realm. Dissecting a frog or setting up a helicopter through simulations are examples of these uses. Simulation tools (like Sim City) are predicted to be the wave of learning in the future.

In summary, this book portrayed a future in which computers take responsibility for more and more of the chores involved in every day living. I look forward to the day when my refrigerator tells me I am out of milk, or my stove shuts off before my meal burns. It will also be great to talk to your computer rather than interacting with it through a mouse or a keyboard. This book paints this future in a very readable way. Paradoxically, at the same time I was intrigued by these ideas, they scared me. I do not even own a personal computer, and use one only with great trepidation. As computers get more accessible, people like myself must at least venture to meet them halfway, to learn to utilize them, or be suffocated by the exhaust of the post-information superhighway.

Negroponte, Nicholas. (1995). Being Digital. New York: Vintage Books (a division
of Random House).