By 1995s silicon snake oil, hed become a digital apostate. Was the oil changed when the first sample was taken. Yes, the internet provides access to plenty of services, but useful information is virtually impossible to find and difficult to access. The book discusses the problems in using electronic data transfer and highlights various risks and dangers. Unlike most hightech insiders, stoll isnt sure that societys problems will disappear if people spend. Quite simply, freedom involving speech all of us totally recognized. Silicon snake oil, second thoughts on the information highway publication. In silicon snake oil, clifford stoll, the bestselling author of the cuckoos egg and one of the pioneers of the internet, turns his attention to the muchheralded information highway, revealing. Silicon snake oil could represent a first attempt to compile a database on every negative aspect that could possibly be attributed to cyberspace. Silicon snake oil tries to pass itself off as a meaningful contribution to the ongoing debate over the role of computer networking in our lives, but the book reads like a series of interconnected blog entries, short bursts of prose dashed off on the fly, with little forethought or background research.
Silicon snake oil, 1995 add to favorites call me a troglodyte. Silicon snake oil is another great book by author clifford stoll. Stolls book was later chronicled in an episode of wgbhs nova titled the kgb, the computer, and me, which aired on pbs stations in 1990. Some previous iterations using a different url are archived at the internet archive wayback machine the views and opinions expressed in this page are strictly those of the page author. In advance, i apologize to those who expect a consistent position. The adventures are back on in yet another awesome non fiction rendition from this author. Nor am i going to talk about what i think are obvious statements from my first book, silicon snake oil, or my second book, nor am i going to talk about why i believe computers dont belong in schools. Michael hancher, department of english, university of minnesota created february 1995.
Second thoughts on the information highway this link is to an external site that may or may not meet accessibility guidelines. If there is still doubt as to what caused the high silicon reading, a confirmation sample should be taken. What netflixs great hack gets wrong about cambridge. These are questions asked in the latest book by clifford stoll. If the oil was changed, send a confirmation sample only after the engine has run for 50 hours or km 600 miles. A brilliant skeptic assails hightech boosterism, attacking the trendy assumption that computers will profoundly improve our schools, libraries, and whole society. As the networks evolve, so do my opinions toward them, and my divergent feelings bring out conflicting points of view. Silicon snake oil is the first book that intelligently questions where the internet is leading us. Silicon snake oil, second thoughts on the information. Stoll silicon snake oil, 1995 has spent the last two decades participating in, and commenting on, the information age. It is essentially a 200plus page topofthehead ramble on way too many subjectsthe internet, computers in the classroom, electronic card catalogs, email, cryptographyand the result is an intermittently informative hodgepodge with no coherence, no. Clifford stoll, silicon snake oil, 1995 as the networks evolve, so do my opinions toward them, and my divergent feelings bring out conflicting points of view.
Stoll also raised questions about the influence of the internet on future. Yes, the internet provides access to plenty ofservices, but useful information is virtually impossible to find and difficultto access. Open library is an open, editable library catalog, building towards a web page for every book ever published. The book discusses the problems in using electronic data transfer and. In this somewhat disorganized book, padded to 240 pages with personal stories like those that helped his the cuckoos egg 1 reach nontechnologists, stoll fairly presents promises for the internets blessings and counters them. In silicon snake oil, clifford stoll, the bestselling author of. Open library is an initiative of the internet archive, a 501c3 nonprofit, building a digital library of internet sites and other cultural artifacts in digital form. Clifford stoll books, biography, quotes read print. Like silicon snake oil, second thoughts on the information highway which is getting the ebook version. May 08, 1995 silicon snake oil second thoughts on the information highway by clifford stoll 247 pages. Search for library items search for lists search for. As an additive, silicon is used in engine, gear, circulating and other types of oils.
Alongside the history of technological enthusiasm, there is an almost equally vigorous parallel history of technological critique. The author of silicon snake oil offers a provocative and controversial critique of the educational applications and benefits of computers and provides a commonsense look at how technology can be best utilized and controlled in the modern world. Silicon snake oil by clifford stoll, 1995, doubleday edition, hardcover in english 1st ed. I was asking what i thought were reasonable questions. Computers and civilization, information technology, internet, internet computer network, accessible book, protected daisy, in library. Second thoughts on the information highway affected me bymaking me look at the internet and the information explosion of the 1990s from a differentperspective. There are millions of dollars to be made selling gullible investors and clients on mumbojumbo. Besides these occasional high spots, though, silicon snake oil offers little sustenance.
If you enjoyed reading the contents of his cuckoos egg book, then picking up this book will most likely be a good choice for you. Second thoughts on the information highway, is clifford stolls critique of the internet, or as vice president gore called it, the information superhighway. Silicon snake oil second thoughts on the information highway by. Stoll articulated his disenchantment in his next book, silicon snake oil, published in 1995, which urged readers to get out from behind their computer screens and get a life. Clifford stoll discusses where the internet is leading us and what the information highway really was, is, could, and should be. How a berkeley eccentric beat the russiansand then made.
Yet this is no diatribe against technology, nor is it one more computer jock adding his voice to the already noisy chorus debating the uses of the networks. Second thoughts on the information highway 1st by stoll, cliff isbn. Vestich snakeoil is defined as any of various substances or mixtures claimed to have miraculous curing capabilities without regard to their medical worth or properties. Silicon snake oilsecond thoughts on the information highwayclifford stollthe book silicon snake oil. Everyday low prices and free delivery on eligible orders. In silicon snake oil, clifford stoll, the bestselling author of the cuckoos egg and one of the pioneers of the internet, turns hisattention to the muchheralded information highway, revealing. Second thoughts on the information highway is a 1995 book written by clifford stoll where he discusses his ambivalence regarding the future. A strong plot was the key to the authors bestselling first book about a. The consistent variable in the use of silicon is the amount in the new oil.
In silicon snake oil, clifford stoll, the bestselling author of the cuckoos egg and one of the pioneers of the internet, turns hisattention to the muchheralded. You can find this silicon snake oil, second thoughts on the information highway by go to the bookstore or mall. Stoll himself seems suspiciously worked up by the end of the book. A book detailing the impact of computer models, for better or worse, on the practice of scientific research over the last two decades would be a much harder read than stolls book, but a much more rewarding one. Oil manufacturers will use amounts of silicon based on different types of oil figure 1. Stoll, a 15year veteran of the electronic information age, appears to have reached a stage of burnout that most computer junkies pray they will never see, and the result is a cranky meditation on how better to spend ones time. A message for avid computer users from the author of the cuckoos egg 1989. Yes, the internet provides access to plenty of services, but useful information is virtually impossible to find and difficult to. In silicon snake oil, clifford stoll, the bestselling author of the cuckoos egg and one of the pioneers of the internet, turns his attention to the. Stolls first book, the cuckoos egg, an exhilarating account of how he brought down a ring of computer hackers, was a 1989 bestseller. Silicon snake oil by clifford stoll, 1995, doubleday edition, hardcover in english. In silicon snake oil, clifford stoll, the bestselling author of the cuckoos egg and one of the.
Like silicon snake oil, second thoughts on the information highway which is getting the e book version. Clifford stoll is somewhat of an enigma in the world of computer science. Silicon snake oil second thoughts on the information highway by clifford stoll 247 pages. Second thoughts on the information highway is a 1995 book written by clifford stoll where he discusses his ambivalence regarding the future of how the internet will be used and sets the tone in the preface by apologizing to those who expect a consistent position from me.
Even those that made predictions like ecommerce will never work like silicon snake oil and high herectic. Silicon snake oil share book recommendations with your. Silicon snake oil by clifford stoll doubleday new york. Stoll looks at our network as it is, not as its promised to be. Aug 06, 2019 but we live in the age of silicon snake oil. May, 2019 open library is an open, editable library catalog, building towards a web page for every book ever published.
Clifford stoll silicon snake oil second thoughts on the. Silicon is used in many oil types as an antifoaming additive. If not send a confirmation sample and, as a precaution, change the oil. Clifford stoll discusses where the internet is leading us and what the information highway really. With this book, clifford stoll, author of the cuckoos egg, shares his second thoughts on the information highway. This work aims to expose the myths and disappointing realities of the internet and information superhighway.
Evaluating the source of silicon in oil lubrication. His most recent book, edited with tiago peixoto, is. In silicon snake oil, clifford stoll, the bestselling author of the cuckoos egg and one of the pioneers of the internet, turns his attention to the muchheralded information highway, revealing that it is not all its cracked up to be. In his 1995 book silicon snake oil and an accompanying article in newsweek, stoll called the prospect of ecommerce baloney. Clifford stoll believes that too little attention has been given to the bogus claims and hidden costs of new information technologies.
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