Informatica 1.0: Access to the Best Tools for Mastering the Information Revolution [Paperback]

Peter Mckenzie Black (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 19, 1999

Learn how to enjoy and decipher the information revolution--with this fun, easy-to-use techno-geek tour of the best tools available today.

Want to learn about:

  Who's really running a Web site behind the scenes?  See "Alexa" on page 259.
  A global on-line database of living things?  See "Tree of Life" on page 109.
  A computer-controlled wide-band radio to tune in the world? See "ICOM PCR- 1000" on page 10.
  The best place to buy world maps, reachable via the Web?  See "The Map Shop" on page 113.
  Satellite imagery downloadable from the U.S. Geological Survey? See "Satellite Imagery" on page 136.
  A metasearch engine that trolls other sites like Yahoo and Excite and distills the results? See "Inference Find" on page 155.
  The best way to use search engines like Alta Vista and Yahoo?  See "Synthetic Aperture" on page 153.
  How to keep informed with 20 unusual and extraordinary Web sites?  See "20 Web Sites Off the Beaten Path" on pages 188-91.
  The hottest new marketing idea driving e-commerce?  See "Viral Marketing" on pages 86-87.
  The essay that predicted the information age 50 years ago?  See "Endless Frontier" on page 378.
  The classic and superb documentary that captures the first world war like no other? See "World War I (VHS)" on page 267.
  Where the U.S. is most vulnerable to terrorists in the 21st century?  See "Melissa's Lesson" on pages 249-51.

Each entry includes Internet URLs, notes on why the item was selected and how it works, what age level it suits, how long it has been in development, what it should cost (on the street), and how likely it is to become obsolete.

In five revealing sections--on hardware, sources, software, plasticware, and paperware--
Informatica 1.0 puts into new perspective the avalanche of new products. It selects the best tools
for an information society, yielding the best ways to sense and measure things, to manage the
results, and to refine them into practical knowledge.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

In his introduction to Informatica 1.0, author Peter M. Black notes that his original pitch to Random House was that his book would be similar to The Whole Earth Catalog, only 30 years later--without the chemical toilets and backpacking gear. What he offers instead is a catalog for a wired world that is always in search of more information. The products he reviews and recommends are separated into five categories: hardware (telescopes, digital cameras, laptops, electric cars, etc.), sources (Web sites), software, plasticware (videos, DVDs, CDs), and paperware (books). Among the items covered: the BedLounge, a chair that's perfect for the growing number of people who use laptops to get a little more work done before turning over; the Suncatcher Solar Panel, a portable power source for portable devices; Cardscan, software that reads business cards and stores the data in your personal information manager; Great Speeches of the 20th Century, an audio CD collection of some of the best oratory, from Edison and Teddy Roosevelt to Reagan and Clinton; and The Victorian Internet, a book about the rise of the telegraph and the 19th century's online pioneers.

As part of its effort to help readers become informed buyers, Informatica 1.0 offers various lists of Rules to Buy By (for example, buy a slower processor and more RAM; trust, but verify; buy from a manufacturer that will swap out for repair). Ironically, Black consistently contends that people should not buy version 1.0 of anything. "V1.0 always stinks up the room.... It is generally more expensive, more trouble, and consumes more resources." It's therefore easy to predict that many of the items in this book will become outdated. In fact, it's entirely possible that some items--digital cameras, certain software, various URLs--will have been eclipsed by the time the book hits the shelves. Black seems to have covered his bases, however, with--you guessed it--a Web site. His hope is that readers will visit www.xiphias.com for downloadable updates that will cost several bucks. "The charter," Black writes, "will be to hunt for things, services and ideas that are on their way to v2.0." --John Russell

From Library Journal

A kind of Information Age "Whole Earth Catalog," this very idiosyncratic collection reviews more than 400 items (including print, software, audiotapes, videocassettes, web sites, and electronic products) for accessing and managing information.
Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 416 pages
• Publisher: Random House Reference; 1st edition (October 19, 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0375706283
• ISBN-13: 978-0375706288
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 8 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.8 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 2.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,664,255 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

0 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Wrong book was purchased and was sent back to sender for refund - refund not yet received, October 17, 2009

By 

Theresa Okpani - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Informatica 1.0 Book & CD-ROM : Access to the Best Tools for Mastering the Information Revolution (Paperback)

I returned the book back to sender. I was intending to purchase Informatica - computer related book not what was sent. I need for the seller to refund my money back. I've not receive a refund yet.

0 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Informatica 1.0 Book & CD-ROM, September 18, 2005

By 

K. Chen - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Informatica 1.0 Book & CD-ROM : Access to the Best Tools for Mastering the Information Revolution (Paperback)

I paid for the price of book and CD- ROM, but there's no CD-ROM
in the shipment. ???

4 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars The CD interface is worth the money, May 29, 2001

By 

Prem S. Lekhi "saisunil" (Forest Hills, NY United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Informatica 1.0 Book & CD-ROM : Access to the Best Tools for Mastering the Information Revolution (Paperback)

If you are one of those who want to be the first ones to experience/own a technology or product and love books, then this book has something unique to offer.

It is a book/CD which has versions. Once you own it, you can get updates from the Internet Site and continue to build the brain/database.

The choice of sites/products used in the book/CD is excellent, fun and unique. You are bound to learn something new and that too "off-line" cause the contents are both in print and on the CDRom.

This book is an experience in itself. But it is non-traditional -- it is different!