Release 2.1: A Design for Living in the Digital Age [Paperback]

Esther Dyson (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 20, 1998

A provocative and visionary look at our new digital society, from "the most powerful woman in the Net-erati" (The New York Times Magazine).

Welcome to Release 2.1, Esther Dyson's fascinating exploration of life in our new digital society.  In this provocative and timely book, Dyson--an entrepreneur, high-tech industry analyst, government adviser, and Net expert--examines the impact and implications of cyberspace, challenging us to think intelligently about its effect on every aspect of our private and public lives, from businesses to government to education.  Written with an insider's knowledge and ready wit, and filled with anecdotes about the movers and shakers behind the products and politics of the computer industry, Release 2.1 presents us with a hard-hitting message: With the advent of the Internet, we all have both the opportunity and the obligation to shape the new rules we want to live by.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

This is noted digerati Esther Dyson's "upgrade" to Release 2.0, her guide to life in a wired world. Geared to the Net newbie, Dyson discusses the changes that the Internet has imposed on many areas of our lives, such as work, communities, and education. She is optimistic about the growth of the Internet and addresses skeptics' concerns about the future of online privacy and security issues, ownership of online content, governance of cyberspace, and more.

Much has happened since the first edition of Dyson's book was published in 1997, and she smoothly blends her updates into the original manuscript. The most notable changes to the book reflect the growth of e-commerce. Dyson follows the progress of the original eight companies profiled in 2.0 and introduces five new Internet business pioneers. She also charts the advances in privacy and security tools, the backlash against spam, and the overturning of the Communications Decency Act (which occurred shortly before the publication of her first book). In this version, Dyson also excerpts e-mail comments and articles from her Web site (www.edventure.com) to support the statements in her text.

Seasoned netizens may find that they're familiar with many of the controversies in this plan for the digital age, but newcomers will find it to be a valuable guideline to our changing way of life. --Cristina Vaamonde

Review

"Esther Dyson imposes order on the chaos of cyberspace with magical clarity."
--The Washington Post

"Dyson uses her wide knowledge of the expanding digital environment to create a provocative portrait of the social, economic, and cultural changes being wrought by computers and the Internet."
--The New York Times

"An important, ambitious book, written in an engaging, conversational tone, that aims to lay a foundation for people coming to grips with the Internet in their lives."
--The San Jose Mercury News

"Part intellectual diary of early days of the PC revolution, part 'design for living in the digital age,' her book is an outsider's inside view of how computers and the Internet have changed--and will yet change--our lives."
--Newsweek

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 384 pages
• Publisher: Broadway; 1st edition (October 20, 1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 076790012X
• ISBN-13: 978-0767900126
• Product Dimensions: 5.5 x 1 x 8.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 9.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (10 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,270,149 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

12 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars You'll pay to hear what you already know!, August 21, 2002

By 

Sean Burke (Ketchikan, Alaska, United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Release 2.1: A Design for Living in the Digital Age (Paperback)

An old Subgenius adage goes "You'll pay to hear what you already know!" So Dyson apparently decided she could write the /best/ book ever by writing things /everyone/ knows. "Email will change business communication'? Oh my God, Esther, thanks for the news flash! What's next for Release 4.0? A timely pensée on how one day we will all own VCRs (that stands for "video-cassette recorder"!), and how this will change everything, /everything/?

How about this wild futuristic scenario: in the future, you (YOU!) will be able to make a book by just buying a microcassette recorder and some blank tape, taking it home and taping your unorganized frappucino-addled ramblings. You'll mail the tapes to a typing service, and have them send the MSWord documents /right/ to the printers. What about editors? In the future, everything is fast, no time for editing! Have the publisher bankroll the printing of a few hundred thousand, and wham! "Just-in-time" publishing! The question is, just in time for what?

5 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Please See Rel. 2.0, April 12, 1999

By 

Robert Carlberg (Seattle) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Release 2.1: A Design for Living in the Digital Age (Paperback)

Can't let three five-star reviews (okay, two!) go unchallenged. Read the comments over on Release 2.0 for a more complete (and dare I say it? ) and accurate portrayal.

7 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Boring..., July 22, 2001

By 

Manny Hernandez "@askmanny" (Bay Area, CA) - See all my reviews
(HALL OF FAME REVIEWER)   

This review is from: Release 2.1: A Design for Living in the Digital Age (Paperback)

Coming from a technical background and working in the exciting medium which the Internet continues to be, I tend to love most books on the topic. I have to say that I haven't had such a hard time (because of how boring it is) going through a book in quite a while. In fact, I'm selling it... Anyone?