What Will Be: How the New World of Information Will Change Our Lives [Paperback]

Michael L. Dertouzos (Author), Bill Gates (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: February 17, 1998

Michael Dertouzos has been an insightful commentator and an active participant in the creation of the Information Age.Now, in What Will Be, he offers a thought-provoking and entertaining vision of the world of the next decade -- and of the next century. Dertouzos examines the impact that the following new technologies and challenges will have on our lives as the Information Revolution progresses:

• all the music, film and text ever produced will be available on-demand in our own homes
• your "bodynet" will let you make phone calls, check email and pay bills as you walk down the street
• advances in telecommunication will radically alter the role of face-to-face contact in our lives
• global disparities in infrastructure will widen the gap between rich and poor
• surgical mini-robots and online care will change the practice of medicine as we know it.

Detailed, accessible and visionary, What Will Be  is essential for Information Age revolutionaries and technological neophytes alike.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

Many have predicted what emerging technology will mean for society. Michael Dertouzos, an Internet pioneer and Head of MIT's Laboratory for Computer Science, has been among the few who've been pretty much right so far. Now he reaches into the coming century to paint a compelling, rationally developed picture of what's ahead. Dertouzos' fluid freedom from the pollyanna-ism or paranoia that afflict so many of his contemporaries brings to his visions the ring of both conviction and plausibility--and excitement as well. His crystal explanations and fascinating examples are irresistible. The result is a book as enjoyable as it is important. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Library Journal

Dertouzos's vision, modeled on the Athens flea market, is the Information Marketplace, where people and their computers will buy, sell, and freely exchange information. Dertouzos, head of the MIT Laboratory for Computer Science, sees the Internet as just part of this marketplace's infrastructure and culture; it also will have powerful human-machine interfaces with great potential for medical applications. New software tools termed electronic bulldozers will increase human productivity, and electronic proximity will increase in the manner of a global business market and virtual community (cf. Howard Rheingold's The Virtual Community, Addison-Wesley, 1993). In his scenarios, Dertouzos presents both "techie" and "humie" elements, seeking balance and unification. Recommended for public and academic libraries.?Laverna Saunders, Salem State Coll. Lib., Mass.
Copyright 1997 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 384 pages
• Publisher: HarperOne (February 17, 1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0062515403
• ISBN-13: 978-0062515407
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 6 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (19 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,036,555 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Rating: netheads -3; net neophytes - 10, August 13, 1997

By 

[e-mail] (Tampa, FL) - See all my reviews

This review is from: What Will Be: How the World of Information Will Change Our Lives (Hardcover)

I gave this two ratings because (in spite of what the book cover spiel says - ".. written for every reader affected by technological change - both the digital sophisticate and those still struggling to understand e-mail"), my guess is that most net heads will find this book boring, as a lot of this is self-evident. Having said that, because netheads are a minority (at least today), *MOST* people will find this book very good. I think that Michael does an *EXCELLENT* job of keeping the techno-babble to a minimum, and clearly explaining *HOW* the net, the information highway, the WWW or whatever you want to call it, will affect us todmorrow, and how it is affecting us today. Another good book that complements this is: The Digital Estate, by Chuck Martin

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Information Marketplace of the 21st century, May 16, 1997

By A Customer

This review is from: What Will Be: How the World of Information Will Change Our Lives (Hardcover)

This book as mentioned by the author is seperated into three parts: 1) Shaping the Future, 2) How Your Life Will Change, and 3) Reuniting Technology and Humanity. I feel Dertouzos did a good job balancing the technical side and the human side of the various issues and changes individuals and society will face in the twenty-first century. The book discusses changes various industries - education, business, government, and religious organizations - will experience in obtaining customers and paradigm shift in performing various tasks. At points throughout the book I found it hard to follow and read, many times I had to put the book down and reflect on what I had just read. Dertouzos closes with an excellent summary of the key discovery's presented throughout the book and some final words concerning the human aspect of the twenty-first century. In the conclusion as well as throughout the book, the author asks thought provoking questions - some which he answers, and some he does not

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent, October 23, 1997

By 

Kenneth Ngiau - See all my reviews

This review is from: What Will Be: How the World of Information Will Change Our Lives (Hardcover)

How will the information superhighway, or information marketplace as Michael calls it, change our lives? He has been there, seen that done that, and now, he has put together an excellent book on how it will impact the way we live, whether we like it or not. It opened my eyes to the new wave and how those who do not address it, will be left behind. Excellent reading for everyone, not only computer buffs. CEOs, Managers, Engineers, Doctors, Taxi drivers....READ THIS. A very good insight into what the future holds for mankind