Synopses & Reviews
This extraordinary book explains the engine that has catapulted the Internet from backwater to ubiquityand#151;and reveals that it is sputtering precisely because of its runaway success. With the unwitting help of its users, the generative Internet is on a path to a lockdown, ending its cycle of innovationand#151;and facilitating unsettling new kinds of control.
and#160;
IPods, iPhones, Xboxes, and TiVos represent the first wave of Internet-centered products that canand#8217;t be easily modified by anyone except their vendors or selected partners. These and#147;tethered appliancesand#8221; have already been used in remarkable but little-known ways: car GPS systems have been reconfigured at the demand of law enforcement to eavesdrop on the occupants at all times, and digital video recorders have been ordered to self-destruct thanks to a lawsuit against the manufacturer thousands of miles away. New Web 2.0 platforms like Google mash-ups and Facebook are rightly toutedand#151;but their applications can be similarly monitored and eliminated from a central source. As tethered appliances and applications eclipse the PC, the very nature of the Internetand#151;its and#147;generativity,and#8221; or innovative characterand#151;is at risk.
and#160;
The Internetand#8217;s current trajectory is one of lost opportunity. Its salvation, Zittrain argues, lies in the hands of its millions of users. Drawing on generative technologies like Wikipedia that have so far survived their own successes, this book shows how to develop new technologies and social structures that allow users to work creatively and collaboratively, participate in solutions, and become true and#147;netizens.and#8221;
Review
"The most compelling book ever written on why a transformative technology's trajectory threatens to stifle that technology's greatest promise for society. Zittrain offers convincing road maps for redeeming that promise." Laurence H. Tribe, Carl M. Loeb University Professor and Professor of Constitutional Law, Harvard Law School
Review
"[A] passionate and intelligent book, of interest to students and scholars of cyber law and Internet/society issues." Library Journal
Review
"The story of the end-to-end Internet and its discontents has been told before, but never with such insight and never from such a comprehensive technical, legal, policy and social perspective as in Jonathan Zittrain's The Future of the Internet -- And How to Stop It. Zittrain, who recently moved from the Oxford Internet Institute to Harvard Law School, is renowned in Internet policy circles as the most tech-savvy of today's young cyber-legal minds. This book is certain to cement that reputation." Hal Abelson, American Scientist (read the entire American Scientist review)
Review
"Zittrain tells us that whatever the Internet's glorious adolescence, its middle age will be sharply shaped by the problem of computer security. 'Today's viruses and spyware,' he writes, 'are not merely annoyances to be ignored.' Zittrain has a graph showing the number of security incidents over the last decade, and it resembles the Dow Jones average over the 1990s. He predicts a coming crisis, grave measures, and, as 'security problems worsen and fear spreads,' broad acceptance of 'some form of lockdown.'" Tim Wu, The New Republic (read the entire New Republic review)
Synopsis
North Korean radios that are altered to receive only the official stations. Cars that listen in on their owners' conversations. Digital video recorders ordered to self-destruct in viewers' homes thanks to a lawsuit against the manufacturer thousands of miles away. Jonathan Zittrain's extraordinary book pieces together the engine that has catapulted the Internet ecosystem into the prominence it has today and explains that it is sputtering precisely because of its runaway success. With the unwitting help of consumers, the Internet is on a path to a lockdown, a closing off of opportunities and innovation.
Zittrain explains that the Internet and much of what is built on top of it is "generative" it welcomes change from anyone, anywhere. The benefits of generativity are innovative output (new things that improve people's lives), and participatory input (the opportunity to connect with other people, work with them, and express oneself). But security issues online, like viruses, spyware, and invasions of privacy, will see this generative infrastructure replaced by fashionable tethered appliances, including iPods, iPhones, Xboxes, and TiVos. These devices are not generative they can't be modified easily by users, even as they are continuously regulated and controlled by their makers. Zittrain offers an accessible discussion of the looming problems of an "appliancized" future and provides a set of visionary solutions to help stop it.
Synopsis
This extraordinary book explains the engine that has catapulted the Internet from backwater to ubiquityand reveals that it is sputtering precisely because of its runaway success. With the unwitting help of its users, the generative Internet is on a path to a lockdown, ending its cycle of innovationand facilitating unsettling new kinds of control.
IPods, iPhones, Xboxes, and TiVos represent the first wave of Internet-centered products that can t be easily modified by anyone except their vendors or selected partners. These tethered appliances have already been used in remarkable but little-known ways: car GPS systems have been reconfigured at the demand of law enforcement to eavesdrop on the occupants at all times, and digital video recorders have been ordered to self-destruct thanks to a lawsuit against the manufacturer thousands of miles away. New Web 2.0 platforms like Google mash-ups and Facebook are rightly toutedbut their applications can be similarly monitored and eliminated from a central source. As tethered appliances and applications eclipse the PC, the very nature of the Internetits generativity, or innovative characteris at risk.
The Internet s current trajectory is one of lost opportunity. Its salvation, Zittrain argues, lies in the hands of its millions of users. Drawing on generative technologies like Wikipedia that have so far survived their own successes, this book shows how to develop new technologies and social structures that allow users to work creatively and collaboratively, participate in solutions, and become true netizens.
"
Synopsis
The Internet is primed for a meltdown--and the most obvious cures are just as bad
This extraordinary book explains the engine that has catapulted the Internet from backwater to ubiquity--and reveals that it is sputtering precisely because of its runaway success. With the unwitting help of its users, the generative Internet is on a path to a lockdown, ending its cycle of innovation--and facilitating unsettling new kinds of control.
IPods, iPhones, Xboxes, and TiVos represent the first wave of Internet-centered products that can't be easily modified by anyone except their vendors or selected partners. These "tethered appliances" have already been used in remarkable but little-known ways: car GPS systems have been reconfigured at the demand of law enforcement to eavesdrop on the occupants at all times, and digital video recorders have been ordered to self-destruct thanks to a lawsuit against the manufacturer thousands of miles away. New Web 2.0 platforms like Google mash-ups and Facebook are rightly touted--but their applications can be similarly monitored and eliminated from a central source. As tethered appliances and applications eclipse the PC, the very nature of the Internet--its "generativity," or innovative character--is at risk.
The Internet's current trajectory is one of lost opportunity. Its salvation, Zittrain argues, lies in the hands of its millions of users. Drawing on generative technologies like Wikipedia that have so far survived their own successes, this book shows how to develop new technologies and social structures that allow users to work creatively and collaboratively, participate in solutions, and become true "netizens."
Synopsis
North Korean radios that are altered to receive only the official stations. Cars that listen in on their owners' conversations. Digital video recorders ordered to self-destruct in viewers' homes thanks to a lawsuit against the manufacturer thousands of miles away. Jonathan Zittrain's extraordinary book pieces together the engine that has catapulted the Internet ecosystem into the prominence it has today and explains that it is sputtering precisely because of its runaway success. With the unwitting help of consumers, the Internet is on a path to a lockdown, a closing off of opportunities and innovation.
Synopsis
The Internet is primed for a meltdownand#151;and the most obvious cures are just as bad
About the Author
Jonathan L. Zittrain is the Professor of Internet Governance and Regulation at Oxford University and co-founder of Harvard Law School's Berkman Center for Internet & Society. He lives in Oxford, UK, and Cambridge, MA.