Overview
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.
Synopsis
A provocative and visionary look at our new digital society, from "The most powerful woman in the Net-rati." --New York Times Magazine
Publishers Weekly
Despite its technical title, this first book from the New York Times-dubbed "most powerful woman in the Neterati" summarizes 20 years of experience and intelligent speculation for those whoWeb-savvy or notare wondering what all this wiring is going to mean. Editor of the newsletter Release 1.0 (from which some portions of this book are directly pulled), chairwoman of the Electronic Frontier Foundation and president and owner of EDventure Holdings, Dyson doesn't present many surprises here for those familiar with her thought, but nearly everything she says is worth hearing, even twice. With a firm grounding in the status quo, Dyson simply and clearly envisions the role of the Web in humanity's future, from how it will affect education to how new business models for intellectual property will emerge. "The source of commercial value will be people's attention, not the content that consumes their attention," she says. As reproduction is made cheap and fast, "businesses who make content will have to figure out ways other than selling copies to make money, and they will." Perhaps the greatest achievement here of this prescriptive visionary is her brilliant balancing of the intersection of life and technology. With a vigorous optimism that will bring some relief to the paranoid, this longtime sage to the wired now puts her thoughts in a form that will allow many to see what the impact of digitization on our lives is, and what it will be. 125,000 first printing; first serial to Newsweek; BDD Audio Cassette; author tour. (Oct.)
Editorials
From Barnes & Noble
The Barnes & Noble ReviewHailed as "the most powerful woman in the Net-erati," Esther Dyson has acted as an entrepreneur, analyst, and adviser to corporations and governments at the forefront of information technology for more than 20 years. A bold and brilliant pioneer in cyberspace, she possesses a keen awareness of the impact and implications of the digital world on all aspects of daily life. In her breakthrough book, Release 2.0: A Design for Living in the Digital Age, Dyson offers a visionary and provocative view of our impending future — even as she explores the choices we all must face as active members in an increasingly interactive society.
For years, Esther Dyson has been editing, writing, and publishing her influential industry newsletter, Release 1.0, which is read by media leaders all over the world. In this new book, Dyson takes a step back to share her ideas with a much broader audience. Taking its title from a software industry term for the version of a product released after the first version has been thoroughly revised, as well as from the title of her newsletter, Release 2.0 reveals an insider's understanding of how the Internet world will work and how we can work within it. But readers will not be daunted by the high-tech language — in Dyson's own words, "[It's] a book about the highway system for people who don't drive. They may not be on the highways, but they still should want to know how they work, where they go, how much they cost (in taxes, and otherwise), how they influence how people live their lives."
Calling attention to themyriadopportunities, trade-offs, and potential dangers throughout the digital landscape, Release 2.0 empowers and challenges readers to devise practical solutions to the issues we face. With an eye on causes for both concern and celebration, Dyson considers issues that affect us all: work, education, content control, security, and intellectual property. Above all, Release 2.0 provides a promising road map of our digital future; the Net, Dyson maintains, has untold power to celebrate human nature, creativity, and diversity — if we do it right.