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Always On: How The Iphone Unlocked The Anything-Anytime-Anywhere Future--And Locked Us In (2011)

by Brian X. Chen(Favorite Author)

3.2 of 5 Votes: 1

ISBN

0306819821 (ISBN13: 9780306819827)

languge

English

genre

Nonfiction

publisher

Da Capo Press

review 1: A pretty good account of how mobile devices are affecting our lives and our society.i've read two other books on this subject so far this year (i don't know why i never bothered before this year... i am a subscriber to wired and a habitual reader of gizmodo, i09, and other tech/sciencey type sites...) and this one was the most sober and straight forward of the lot. You can't really compare it to Nicholas Carr's "The Shallows," even though it is in the same vein. Shallows is way more in-depth neurologically and historically. though it does tend to seem doom-and-gloom, i didn't see it that way. That book, and Chen's Always On could act as companion pieces, telling slightly different versions of the same story. It offers nice counterpoints to Carr's book, and Always On does ... morethis without it sounding preachy, vainglorious, or senselessly cheerleading, like Nick Bilton's "I Live In The Future (and this is how it works)." which from the very first page, turned me off. Bilton ended up sounding like a tech-savy frat boy -"you don't like tech? WELL FUCK YOU. YOU'RE STUPID."- i guess my impression of Nick Bilton doesn't come off on "intarwebz" so well... le sigh.The only reason i'm giving it 4 stars is that i feel like the book wasn't long enough, and the lead-ins from chapter to chapter were a bit rough. I was also a bit dissapointed in the end, feeling it a bit abrupt. all in all, it's a fine book and should be read by anyone who likes to examine the world of Tech.
review 2: Great overview of how the electronic age has enhanced our daily lives. I liked how Brian did a study where he didn't use any digital media and how it was very difficult to work and interact. We have become addicted or smartphones and electronic devices are necessary to conduct business and to socially interact. It is so much easier to send a text or an email than to meet personally.I was engaged from page one until the end where new devices will surface that is being done right now - augmented reality (AR). less

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