What will be : how the new world of information will change our lives /

Dertouzos is head of MIT's Laboratory for Computer Science and author of Made in America: Regaining the Productive Edge. Thus his prognostications concerning the impact of new and emerging information technologies on education, business, entertainment, manufacturing, government, politics and daily life are definitely worth considering. He envisions a world of automated kitchens, smart cards that eliminate currency, interactive art forms and automobiles equipped with navigational systems. Groupwork and telework modules will enable individuals in different locations to work on a task simultaneously with colleagues around the globe. Health care consumers will electronically access their medical records and consult specialists online. Despite the pedestrian, tutorial writing style, Dertouzos has a command of specifics that makes this more than just a pie-in-the-sky exercise. His book is a mind-expanding roadmap to the coming information revolution. $100,000 ad/ promo; author tour. (Mar.) FYI: This title launches the HarperEdge imprint. (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved

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. (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.