Standage T. (editor) The Future of Technology

Bloomberg Press, 2005. — 358 p. — ISBN 1 86197 971 1.Drawing on the best technology writing that has appeared in The Economist, this collection is a thought-provokiing guide to where we are and where we are headed as we continue and implement the unprecendented technological innovation and challenges of our age.
To understand the future of technology, start by looking at its past. From the industrial revolution to the railway age, through the era of electrification, the advent of mass production and finally to the information age, the same pattern keeps repeating itself. An exciting, vibrant phase of innovation and financial speculation is followed by a crash; then begins a longer, more stately period during which the technology is widely deployed. Consider the railway mania of the 19th century, the dotcom technology of its day. Despite the boom and bust, railways subsequently proved to be a genuinely important technology and are still in use today – though they are not any longer regarded as technology by most people, but as merely a normal part of daily life.The authors
Foreword
Information technology grows up
Coming of age
Securing the cloud
Make it simple
A world of work
The shift towards consumer electronics
Mobile phones
Gaming
Digital home
Searching for the next big thing
Climbing the helical staircase
Energy
Small wonders
Robots and artificial intelligence