Product Description

Accolades for Brave New Unwired World

"This book shines a laser-like brilliance on the near future of communication. Lightmans vision of mobile, broadband everyday life will certainly appeal to a market saturated with small-step changes. Lightman takes giant strides, based on known technical capabilities that have been under-used. The world will turn out his way, and sooner than most think."
–– Gregory Benford, professor of physics, University of California., Irvine, and author, Timescape

"Finally, a picture of the future of wireless with emphasis on the needs of people and on the benefits to users, in contrast with the hype, jargon, and acronyms so prevalent in our industry. Lightmans chapter on wearable computers and predictions of the 4G communicator are, alone, more than worth the price of the book."
–– Martin Cooper, Chairman and CEO, ArrayComm. Inc., inventor of the first cellular phone

"More riveting than any book about techno-innovation deserves to be. It makes the rivets of wireless communication fascinating."
–– David Brin, author, The Transparent Society

"Go directly to 4G, do not stop at 3G, is Alex Lightmans message. Why bother with 3G mobile phones that can only deliver a dial-up modems worth of data? He shows how broadband communications could go mobile, delivering a torrent of bits to computer systems that we wear. Its the sort of visionary idea that telecommunications needs."
–– Jeff Hecht, author, Understanding Fiber Optics and City of Light: The Story of Fiber Optics

"The future landscape (near term and far) for wireless infrastructure, computers, and gadgetry is rendered with authority and predictive accuracy in Lightmans Brave New Unwired World."
–– David Geer, journalist/technician

"Alex Lightman is both a philosopher and practical visionary who presents us with a good prediction of what well be. His focus on wireless communications and wearable computing is very timely."
–– Steve Mann, Professor, University of Toronto, and pioneer in wearable computing

"This book is as exciting as the emerging technologies the two authors write about. A must-read. Period."
–– Dr. Balz Wyss, Director of Business Development, RealNetworks Inc.

"Alex Lightman has a mind like a lamp, searching, questing for an understanding of the mutating world around us. His vision of a future convergence of technologies in a single device, a personal communicator that will be both elegant and easy to use, is especially enticing. Brave New Unwired World is a book that may very well be our compass into our possible futures."
–– George Zebrowski, award-winning author

"Lightman uses his extensive knowledge of the expanding telecommunications, technology, and global political environment to carefully sketch a portrait of high technology in the past, present, and not so distant future. Reads like a novel, yet absolutely vital."
–– Kelly Carter, President, The Kingston Group

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #115320 in eBooks
• Published on: 2002-03-20
• Format: Kindle Book
• Number of items: 1

Amazon.com Review
We're on the verge of ubiquitous connectivity, says technowizard Alex Lightman. His Brave New Unwired World: The Digital Big Bang and the Infinite Internet might read like science fiction, but smart money is betting on his predictions of wearable computing devices and cheap-as-water wireless bandwidth coming true. Even those who don't stand to make a gigabuck or two off fourth-generation wireless tech will race through Lightman's prose with abandon. He makes the future sound fun. While he can't promise personal jetpacks, his descriptions of simple, elegant communicators will make every red-blooded nerd drool.

Brave New Unwired World is more than just next year's Sharper Image catalog, though. Lightman has been watching trends in commerce, government, and technical research, and points out things to watch for in the first decade of the 21st century. American dollars, European regulators, and Asian factories, he predicts, will combine to change the world yet again. It's a fair bet that Aldous Huxley didn't see Brave New Unwired World coming, but we can be thankful that Dr. Lightman did. --Rob Lightner

Review
"...a thoroughly researched and technical piece..." -- Information Age, July 2002

"...a thoroughly researched and technical piece..." (Information Age, July 2002)

"...a timely and valuable introduction to the fourth generation of cellular networks..." (Infoconomy, 1 July 2002)

"an interesting insight into the potential future of wireless technology and communications. It's offered with authority and passion..." (M2 Best Books, 15 August 2002)

"...a timely and valuable introduction to the fourth generation of cellular networks..." -- Infoconomy, 1 July 2002

"an interesting insight into the potential future of wireless technology and communications. It's offered with authority and passion..." -- M2 Best Books, 15 August 2002

"…a thoroughly researched and technical piece…" -- Information Age, July 2002

Review
"Wireless is the next thing you should have understood yesterday. In this extraordinary book, rich with lucid explanations of a broad range of technology, Lightman crafts a map that will make the importance and difference of wireless make sense. If allowed by regulators, and freed from dinosaurs, wireless could fuel the next Internet revolution. This book shows how." —Larry Lessig, Professor, Stanford Law School and Author of Code and The Future of Ideas

"This is a must read book for anyone involved in the convergence of computing and telecommunications" —Satjiv Chahil, Chief Marketing Officer, Palm, Inc.

"Brave New Unwired World is a mind opener for every reader, with a huge collection of facts and thoughts presented in a fascinating way. Buckle up and enjoy the ride." —Sharon Carmel, Co-Founder, Emblaze Systems

"Courageous subject, courageous book, written by a very courageous entrepreneur." —Phil Garfinkle, Founder of PictureVision (AOL's You've Got Pictures), adVenture Capitalist, Entrepreneur

Brave New Unwired World offers a compelling and insightful look at the future of communication, the emergence of 4G Networks and the radical impact that new communication-based technologies will have on our personal and professional lives. —Douglas Ingram, Daedalus Venture Group

"Even people who don't venture beyond the past will be magically teleported into the future under the spell of this time warping work. At the outer limits of our understanding of telecommunication, Lightman sets off a flare and suddenly the last mile comes into searing focus" —Tony Dolz, Director, State of California Center for International Business Development

"A thorough and compelling study, filled with fascinating facts and personalities. Lightman knows his stuff, Brave New Unwired World is essential reading for the people who will resurrect telecommunications and IT and shape the 21st century. —Greg Bear, Author of Darwin's Radio

"Lightman and Rojas combine a dizzying array of fields and facts to provide commentary on some of the fundamental issues that will be facing the next generations of information technology. Opinionated and thought-provoking, Brave New Unwired World provides a perspective that, until now, only a few have seen." —Thad Starner, Ph.D., Professor, Georgia Tech

"Mr. Lightman, one of the more engaging of the entrepreneurial spirits of the 1990s, has returned with a trenchant argument for what the future of communications will look like: it will be based on people, not places, it will be wireless, the devices will be wearable and very cheap, and the network to which they are attached will be like electricity: ubiquitous, invisible, and always on. Oh brave new world!" —Jason Pontin, Editor, Red Herring magazine

"From 1G to 4G, from Moore's Law to Metcalf's Law, Lightman's Bave New Unwired World is worth the read just for the comprehensive historical perspective on the technological revolution over the last half of the last century. But you get more: a thorough orientation on where this is all likely to go in the early decades of the new milleneum, including not only possible roadmaps for 2.5G and beyond, but useful insights into the roles of Japan and China." —Arnold Pollard, Vice-Chairman, Chief Executive Group

Customer Reviews

Very timely
This book is essential reading for anyone interested in knowing
where the future of wireless communications will go.

The book touches on many of the important topics of our time,
including pervasive computing (ubiqcomp) and wearable computing.
Indeed, much of the future demand for wireless communication
will come from digital eyeglasses (computer vision systems
built into eyeglasses, visual prosthetics, Global eHealth, etc.).

For teaching courses related to or using wireless communiction,
even if this book is not being used as the main text,
I would highly recommend the book as additional optional reading.

A compass for wireless business and investment
A thouroughly researched, detailed book on what direction wireless and ubiquitous computing are going in. There may be those who shake their heads at how much these new sensors/appliances/gadgets will influence our lives, but the book lays out the data and trends methodically. This is must reading for any manager of a high-tech company or anyone investing in same. The book is highly unusual in its level of illustration, examples and background data -- many other books on future technology, in contrast, offer only oceans of opinionated verbiage with little to back it up. Any reader alert to opportunity should get a very high ROI out of buying this book.

Great material but a disjointed presentation
Brave New Unwired World addresses an exciting genre, personal wireless systems. The book also brings up and discusses many of the latest technologies in mobile computing.

Where this book falls short is it's presentation of more complex areas of mobile computing. Instead of building up to deeper issues with background and supporting information, there are spikes of depth. Specifically, terms and concepts will be brought up with little or no supporting background. And just as suddenly the depth will be abandoned, jumping to a new point at a low level. This makes for a very disjointed presentation.

If this were the only work in the field I would rate it higher. However there are similar works that are far superior (ex. Smart Mobs: The Next Social Revolution by Howard Rheingold) and cover the same subject matter.