Random Articles - RAW 160722

Hi and welcome .

What do you think? Is reading antisocial? And if it is should readers be ashamed?  I don't think so, but what do you think? I'd be interested to know.

On another note, I've completed some housekeeping on my blog and have added a Start Here page and refreshed the About Me page. Check them both out and let me know what you think, I'm open to ways of improving the accessibility of this blog.

Anyway enjoy your weekend, and enjoy reading with your favourite beverage in hand.

Is Reading Antisocial?

Another attempt to socially network books has bitten the dust. Maybe readers just want to be alone. When e-books and tablet computers first came along, they brought with them the prospect of being able to share and discuss responses to a book with a friend while you were actually reading it, in the form of highlights and annotations that appear right on the digital page. You can set your Kindle to show you which passages other readers have highlighted, for example. Too often, however, those readers’ choices — almost always lines that do double duty as inspirational mottos — are tedious. I don’t care what some random stranger thinks is the takeaway... Read more...

Twelve Tomorrows.The Anthology

This looks interesting.  Science fiction inspired by today's new technologies. Inspired by the real-life breakthroughs covered in the pages of MIT Technology Review, writers Nick Harkaway, Bruce Sterling, and Paola Antonelli join emerging authors from around the world to envision the future of the Internet, biotechnology, computing, and more. Read more...

Here’s A Look Back at How Sci-Fi Literature Predicted the Rise of Modern Virtual Reality

With the introduction of top-end devices such as the Oculus Rift and the HTC Vive as well as the simple ones such as Google Cardboard, Virtual Reality is the next digital frontier. While it’s a world that can now be practically realized, it’s not a new idea: Science Fiction has long been imagining virtual worlds within imagined ones. Read more...

Zeroes by Chuck Wendig (Book Review).

Zeroes’ tell the story of a mismatched group of five hackers, crackers and con-artists. Rather than do hard time for their crimes, they are selected by a shadowy government scheme called Typhon. Taken by the FBI to an isolated country lodge, the five begin to work as ‘white-hat’ sort of good guys. Soon, the group find hints and whispers that Typhon may be up to something more sinister. The search though the cyberverse for answers spills over into a real life running battle.  Read more...

If Barnes And Noble Goes Out of Business, Would Anyone Care?

The New Republic is concerned that the death of B&N could have odd and unpleasant side effects on publishing.  While other retailers would take up the slack in terms of sales, they would not provide the early volume of orders that some publishers have come to rely upon. Read more...

Princess Leia Brainwaves May Help You Learn In Your Sleep

Newly discovered brainwaves – coined Princess Leia waves – that cycle around the brain as we sleep, may help us remember the day’s events. Terry Sejnowski at the Salk Institute for Biological Sciences in La Jolla, California, coined the name after discovering patterns of electrical activity that sweep through the sleeping brain in a circular motion that resembled the headphone-like hairstyle made famous by Carrie Fisher in the Star Wars movies. Read more...

I’m a rocket scientist Designing Wood Stoves That Burn Without Smoking–To Save Lives And Save The Planet

“Where did you put the smoke?” When you hear that, you know a village demo is going well. It’s one of the best reactions we get in the field when we take our stove out into a public space, light a fire with a few pieces of wood, and gather a crowd just as a bright orange flame pops out from the top of the unit. The moment is mesmerizing, and if things go our way, potentially life-saving. Read more...

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