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A compulation of essays by some awesome minds. This book examines the ideas of the future via a technique of developing scenarios. Each author was asked to predict what the next fifty years would bring. Some of the authors look at advancement of technology itself. Other authors review what some of those advancements might mean with regards to our living space. Additional essays explore what business will look like in the year 2047. A key theme running through the essays is the ubiquitious nature technology will have in years ahead. Having technology inter-woven and abundant in our lives will change many social and political institutions. "Beyond Calculation" depicts these ideas with both tactical information to consider as well as futuristic ideas of what might be possible.The book also works through ideas about how technology will become more user friendly and design simplificaton will become essential.All of the ideas are exciting and interesting. Great read if you like considering the unknown, the reachable, or endless possiblities. A BOOK TO REALLY MAKE YOU THINK!

This book gets you thinking about some of the possibilities of computing. I personally found the style too dry, which accounts for my low score. If the essays were all written in Sherry Turkle's style (one of the contributors), I would have rated the book higher. But the ideas are *GREAT*, and to have all these peoples ideas in one book is wonderful

This book is a compendium of opinions on where computing is going based on where it has been. Dijkstra takes another jab at all the people who discount his ideas on provable programs and he sounds rather bitter. Bob Evans give an insider's view of IBM and the mistakes that it made. As with any collection from many authors, there will be some things you like and some you don't. I found it to be a very fast read. Grove's "Only the Paranoid Survive" is a more entertaining look at the recent history of computing. "In the Company of Giants" has more value-added ego if you like that sort of thing (I don't)

This books serves as a collection of essays from various experts in the field of computing. These essays speculate on the future of computing over the next fifty years. While the material was quite interesting; most of the essays were quite dry. A couple of the essays seemed like a chore to read.

In the first fifty years of computing, the machine was center stage as we looked at ways the computer could resemble the human mind. In the next fifty years a shift of focus will occur to view the human element first in the design of computers. What will this shift bring into play? Representative authors foresee the onset of 'ubiquitous computing,' 'calm technology,' and a new field of 'interaction design.' The relationship between the individual and the institution will change dramatically, with most institutions ceasing to exist as we currently know them today. We will see profound change in the way we learn and innovate. Moreover, computers will become part of our individual identities. "We will have become the technology we have created." But, will 'smart machines' be able to advise us on how to improve our lives? Is computing helping us to advance our own humanness? Read on.