Few modern technologies are designed to stand alone. Because most machines must now fit into systems and be compatible with other technologies, the creation of standards has become a fundamental element of design and engineering. Conflicts such as the "color television war" of the 1970s and recent disputes over high-definition television (HDTV) highlight the complexities of the standard-setting process.
Despite the global nature of the Information Revolution, most policies for information infrastructure are developed at the national level. These national policies reflect local economic, social, historical, and political circumstances and exhibit remarkable differences in vision, policy design, and implementation strategy. In general, they reflect the reality that private sector will play the leading role in developing the new infrastructure.
Despite enormous investments in computers over the last twenty years, productivity in the very service industries at which they were aimed virtually stagnated everywhere in the world.
Improving the way that technology is transferred from laboratory to marketplace is central to improving American productivity and competitiveness in a global economy. In this provocative analysis, Stephen Doheny-Farina shows that the technical and commercial processes of turning technologies into products are, in significant ways, communication processes. He explores the key role that technical communicators must play in the movement of technology from expert designers and developers to users.
Industry veteran Raymond Nickerson provides an extensive introduction to the information technology revolution that is transforming industrial society. He focuses particularly on the study of person-computer interaction, noting how computers are affecting their users and society as a whole, and describes a variety of ways in which information technology is expected to develop in the foreseeable future.
In describing the technical experiences of one company from the beginning of the computer era, this book unfolds the challenges that IBM's research and development laboratories faced, the technological paths they chose, and how these choices affected the company and the computer industry.
What is the bottom line on Artificial Intelligence? The AI Business offers a comprehensive summary of the commercial picture, present and future, for Artificial Intelligence in the computer industry, medicine, the oil industry, and electronic design. AI's brightest and best—financiers, researchers, and users—analyze current projects, speculate on trends in factory automation, compare research in Japan and the U.S., and note the pros and cons of investment opportunities.
