OK book about how computers are NOT revolutionizing education. ( )

I'm a bit mixed on this book. The first time I read it, I thought that Clifford had some good points. The second time I read it I just felt that he might be a little jaded.

Charmingly outdated. Still worth considering. ( )

Highly, but unfortunately unintentionally, amusing book. Part of it is that it was written in 1995 and I read it in 2014, but most of it is that Clifford Stoll - who can really write, witness Cuckoo's Egg - is curmudgeoning all over this newfangled network Internet stuff. The funniest parts are when he's pointing out (in 1995) that people are talking about watching movies over the Internet but the networks aren't anywhere near fast enough so the whole idea is ridiculous...and similar. A _lot_ of his complaints are that the network, or the systems, or the standards are not up to what the visionaries want it for...to the point that my response to most of his grumbles was "Not yet, you mean..." - which was interesting when the things he was grumbling about don't work yet in 2014. Hmmm. He complains about how complicated it is to send emails because everyone has their own system, and grumbles about how expensive it is to get anything worthwhile over the Net. And then goes off on how the Internet makes research way too easy and cheap and everyone's using these shortcuts rather than going to a Real! Library! with paper books and encyclopedias...contradicting himself, just a tad, but keeping to his curmudgeonly style (and echoing a lot of contemporary complaints about Wikipedia and the like). I was rather annoyed at the beginning of the book - wincing about Stoll missing the point a lot - but finally decided to be amused instead and finished it in a quick sweep. I'm glad I read it, it was quite amusing, I doubt very much I'll ever reread. ( )

Goodness, there's a name out of the blue. I had totally forgotten Clifford Stoll. I read the Cuckoo's Egg years ago and then when this book came out it was requested by all the Luddites on campus (many of them good friends) who were terrified by the Internet and computers. Stoll became their god for a while since here was someone on the inside with doubts. Of course, Stoll was mostly wrong, and that's why we don't hear much from him anymore. ( )