L. B. Glass

Excellent narrative, but needs an update.

Revisado: 04-04-19

An excellent narrative - though it glosses over some early Internet entrepreneurs' greed, deceptiveness, and lack of business ethics. The main problem I found, though, is that it is no longer up to date. It doesn't mention recent scandals involving Google or Facebook, for example, nor Google's push to have the Internet regulated - using the false slogan "network neutrality" - to prevent competition from arising. The author should revise the book to cover these and other timely topics.

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Thought this "new age" nonsense died in the 80s.

Revisado: 04-04-19

From the title and description, one would think that this book would give you practical, down to earth advice. But it doesn't; by the end of the first chapter, it has drifted off into "new age" pseudo-spirituality and fluffy pop "psychology." I'd thought that this sort of chicanery had died back in the 80s, along with Werner Erhard's "est training" and other similar nonsense. But here it is, in a book that completely fails to deliver on the promises on the cover. Don't waste your money or Audible credits on this one.

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esto le resultó útil a 2 personas

Anything BUT "complete."

Revisado: 04-02-19

This book promises to be a complete "manual" of ham radio contesting, but doesn't deliver. Most of it consists of a vague, general, beginner's description of amateur radio and how to get a license (off topic; if the reader didn't know this he or she would have no interest in contesting in the first place). There is very little actual material about the subject the book purports to cover. No insightful tips or inside information for the ham who is interested in learning about contesting - just a few basics one could pick up for free on the Web. Not worth an Audible credit; I am "returning" the audiobook.

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Good overview of issues; naïve proposed solutions

Revisado: 03-19-19

In this book, Schneier gives a useful introduction to key IoT and cybersecurity issues. Alas, in his recommended policy solutions, Schneier naïvely expresses too much faith in government... and in organizations which profess to act in the "public interest" but are actually controlled by corporations. Governments, and the people within them (both bureaucrats and elected officials), are self-interested. Schneier promotes policies which would place too much trust in them, and give them too much power, with too little oversight. Likewise, Schneier paints non-governmental organizations (NGOs for short) which are effectively lobbying shops for large corporations - such as the New America Foundation and its Open Technology Institute, or the Electronic Frontier Foundation, both of which are controlled by Google - as worthy of trust in dictating policy when in fact they are the most dangerous entities to dictate it. Schneier also embraces, without critical examination, agendas such as "network neutrality" - a slogan which is used to lobby for harmful Internet regulations desired, and written, by large corporations to fatten their wallets and forestall competition. In short, Schneier is overly optimistic about the motivations of key players which cannot and should not be trusted, and therefore makes naïve policy recommendations that would backfire if put into practice. It appears that his intentions are good - and the technological facts he presents are almost 100% accurate. But the reader should greet his optimism about the trustworthiness of government, and of NGOs, to solve cybersecurity problems with at least some skepticism. If we put ourselves in the hands of untrustworthy actors - and many of the ones he portrays as trustworthy are not - the problems posed by technology and connectivity will become worse, not better.

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esto le resultó útil a 4 personas

Long "pep talk" by an egocentric high school coach

Revisado: 03-05-19

Didn't finish it. The author is like a bad high school football coach - pigheaded, egocentric, ignorant and PROUD OF IT - telling his team to overextend themselves, even if it means harmful injury, just so HE can have a win. Not even a high quality pep talk. Give it a miss.

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