chenr@tilt.FUN (The 1200 baud hacker) (10/22/84)
> > A SF book concerning computers you may enjoy is John Brunner's > "Shockwave Rider". It is set in the USA in the near future. The nation > is wired together by a huge, pervasive computer network. Everyone has > access to the net, and everyone's life is highly affected by the > information maintained about them by the 'net' (the existance of > monstorous databases and machines is hinted about, but never really > explained). Brunner's understanding of computers and networks is pretty > accurate. He introduces the idea of 'worm' programs. A worm is a > distributed program that propogates itself across the network, while > accomplishing whatever job it was designed to do. A paper I read (in > ACM or IEEE journal) a few years ago, authored at PARC and concerning > experimentation with 'worms', was the impetus to read "Shockwave Rider". > The authors of the paper indicate (in the paper) Brunner's book was > where they got their ideas. They did succeed in writing a 'worm', as I > recall. > "Shockwave Rider" is probably *the* classic computer science-fiction book. It was inspired by Alfred Toffler's book "Future Shock", hence the name "Shockwave Rider". While the computer/networking stuff in the book is fascinating, the portrayal of a "Future-Shock"-like society and all its implications is wonderful. My favorite Brunner book. Another good computer-related book: "Web of Angels" by John Ford. Postulates an inter-stellar computer network tied together by "t-zero synapes". Called t-zero because information takes zero time to cross the synapes, regardless of distance. The network is run by "virtuals", programs that "roam" the network, moving from hardware to hardware, and performing whatever functions they were designed to do. The main problem the book addresses is the problem of "web-spinners" (aka wizards) who can break the system. As part of the current societal set-up, the company running the web, Bell Stellar (suprise!), is authorized to "terminate with extreme prejudice." A fascinating book, especially because John Ford is an incredible wordsmith, rivaled, I believe, only by David Brin. Have fun reading... ---- The preceding message was brought to you by -- Ray Chen princeton!tilt!chenr