The Dream Machine (Hardcover)

Behind every great revolution is a vision and behind perhaps the greatest revolution of our time, personal computing, is the vision of J.C.R. Licklider. He did not design the first personal computers or write the software that ran on them, nor was he involved in the legendary early companies that brought them to the forefront of our everyday experience. He was instead a relentless visionary that saw the potential of the way individuals could interact with computers and software.

At a time when computers were a short step removed from mechanical data processors, Licklider was writing treatises on "human-computer symbiosis", "computers as communication devices", and a now not-so-unfamiliar "Intergalactic Network." His ideas became so influential, his passion so contagious, that Waldrop called him "computing's Johnny Appleseed.

In a simultaneously compelling personal narrative and comprehensive historical exposition, Waldrop tells the story of the man who not only instigated the work that led to the internet, but also shifted our understanding of what computers were and could be.


Included in this edition are also the original texts of Licklider's three most influential writings: 'Man-computer symbiosis' (1960), which outlines the vision that inspired the personal computer revolution of the 1970s; his 'Intergalactic Network' memo (1963), which outlines the vision that inspired the internet; and "The computer as a communication device" (1968, co-authored with Robert Taylor), which amplifies his vision for what the network could become.

每一次偉大的革命背後都有一個願景，而在我們這個時代最偉大的革命──個人電腦革命──背後的願景，來自J.C.R. Licklider。他並非設計第一台個人電腦或撰寫運行在其上的軟體，也未參與將這些電腦帶到我們日常生活中的傳奇早期公司。相反地，他是一位不懈的願景家，看到了個人與電腦和軟體互動的潛力。

在電腦距離機械數據處理器僅一步之隔的時候，Licklider正在撰寫關於「人機共生」、「電腦作為通訊設備」以及現在已不再陌生的「星際網絡」的論文。他的想法影響深遠，他的熱情感染力十足，以至於Waldrop稱他為「計算界的強尼·蘋果種子」。

Waldrop以引人入勝的個人敘述和全面的歷史論述，講述了這位人物的故事，他不僅推動了導致互聯網誕生的工作，還改變了我們對電腦的理解。

此版本還包括Licklider三篇最具影響力的原始著作：「人機共生」（1960年），該著作概述了激發了1970年代個人電腦革命的願景；他的「星際網絡」備忘錄（1963年），該備忘錄概述了激發了互聯網的願景；以及與Robert Taylor合著的「電腦作為通訊設備」（1968年），該著作加強了他對網絡未來發展的願景。