What Just Happened: A Chronicle from the Information Frontier

Abstract

This book of previously published essays by the author of \emph{Chaos} and \emph{Faster} is an eclectic chronicle of the information revolution's first 10 years. ``The last decade of the twentieth century came as a surprise,'' writes James Gleick. \emph{What Just Happened} shows how surprising it was: in the book's first piece, from 1992, Gleick notes that ``a relatively small number of personal computer users use Windows.'' (He's a good sport about it, too, poking fun at himself in an introduction for making such an obsolete observation.) A longish piece on Microsoft from 1995 seems to correct the problem when Gleick comments on ``the ever-advancing boundary of Microsoft's Windows package.'' Then it goes on to get something really right: ``Microsoft's own power poses a threat, too--the threat that comes with the self-fulfilling destiny of any monopolist.'' That's a prescient observation, considering the antitrust actions taken against the company since those words were written. The closing chapter of the book is fascinating and forward-looking; it's not about what just happened but what may happen. Gleick anticipates the appearance of wristwatches containing ``biometric information about your loved ones, so you can see how your parents are doing.'' If that doesn't sound exciting enough, consider this prediction: ``One can even imagine properly functional motor-vehicle offices.'' Now \emph{that's} something to look forward to. \emph{--John Miller}