The Big Switch: Rewiring the World, from Edison to Google by Nicholas Carr
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Book Reviews of The Big Switch: Rewiring the World, from Edison to Google
Book Review: Utility comparison has a fatal flaw
Summary: 3 Stars
I liked the book in general but struggled with the utility analogy. Here is why:
The utilities have traditionally built the infrastructure from the generation plant to your house. If the meter goes wrong, you call them. Power goes out in the middle of the night, they are on the hook. They make the investments, and they reap the rewards.
In the utility computing environment world, we have multiple players. If the connection between me and say Google is down, it could be my local ISP, the connection or backbone or Google itself. The physical connection has multiple entities, with far different agendas in play.
In the book, many of the examples are for free or very cheap solutions. Who pays for the required upgrades to the infrastructure? The consumer will at the ISP level indirectly, not the IT utility. I found it curois when Carr sited Google's new data center and its placement, where the local county had made the investment in dark fiber.
The final flaw is this: if ISPs start charging for bandwidth caps, it goes against the utility model. Unlike the electricity where power users get better rates, the consumer ISP model would suggest that I limit my usage or at least aggressively monitor my usage. With teenage daughter who have grown accustom to videos and music on demand, this will be areal challenge.
Book Review: book-length advertisement for web-services
Summary: 2 Stars
Carr teases us with a fascinating explanation of the development of electricity-as-service in the 19th century, then examines the consequences of the grid in the 20th century with hasty, shallow criticism. The rest of the book is a patchwork of web 2.0 anecdotes and borrowed predictions.
The book is worth reading if you don't know much about computer science or computer commerce, and wonder what all the hubbub is about. Don't let it be the last word you consider on the subject -- this is a seductive book, but don't expect it to stick around for breakfast.
Book Review: An Easy Read But Why Bother
Summary: 2 Stars
Big Switch is easy to read and, for the most part, entertaining. The first half of the book is coherent and provides a fun (but not new) comparison of the development of electrical distribution systems to the development of information distribution systems. I enjoyed reading the first half of the book.
The second half of the book needs the attention of an editor with a sharp pencil and some technical knowledge. The technology and challenges are trivialized and seemed to be presented in an almost random fashion. I did not enjoy the second half of the book and wanted to send it back for a rewrite.
Book Review: Just one of the big switches
Summary: 3 Stars
Nicholas Carr wrote a good book about the big switch from personal/local computing towards centralized computing. He compares this switch with the change from the local electricity production towards centralized power plants. He takes quite a few pages to explain this parallel, even though it's a very obvious switch.
Unfortunately, he misses the big picture, i.e., the fact that these big switches have been taking place for centuries on all kinds of trades. And these switches are still taking place.
It's an economic truth that holds just as well for:
- making your own tools, towards buying factory made tools;
- growing your own food, towards buying your food prepared in a factory;
- knitting your own clothes, towards buying your clothes made in factories (centralized in low wage countries);
- preparing your own diner, towards buying ready made meals or eating outdoors;
- from fishing your own trout towards getting it from large fish farms;
- teaching your children, towards schools that educate your children;
- taking care of your children, toward daycare centers;
- etc., etc.
Interesting question for you: what will be the next big switch?
Next question:
Will there ever be a reversal, i.e., from centralized production/care taking back towards local/personalized production?
Is it likely that power production will move back again to individual homes? For example, due to solar power cells on roofs? (less loss of energy due to transport)
Will grid computing ever change the centralization toward local computing again? It will be interesting to see if economy of scale has limits, for example environmental limits. What is better for your child: big centralized schools, or small local ones? Which food tastes better: factory food or the local grown food?
When will "better" win from "cheaper"?
Book Review: Great food for thought...
Summary: 5 Stars
Some of the other reviewers here have some criticisms of Carr's examples and I think that they are valid, if taken purely from a mechanical perspective. I think that the best part of the book is that Carr goes to great lengths to show why the analogies and comparisons are worthwhile. Whether or not you agree with his specific conclusions about utility computing (or of a specific player/technology), he is squarely pointing towards a future that is upon us now. Anyone that has an interest in how technology is likely to unfold over the next years would be well advised to read this book and consider his perspective.