Overview

How are new media born? How do they change? And how do they change us? Media Technology and Society offers a comprehensive account of the history of communications technologies, from the printing press to the internet. Winston argues that the development of new media forms, from the telegraph and the telephone to computers, satellite and virtual reality, is the product of a constant play-off between social necessity and suppression: the unwritten law by which new technologies are introduced into society only insofar as their disruptive potential is limited. Winston's fascinating account examines the role played by individuals such as Alexander Graham Bell, Gugliemo Marconi, and John Logie Baird and Boris Rozing, in the devlopment of the telephone, radio and television, and Charles babbage, whose design for a 'universal analytic engine' was a forerunner of the modern computer. He examines why some prototypes are abandoned, and why many 'inventions' are created simultaneously by innovators unaware of each other's existence, and shows how new industries develop around these inventions, providing media products to a mass audience. Challenging the popular myth of a present-day'information revolution' Media Technology and Society is essential reading for anyone interested in the social impact of technological change.

Full Product Details

Author:   Brian Winston
Publisher:   Taylor & Francis Ltd
Imprint:   Routledge
Edition:   Re-issue
Dimensions:   Width: 15.60cm , Height: 2.00cm , Length: 23.40cm
Weight:   0.566kg
ISBN:  

9780415142304

ISBN 10:   041514230
Pages:   392
Publication Date:   16 April 1998
Audience:   College/higher education ,  Professional and scholarly ,  Tertiary & Higher Education ,  Undergraduate
Format:   Paperback
Publisher's Status:   Active
Availability:   In Print  
This item will be ordered in for you from one of our suppliers. Upon receipt, we will promptly dispatch it out to you. For in store availability, please contact us.

Table of Contents

Introduction: The Storm from Paradise: Technological Innovation, Diffusion and Suppression: Part One: Propogating Sound at Considerable Distance 1. The Telegraph: The First Electrical Medium 2. Before the Speaking Telephone 3. The Capture of Sound Part Two: The Vital Spark & Fugitive Pictures 4. Wireless and Radio 5. Mechanically Scanned Television 6. Electronically Scanned Television 7. Television Spin-Offs and Redundancies Part Three: Device for Casting Up Sums Very Pretty 8. Mechanising Calculation 9. The First Computers 10. Suppressing the Mainframes 11. The Integrated Circuit 12. The Coming of the Microcomputer Part Four: The Intricate Web of Trails 13. The Beginnings of Networks 14. Networks & Recording Technologies 15. Communications Satellites 16. The Satellite Era 17. Cable Television 18. The Internet Conclusion: The Pile of Debris From the Boulevard des Capucins to the Leningradsky Prospect

Reviews

In this widely researched history of communication and information technologies, from the printing press to the Internet, Brian Winston argues that the development of new media forms, from the telegraph and the telephone to computers, satellites, and virtual reality, is the product of a constant play-off between social necessity and suppression: the unwritten law by which new technologies are introduced into society only insofar as their disruptive potential is limited. Winston's monograph asks difficult questions: How are new media born? How do they change? Moreover, how do they change us? He concludes that the information Revolution is not revolutionary. Current technologies are merely elaborating a process of change begun much earlier, and historical study of these alterations offers many insights into the potential effects of today's latest developments. <br>-American Association for History and Computing Prize for the Best Book of 1998 <br> Winston's notes should not be missed; they contain historical nuggets and comment on the main text. A valuable history illuminated with a unique and insightful model applicable to other fields. Highly recommended as a replacement for the earlier volume. <br>- Choice, 3/99 <br> With an impressive breadth of scholarship, the author makes an effective case...this book should provide a healthy counterweight to the hyperbole that currently surrounds talk and writing about the 'Information Age'. <br>- American Studies <br>

In this widely researched history of communication and information technologies, from the printing press to the Internet, Brian Winston argues that the development of new media forms, from the telegraph and the telephone to computers, satellites, and virtual reality, is the product of a constant play-off between social necessity and suppression: the unwritten law by which new technologies are introduced into society only insofar as their disruptive potential is limited. Winston's monograph asks difficult questions: How are new media born? How do they change? Moreover, how do they change us? He concludes that the information Revolution is not revolutionary. Current technologies are merely elaborating a process of change begun much earlier, and historical study of these alterations offers many insights into the potential effects of today's latest developments. -American Association for History and Computing Prize for the Best Book of 1998 Winston's notes should not be missed; they contain historical nuggets and comment on the main text. A valuable history illuminated with a unique and insightful model applicable to other fields. Highly recommended as a replacement for the earlier volume. - Choice, 3/99 With an impressive breadth of scholarship, the author makes an effective case...this book should provide a healthy counterweight to the hyperbole that currently surrounds talk and writing about the 'Information Age'. - American Studies

Author Information

Brian Winston

Tab Content 6

Author Website:  

Customer Reviews

Recent Reviews

No review item found!

Add your own review!

Countries Available

All regions