Telecosm: How Infinite Bandwidth Will Revolutionize Our World

by George Gilder

Book Overview

The guru of high technology and a man whose "slightest utterance can move stocks" (The Wall Street Journal) presents a clear, cogent vision of the future of telecommunications; what it will mean in... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0684809303
• ISBN13: 9780684809304
• Release Date: September 2000
• Publisher: Simon & Schuster
• Length: 351 Pages
• Weight: 1.35 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.0" x 6.5" x 9.6"

Customer Reviews

Let there be light?

IT Strategy studies and deployment of solutions was my area of interest during the last decade. In most cases, especially while dealing with businesses that are geographically dispersed, connectivity has played a key role in deciding on the solution set. Trade off between centralized vs. de-centralized structures, TCO, maintainability and application response times on WAN have been crucial factors in decision making. Going by Eliyahu Goldratt's "Theory of Constraints", it is not difficult to guess that bandwidth availability and costs have dictated the boundaries of IT architectures. The "Last Mile Problem" used to sound like the last post. Not anymore, even in developing countries if Telecosm becomes a global reality. With abundance of cheap bandwidth we are entering a new era in IT Solutions. If Microcosm could pack computing power far exceeding the power of legacy mainframes on the PC sitting on our desks, Telecosm is about distributing this power from the center of the network to the peripheral devices. The ethernet card connecting the "teleputer" dissolves into the World Wide Web; World Wide Wait is eliminated by World Wide Waves. "The Network is the Computer".Microcosm has multiplied Computing power and Storage and divided costs by million folds. Connectivity between these massive and powerful systems has not kept pace during this phase. Better late than never, enter Telecosm. Fiber and Satellites using light and electromagnetic waves transfer information across the globe at Petabit rates. This paradigm shift in communications is bound to have profound effects on business and society. We will soon be wasting bandwidth as we are now wasting transistors on our processors. Gilder narrates this phenomenon very well.After reading the first 3 chapters of the book, I decided to revisit my college books on Quantum Physics- Planck's Constant, Wave Theory, Speed of light, Schroedinger's equation come in handy to really appreciate the power of Telecosm. For ready reference the book provides an excellent glossary of all technical terms that help have a quick recap. I would appreciate if the next edition contains detailed notes on concepts like WDM, CDMA and Packet Switching in the appendix. The future looks so bright that I foresee a global scarcity of sunglasses! But we still have a problem on hand- the limitation imposed by the speed of light. But if God created light, we need to urge with him to create something that is faster. That will need different lines of communication not discussed in this book. Till then, let there be light!

A wonderful read for the lay person

Wow! What a book. If you know nothing about what is going on in the technological world other than how cool the new nokia phones look, or if you follow numerous techno mumbo jumbo newsletters, this book is great.Whether you are a futurist or someone with a great appreciation for history, Gilder will capture you with this book.He takes the time to explain all the historical scientific achievements, and the people involved, that have brought us into the beginning of the telecosm.Then, in lay terms, he explains the science of bandwidth. If you know nothing about frequency, fiber optics, or communication technologies don't fret, this is an easy and fascinating read.And he makes the most logical, rational argument I've heard for why we are entering the age of the "dumb" network utilizing infinite bandwidth.Finally, he gives us a glimpse of what the future will hold. Quite an extraordinary work. If you love history or science you'll love this book. If you don't know anything about technology but have a curiosity then read this book. No advanced degree required. Or, if you're just looking for the "next big thing" in the stock market this will give you some general sectors to look at and some specific companies to consider.On a scale of 1 to 10, Gilder's book is an 11...

Flawed, but quite good

This book has much to criticise about it. However, overall it is an excellent overview of the telecommunications world. Gilder is unfortunately one of the few notable writers who is interested in (1) the technology (2) the companies (3) the social ramifications, and prepared to discuss all three. His analysis is sometimes flawed, and at other times his illiteration gets in the way of his point. However its flaws tend to be in its over-ambition -- the book could easily been twice as long, but then again it would have taken too long to write and subsequently become out of date.Very worth reading.

Ignore this book at your own peril

This may be your only chance to truly understand the fundamental communication revolution taking place around you. There have been precious few truly significant communication milestones since the first humanoid species learned to talk -and therefore ensured their survival-The printing press comes to mind and now perhaps the capacity to communicate with "infinite bandwidth". Those looking fot a quick stock tip may be dissapointed but then they are not destined to profit from this revolution anyway. It doesnt matter whether you are a network chip designer or a housewife, the chances are you are looking at this evolutionary phenomenon from your own perpective. Get a wide angle view from a man who gets it....read this book.

Useful Look at Some Telecommunications Irresistible Forces

Many people have a point of view about how the telecommunications technology and industry will evolve, but few fully understand the principles and assumptions behind their own perspective. Telecosm is a valuable summary of the science, engineering, and most influential companies that have been leading the changes in telecommunications potential. Those who have an advanced understanding of the science can skip those sections (Part One) and still have an enjoyable read. Those who want to know the human side of the engineering will find many rewarding stories (Part Two). The only people who will be disappointed will be those looking at his thoughts about investments (Part Four and Appendix B). First, it takes too long to bring out a book for the investment ideas to be any good by the time they appear. The market will have moved on. Second, this book is not enough in the futurist mode for us to find the important seedlings that will dominate the future. The companies discussed favorably in this book are visible and understood by most high technology investors already. Third, these ideas have been discussed for many years by Mr. Gilder in a variety of formats so they will only surprise people who are not familiar already with Mr. Gilder's nearly-ubiquitous prognostications. Mr. Gilder has several strengths as a technology guru that are evident in Telecosm. First, he writes clearly, simply, and beautifully. No one else does it as well in this field. Second, he knows a lot of the people involved and can unveil the personalities and intellectual history in an engaging way, as a result. Third, he is a systems thinker, so he is adept at connecting one development to another in explaining his reasoning about why one thing or another has or will happen. In doing this, he pays his reader the compliment of leaving the reader with enough information to develop her or his own opinion on the same subject. Fourth, he comes at the information from several perspectives, and that makes it more accessible. Well done!No book is without flaws, and it may help you to know what some of the ones are in this book. First, he fails to follow the line of his technology arguments into related fields. For example, he makes a great case for universal wireless devices of all types in constant use, but doesn't go very far in talking about what some of the enabling technologies are. For example, analog chips are very important in extending the battery life of these devices, which bodes well for those who make those chips. Second, he tells you about a trend and doesn't talk about who the players are. For example, one of his 20 Laws (see Appendix A) is the Yellow Pages Law: 'The telecosm demands better and better directories . . . .' Yet he doesn't talk about the efforts to develop those directories. This should be one of biggest areas of developing value in the next ten years, yet it gets little attention in the text.