The Big Switch: Rewiring the World, from Edison to Google

By: Nicholas Carr

Published January 17th 2008 by W. W. Norton & Company (first published 2008)

Category: Business

Pages: 224 pages

ISBN: 9780393062281

Description:
A hundred years ago, companies stopped producing their own power with steam engines and generators and plugged into the newly built electric grid. The cheap power pumped out by electric utilities not only changed how businesses operated but also brought the modern world into existence. Today a similar revolution is under way. Companies are dismantling their private computer systems and tapping into rich services delivered over the Internet. This time itÕs computing thatÕs turning into a utility. The shift is already remaking the computer industry, bringing new competitors like Google to the fore and threatening traditional stalwarts like Microsoft and Dell. But the effects will reach much further. Cheap computing will ultimately change society as profoundly as cheap electricity did. In this lucid and compelling book, Nicholas Carr weaves together history, economics, and technology to explain why computing is changingÑand what it means for all of us.