"The questions he poses about the relationship between technical change and political power are pressing ones that can no longer be ignored, and identifying them is perhaps the most a nascent 'philosophy of technology' can expect to achieve at the present time."—David Dickson, New York Times Book Review

"The Whale and the Reactoris the philosopher's equivalent of superb public history. In its pages an analytically trained mind confronts some of the most pressing political issues of our day."—Ruth Schwartz Cowan, Isis

How are media born? How do they change? And how do they change us?

Media Technology and Societyoffers a comprehensive account of the history of communications technologies, from the printing press to the internet. Brian Winston argues that the development of new media, 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, John Logie Baird, Boris Rozing and Charles Babbage, and challenges the popular myth of the present-day "information revolution."

Examining the fundamental assumptions that we hold about the role of technology in our lives, Technology and Social Space describes the possibilities and limitations of human agency within the new wired world. In a patient and thoughtful style, author J. Macgregor Wise elaborates a critical, philosophical, and epistemological framework from which to better understand our relations to technology and social space. The book argues that most treatments of technology and society arise from a modernist episteme (or set of assumptions) that radically separates humans from technologies, focusing on questions of determination and identity. In an attempt to provide a clearer view of technology and social space, the book explores alternative perspectives centered on notions of agency. Working from within these alternative epistemes, the book turns its attention to the burgeoning technological assemblage of communication and information characterized by the Internet and cyberspace. Technology and Social Space draws on the philosophy of Deleuze and Guattari and the actor-network sociology of Bruno Latour, and brings together diverse examples from cyborg films, television, museums, cyberspace, and debates over a New World Information and Communication Order. Ultimately, the book describes the possibilities and limitation of human agency within the new wired world. This groundbreaking volume will be of interest to professionals and academics in popular culture, media studies, mass communication, and sociology.

Historically, only large companies could afford secure networks, which they created from expensive leased lines. Smaller folks had to make do with the relatively untrusted Internet. Nowadays, even large companies have to go outside their private nets, because so many people telecommute or log in while they're on the road. How do you provide a low-cost, secure electronic network for your organization? The solution is a virtual private network: a collection of technologies that creates secure connections or "tunnels" over regular Internet lines—connections that can be easily used by anybody logging in from anywhere. A number of products now exist to help you develop that solution. This book tells you how to plan and build a VPN. It starts with general concerns like costs, configuration, and how a VPN fits in with other networking technologies like firewalls. It continues with detailed descriptions of how to install and use VPN technologies that are available for Windows NT and Unix, such as PPTP and L2TP, Altavista Tunnel, Cisco PIX, and the secure shell (SSH). New features in the second edition include SSH, which is a popular VPN solution for Unix systems, and an expanded description of the IPSec standard, for which several vendors have announced support. Topics include: How the VPN compares to other available networking technologiesIntroduction to encryption, firewalls, the IPSec standard, and other technologies that let VPNs workPoint to Point Tunneling Protocol (PPTP) and L2TPThe Altavista TunnelThe Cisco PIX FirewallSecure Shell (SSH)Maintenance and troubleshooting

The legendary ugly artist of Mad finds God! Cartoonist Basil Wolverton was known for his grotesque drawings in Mad magazine. He was commissioned and later employed by a church to write and illustrate a narrative of the Old Testament. Compiled and edited by Wolverton's son, Monte, the 304-page Bible Stories includes all of Wolverton's artwork for the Worldwide Church of God corporation. Recording artist and noted EC authority Grant Geissman (Tales of Terror: The E.C. Companion and Foul Play!: The Art and Artists of the Notorious 1950s E.C. Comics!) provides an insightful foreword, while Monte Wolverton delivers commentary and background in the introduction and in each section. This volume is authorized and commissioned by the Worldwide Church of God and endorsed by the Wolverton family. Many of the illustrations in this book are regarded as Basil Wolverton's finest work. Still others have never been published.

Written for the experienced developer who wants to understand what's next in Java programming, Jini in a Nutshellis an concise and excellent source of information on the latest Jini specification from Sun. Part tutorial and part reference, it's a great way to get a handle on the potential of Jini.

In the near future, Jini devices will be able to attach to networks anywhere, while looking up and "leasing" services (like printing). This standard promises a new era of more flexible network connectivity. This book shows you how to help make this happen. First it delivers an effective tutorial to basic and advanced topics in Jini programming, with plenty of short examples of actual client and server code that shows off RMI, discovery and leasing services, remote events, JavaSpaces, and other necessary features of this powerful—and complicated—new set of APIs from Sun.

The focus on the practical side of development is a strength here. The authors give plenty of hands-on tips, such as installing and running the Jini Starter Kit (JSK). More than most APIs, successful programming with Jini requires knowing the rules of what needs to be done with each class or interface. The authors provide step-by-step guidelines—as well as sample code—for each area of the API. This text concludes with over 100 pages of valuable reference material on every Jini utility, class, and method.

In all, with a mix of well-chosen programming tutorials and compact reference material, Jini in a Nutshellproves that a book doesn't have to be long to be comprehensive. This title will be a useful asset for the Java programmer who wants to learn Jini quickly and thoroughly. —Richard Dragan

Topics covered: Overview of Jini and discoverable network services; Jini communities; programming tutorial; sample code; installing and configuring the Jini Starter Kit (JSK); JSK utilities (reggie, mahalo, outrigger, fiddler, mercury, and norm); Remote Method Invocation (RMI); object serialization; activation; Jini Lookup Services; lookup and discovery support classes; attributes; leasing; landlords and lease policies; distributed remote events; service administration; Jini support classes; collections; thread utilities; reliable logs; transactions; the two-phase commit protocol; nestable transactions; JavaSpaces; read, write, and take operations; helper services; the Lease Renewal Service; the Event Mailbox Service; Java 2 security basics; Jini class and API reference.

Most books on operating systems deal with theory while ignoring practice. While the usual principles are covered in detail, the book describes a small, but real UNIX-like operating system: MINIX. The book demonstrates how it works while illustrating the principles behind it. Operating Systems: Design and Implementation Second Editionprovides the MINIX source code. The relevant selections of the MINIX code are described in detail. When it first came out, MINIX caused something of a revolution. Within weeks, it had its own newsgroup on USENET, with 40,000 people. Most wanted to make MINIX bigger and fancier. Instead, Linux was created. That has become quite popular, very large, and complicated. MINIX, on the other hand, has remained small and suitable for instruction and example. The book has been revised to include updates in MINIX, which started out as a v 7 unix clone for a floppy-disk only 8088. It is now aimed at 386, 486, and pentium machines and is based on the international posix standard instead of on v7. There are now also versions of MINIX for the Macintosh and SPARC available. Professional programmers will find this book to be a valuable resource and reference book.

In 1928, way before everyone else was talking about gender-bending and way, way before the terrific movie with Tilda Swinton, Virginia Woolf wrote her comic masterpiece, a fantastic, fanciful love letter disguised as a biography, to Vita Sackville-West. Orlando enters the book as an Elizabethan nobleman and leaves the book three centuries and one change of gender later as a liberated woman of the 1920s. Along the way this most rambunctious of Woolf's characters engages in sword fights, trades barbs with 18th century wits, has a baby, and drives a car. This is a deliriously written, breathless-making book and a classic both of lesbian literature and the Western canon.

Hearty bistro fare such as crisp pommes frites paired with a sizzling pepper-coated steak. Rustic country dishes, including coq au vin and fragrant seafood stew. Decadent desserts such as crème brûlée and cherry clafoutis. These are the simple recipes that capture the essence of French cuisine.

Williams-Sonoma Collection Frenchoffers more than 40 delicious and satisfying recipes, from time-honored classics to inspired new ideas, all designed for the way you cook today. When paired with a glass of wine and a fresh baguette, recipes such as caramelized onion tart or endive salad with beets and goat cheese make the perfect light lunch or casual dinner. For special celebrations, serve roasted asparagus with hazelnut oil vinaigrette alongside filets mignons with Roquefort sauce. Whether you enjoy the well-loved dishes of the French countryside or want to entertain with Parisian panache, here are recipes for every occasion.

Beautiful full-color photographs of each dish help you decide which one to prepare, and each recipe contains a photographic side note with additional information on key ingredients and techniques. With an informative chapter that covers the basics of French cuisine, as well as an extensive glossary, this essential volume will help you make simple French cooking part of your everyday culinary repertoire.