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"...the people dealing with these new technologies will still be derived from the human stock we're familiar with today."
- Charles Stross
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| E-Document Distribution | ||
| A method of wirelessly distributing a document to a large group of people in an ad hoc setting. |
How many times have you been to a conference and heard "I'm sorry, I only made 250 copies of this paper - some of you are going to have to share."
At a conference in the novel, one of the speakers finds an online document. He distributes it to the others live.
| "Aha," Nielsen said. "I just found an interesting paper on continental weathering that supports what Stan says. Here, I'll pipe it to you."
People drew plaques and readers from their pockets and unfolded them to receive the document, drawn from some corner of the net by Nielsen's quick-and-dirty ferret program. Distracted from his recent desire to leave, Stan too began reaching for his wallet. |
| Technovelgy from Earth,
by David Brin. Published by Bantam in 1990 Additional resources -
|
I'm constantly being promised that I will be able to walk up to a kiosk and hold out my device, and good stuff will be automagically beamed into it. This is a good early description of the electronic alternative to "Xerox the material, and give a copy to everyone."
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'...the rocket’s landing-arms automatically unfolded.'
'...points and patches of light... sliding all over their faces in a programmed manner that had been designed to foil facial recognition systems.'
'...the combined Wind-Suncatcher, like a spray of tulips mounted fanwise.'
'I went to the control room where the three other men were manipulating their mechanical men.'
'The low-slung monorail car, straddling its single track, bored through the shadows on a slowly rising course.'
'It was a smooth ovoid floating a few inches from the floor...'
'... he thrust in his charging arm to replenish his store of energy.'
'...the terrible Jovian gravity that made each movement an effort.'
