Media technology and society : a history : from the telegraph to the Internet

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. 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. Interdisciplinary Studies Book Cover 1 Title 4 Contents 5 List of figures 12 Acknowledgements 14 Introduction: A storm from paradise;technological innovation, diffusion and suppression 16 The telegraph 34 Before the speaking telephone 45 The capture of sound 66 Wireless and radio 82 Mechanically scanned television 103 Electronically scanned television 115 Television spin-offs and redundancies 141 Mechanising calculation 162 The first computers 181 Suppressing the main frames 204 The integrated circuit 221 The coming of the microcomputer 242 The beginnings of networks 258 Networks and recording technologies 276 Communications satellites 291 The satellite era 310 Cable television 320 The Internet 336 Conclusion: The pile of debris;from the Boulevard des Capucins to the Leningradsky Prospect 352 Notes 358 References 366 Index 376 How are 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. 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.

How are new media born? How do they change? And how do they change us? This work offers an account of the history of communication technologies, from the printing press to the Internet, and seeks to challenge the popular myth of a present-day "information revolution" How are new media born? How do they change? And how do they change us? This work reports on the history of communication technologies, from the printing press to the Internet, and seeks to challenge the myth of an 'information revolution'

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.