Ruling the Waves: Cycles of Discovery, Chaos, and Wealth from the Compass to the InternetBeginning with the development of the compass, Ruling the Waves examines a series of technological revolutions that promised, in their time, to transform the world's politics and business. With Debora Spar's gifted storytelling, each chapter reads like an adventure tale as she recounts the histories of the printing press and maps; of the telegraph, radio, and satellite television; of software, encryption, and the advent of digital music. At each of these junctures Spar suggests that invention led to both a wave of commerce and of chaos. Entrepreneurs such as Samuel Morse and Rupert Murdoch carved new markets from the emerging technology and proclaimed that the old rules no longer applied. And for a while, they were right. But eventually--and inevitably--even cowboys need rules: rules of property, rules of coordination, rules of competition. The erstwhile pioneers thus turn to government, lobbying for order and setting the stage for the next wave of discovery. A fascinating history of business, Ruling the Waves is also an original, thought-provoking analysis of the parallels between past innovations and inventions and our own tumultuous times. |
From inside the book
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Page 318
... antitrust laws of the United States . He ordered Microsoft to split its existing operations into two separate companies , one dealing with operating systems and the other with applications . Arguing that Microsoft had been ...
... antitrust laws of the United States . He ordered Microsoft to split its existing operations into two separate companies , one dealing with operating systems and the other with applications . Arguing that Microsoft had been ...
Page 320
... antitrust . Unlike antitrust , export controls are in- herently tied to the physical nature of the state . They are laws about things that cross borders , things that states can see and track and regulate . When these things suddenly ...
... antitrust . Unlike antitrust , export controls are in- herently tied to the physical nature of the state . They are laws about things that cross borders , things that states can see and track and regulate . When these things suddenly ...
Page 324
... antitrust law , depending on how you interpret the law and which judge is presiding . But its real crime came with regard to the informal rules of the game - to the norms and habits that defined the emerging Net . When Microsoft came to ...
... antitrust law , depending on how you interpret the law and which judge is presiding . But its real crime came with regard to the informal rules of the game - to the norms and habits that defined the emerging Net . When Microsoft came to ...
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American anarchy antitrust argued artists Atlantic became began Bill Gates Britain's broadcast browser BSkyB cable century channels Chuck D Clipper Chip commercial communication competition created cryptography cyberspace cypherpunks digital television early Electric emerging encryption established Europe European eventually example formal Gates History innovation Internet ITVs labels launched license lines London Marconi Marconi Company ment messages Microsoft monopoly Morse Murdoch Napster Navy Netscape Office once ONdigital online music operating Partenia patent personal computer pioneers piracy pirates political private firms problem profits programming property rights Quoted radio industry record regulation RIAA rules sailed Sarnoff satellite television SDMI ships signals simply Sky's standards stations technical technological frontier tele Telegraph Company telegraph industry tion trade transmission U.S. government United University Press users waves Western Union wire wireless York