BIBLIO is the largest independent book marketplace in the world, with over 100 million books.

Skip to content

A Prehistory of the Cloud
Stock photo: cover may vary

A Prehistory of the Cloud Paperback - 2016

by Tung-Hui Hu

Add to wish list

Reader reviews for A Prehistory of the Cloud

From the publisher

The militarized legacy of the digital cloud: how the cloud grew out of older network technologies and politics.

We may imagine the digital cloud as placeless, mute, ethereal, and unmediated. Yet the reality of the cloud is embodied in thousands of massive data centers, any one of which can use as much electricity as a midsized town. Even all these data centers are only one small part of the cloud. Behind that cloud-shaped icon on our screens is a whole universe of technologies and cultural norms, all working to keep us from noticing their existence. In this book, Tung-Hui Hu examines the gap between the real and the virtual in our understanding of the cloud.

Hu shows that the cloud grew out of such older networks as railroad tracks, sewer lines, and television circuits. He describes key moments in the prehistory of the cloud, from the game "Spacewar" as exemplar of time-sharing computers to Cold War bunkers that were later reused as data centers. Countering the popular perception of a new "cloudlike" political power that is dispersed and immaterial, Hu argues that the cloud grafts digital technologies onto older ways of exerting power over a population. But because we invest the cloud with cultural fantasies about security and participation, we fail to recognize its militarized origins and ideology. Moving between the materiality of the technology itself and its cultural rhetoric, Hu's account offers a set of new tools for rethinking the contemporary digital environment.

Details

  • Title A Prehistory of the Cloud
  • Author Tung-Hui Hu
  • Binding Paperback
  • Edition Reprint
  • Pages 240
  • Volumes 1
  • Language ENG
  • Publisher MIT Press
  • Publication date 2016
  • Illustrated Yes
  • ISBN 9780262529969 / 0262529963
  • Weight 0.7 lbs (0.32 kg)
  • Dimensions 8.9 x 5.9 x 0.5 in (22.61 x 14.99 x 1.27 cm)
  • Age range 18 to UP years
  • Grade levels 13 - UP
  • Category Computers - General Information
  • Library of Congress subjects Internet - Social aspects, Computer networks - History
  • Library of Congress Catalogue Number 2015001899
  • Dewey Decimal Code 004.6

About the author

Tung-Hui Hu, a former network engineer, is Assistant Professor of English at the University of Michigan and the recipient of a 2015 NEA literature fellowship.

More Copies for Sale

A Prehistory of the Cloud (Mit Press)

A Prehistory of the Cloud (Mit Press)

by Hu, Tung-Hui

  • Used
  • Very good
  • Paperback
Condition
Very good
Binding
Paperback
ISBN 10 / ISBN 13
9780262529969 / 0262529963
Quantity available
1
Seller
Item price
A$29.25
A$16.39 Delivery to USA

Show details

Description:
Paperback. Very Good.
Add to wish list
Item price
A$29.25
A$16.39 Delivery to USA
A Prehistory of the Cloud (Mit Press)
Stock photo: cover may vary

A Prehistory of the Cloud (Mit Press)

by Hu, Tung-Hui

  • Used
  • Paperback
Condition
New
Binding
Paperback
ISBN 10 / ISBN 13
9780262529969 / 0262529963
Quantity available
1
Seller
Item price
A$36.50
Free Delivery to USA

Show details

Description:
The MIT Press, 9/2/2016 12:00:01 AM. paperback. Like New. 0.8661 in x 9.0157 in x 5.9843 in. LIKE NEW!!! Has a red or black remainder mark on bottom/exterior edge of pages.
Add to wish list
Item price
A$36.50
Free Delivery to USA
A Prehistory of the Cloud (Mit Press)
Stock photo: cover may vary

A Prehistory of the Cloud (Mit Press)

by Hu, Tung-Hui

  • Used
  • Good
  • Paperback
Condition
Good
Binding
Paperback
ISBN 10 / ISBN 13
9780262529969 / 0262529963
Quantity available
1
Seller
Item price
A$48.84A$43.96
Save A$4.88
Free Delivery to USA

Show details

Description:
The MIT Press, 9/2/2016 12:00:01 AM. paperback. Good. 0.8661 in x 9.0157 in x 5.9843 in. Bruise/tear to cover.
Add to wish list
Item price
A$48.84A$43.96
Save A$4.88
Free Delivery to USA
A Prehistory of the Cloud (Mit Press)
Stock photo: cover may vary

A Prehistory of the Cloud (Mit Press)

by Hu, Tung-Hui

  • Used
  • Very good
  • Paperback
Condition
Very good
Binding
Paperback
ISBN 10 / ISBN 13
9780262529969 / 0262529963
Quantity available
3
Seller
Item price
A$53.92A$48.52
Save A$5.40
Free Delivery to USA

Show details

Description:
The MIT Press, 9/2/2016 12:00:01 AM. paperback. Very Good. 0.8661 in x 9.0157 in x 5.9843 in. Very Good Condition - May show some limited signs of wear and may have a remainder mark. Pages and dust cover are intact and not marred by notes or highlighting.
Add to wish list
Item price
A$53.92A$48.52
Save A$5.40
Free Delivery to USA
A Prehistory of the Cloud (Mit Press)
Stock photo: cover may vary

A Prehistory of the Cloud (Mit Press)

by Hu, Tung-Hui

  • Used
  • Paperback
Condition
Used
Edition
Illustrated
Binding
Paperback
ISBN 10 / ISBN 13
9780262529969 / 0262529963
Quantity available
1
Seller
Item price
A$63.82
Free Delivery to USA

Show details

Description:
MIT Press, 2016-09-02. Illustrated. paperback. Used: Good. 6.06x0.54x9.06. Buy with confidence. Excellent Customer Service & Return policy.
Add to wish list
Item price
A$63.82
Free Delivery to USA
A Prehistory of the Cloud (Mit Press)
Stock photo: cover may vary

A Prehistory of the Cloud (Mit Press)

by Hu, Tung-Hui

  • Used
  • Good
  • Paperback
Condition
Good
Binding
Paperback
ISBN 10 / ISBN 13
9780262529969 / 0262529963
Quantity available
1
Seller
Item price
A$78.84
Free Delivery to USA

Show details

Description:
paperback. Good. Access codes and supplements are not guaranteed with used items. May be an ex-library book.
Add to wish list
Item price
A$78.84
Free Delivery to USA