[Irtalk] Stevens Institute of Technology Professor Releases Book on Open Standards and the Digital Age

[Hilton Gibson]

Andrew Russell, a Stevens Institute of Technology professor of History and
Director of the Program in Science and Technology Studies in the College of
Arts and Letters, recently published a book *explaining how “openness” was
a deliberate result that pre-dates the origins of the Internet.*

His book, Open Standards and the Digital Age, highlights the historical and
political history of how the internet evolved into an open platform.* From
open source software to open access publishing, it’s clear that “openness”
is a defining principle of the twenty-first century.* In fact, to a
considerable degree, anyone of power obstructing openness is perceived as
questionable, and whistle-blowers as largely heroes—as seen in the recent
example of Edward Snowden and the National Security Agency. Yet the
standard of openness is not simply the inevitable outcome of the
globalization of technology; it was a strategy that engineers used to
promote the Internet’s global adoption.

http://www.prweb.com/releases/2014/05/prweb11832926.htm

*​Good idea for libraries to buy this book!​*
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