Dan Bricklin gave us VisiCalc, the first spreadsheet program for personal computers. A leading thinker and visionary, he has been at the forefront of several technology domains. Most, if not all, of this book is available online, as blog posts or transcripts of interviews.

The book consists of 12 chapters. The introductory chapter provides a brief background on Bricklin, shedding light on his thought process of looking at things in detail and from various points of view. It also presents sources for the material used in the book. The next two chapters discuss music and art in the digital age, from the points of view of specific players and the wider society. Chapter 4 looks at the power of the collective commons. A large part of chapter 5 is the transcript of an interview between Bricklin and Dan Ariely, a professor of behavioral economics. It includes a fascinating discussion of how the US Navy used technologies such as chat rooms to collaborate at national and international levels. In chapter 6, Bricklin looks at the evolution of blogging and podcasting, with a particularly detailed look at the role of bloggers during the Democratic National Convention in 2004. Chapters 7 to 12 cover the long-term viability and durability of both the hardware and software of computing technology, with special emphasis on copyright protection and long-term software maintenance, as well as the birth and development of wikis.

This comprehensive and cohesive book is a must-read for anyone interested in the history and future of computer software as tools for society.