Rating: 
Summary: A thought provoking insight.
Review: Many of the points made by the author are thought provoking if not a bit outdated. One item I found particularly interesting was computers in the classroom. Should we continue to spend tax dollars on computer equipment that is outdated in a year? Or would money be better spent on more teachers, books (that never "Crash"), and school expansions? Computers can not take the place of teachers, so why are we buying million dollar computer systems? Just because they are trendy? Much of the book has outdated material...computers have become much easier to use and the Internet, much easier to navigate. Computers and the Internet are no longer only for the computer "nerd." I would summarize the point of the book by saying computers are nice and useful but stop and smell the roses every so often.
Rating: 
Summary: Less relevant at this time!
Review: Mr. Stoll's words I think were more true when the book first came out in 1996. Now the Internet does have much to offer people in terms of information, interaction and communication with others.I think in terms of education, specifically elementary education, most of what Mr. Stoll says is right on. Kids need to be doing other things than using computers for most of their school day. They do need to be outdoors, moving, running, playing, interacting with peers and adults face to face. It is a good book to read overall, and one that can stretch one's thinking a bit.
Rating:
Summary: Read This Before You Buy Your Next Computer
Review: I am not surprised this book is not a popular choice with reviewers here. That's because most of the reviewers must be 'pro-computer' since the only way for them to post their reviews here is through the net, using a computer. However, that's besides the point. I urge the reader to approach this book with an open mind. Frankly, besides playing games and doing word-processing (that's typing), what else do you actually do with your computer? Sending some spam mail to all your friends in your address book? Well, I think Clifford Stoll has done a great job, and the more we should open our ears to him for his long-time involvement with the computers. I rank this book alongside Jerry Mander's 'Four Arguements For The Elimination of Television' and Neil Postman's 'The Disappearance of Childhood'.
Rating: 
Summary: Dissapointing
Review: As an Internet junkie, let me say that I'm glad I read this book, and I encourage all computer and net-obsessed people to read this book. He does bring up some very good arguements -- like his theory that networked systems are ruining public libraries -- but many of them are unsubstantiated and full of holes. He has complaints about everything computer-related, from how slow they are to how they look to the lack of noises they make. (He complains that his computer, unlike his trusty typewriter, doesn't make noises when he types some characters or advances to a new line... but I couldn't help thinking that if the computer *did* make these noises, he'd just complain about how loud it was.) The most irritating thing about this book is that he paints himself (perhaps unknowingly) as a hypocrite. For example, he writes how the usenet is basically a waste of time and how you hardly ever find anything useful there, yet he keeps bringing up things he learned while reading the usenet and talking about how much time he spent there. He seems to love the Postal Service, yet when he wants to see newly discovered pictures of Saturn, he logs in online to get them, then complains about how he has to wait, rather than perhaps mailing away for them, as a snail-mail supporter would do. And I found it especially disturbing that for a man who uses computers every day for his job and pleasure, who owns five different machines, and who has obviously been a computer user since before many of us knew what computer were, he offers exactly ZERO suggestions on how to improve them. I realized this about 100 pages in and wanted to stop reading the book right then and there, but the only thing that kept me reading was my interest in seeing if he ever presented any suggestions for improvement. (He didn't.) Since this was written about 5 years ago, I would be interested to hear if any of his feelings have changed. Most of his arguements center around gopher, FTP, usenet, BBS systems, etc., and most Internet users never use these. He only mentions Mosaic offhand a few times, but what it has evolved into (IE/Netscape and the WWW) is the most important part of the Internet today. My guess is he would find problems with it as well, and he would have similarly-flawed arguements to back them up.
Rating: 
Summary: Stoll is his own strawman.
Review: I agree with Clifford Stoll. I share most of his opinions concerning computers, especially their (mis)use in the classroom. While in graduate school, I argued vociferously against hands-on/brains-off, computer-assisted education. But, this book stinks and I'll tell you why: Stoll's arguments are full of gaping holes. I'll give you an example. Stoll argues that the internet envelops you in an impersonal, virtual world--a fanstasy world--which he contends is bad. Great literature also transports you to a world apart from reality, which you reach by sitting--mesmerized!--in a chair--alone!--staring at an inanimate book. Of course, the two experiences are not comparable, but Stoll's wishy-washy arguments fail to make any distinction. My point (which I tried to make in an earlier review), and what many other disappointed readers are trying to communicate, is that you don't have to disagree with Stoll's opinions to dislike this book. Unfortunately, Stoll comes off as a shallow naysayer rather than a forceful critic; and, the world needs another vapid social commentator like we need computers in the classroom.
Rating: 
Summary: Important reading for the computer literate and illiterate
Review: Unfortunately, the ones who should read it the most are precisely the ones who would pan it (and did, see some reviews below). Mr. Stoll has written an excellent book that contains enough humor and personality to keep it interesting. This book can be easily read by anyone whether they understand computers or not because it is not a discussion of how computers work, but what the cost is when we give them too much credit. I've been programming computers for 18 years, before there even were PCs. Heck, when I learned, I had to punch my own cards (how many of you remember those?). I find that computers are an excellent tool for problem solving and for storing and printing information, but I've always been trained that computers are, basically, just a tool. They depend on the programmer or the user to turn their output into something useful. How ridiculous it would seem if we glorified hammers because they build houses for us! But we do the same thing for computers when the only thing they really do is help us to work faster. This is the premise of Silicon Snake-Oil. We should spend less time teaching people where to click and more time teaching people WHY to click there! Just because someone can download a fancy picture of the devastation of the rainforest doesn't mean they have the slightest clue about what it means. What Clifford Stoll is trying to do here is to remind us that it's not the hammer but the person who uses it that builds the house. The fact that schools routinely fire teachers and librarians to make room for computers shows how far we've gone down the wrong path. Read Silicon Snake-Oil, but don't read it with a chip on your shoulder trying to defend computers, read it with the intention of learning the difference between the tool and the builder.
Rating:
Summary: Pathetic groundless whining
Review: Summary: Clifford spends an entire book whining about computers and the Internet. Almost every paragraph of this book consists of an invalid argument and an explanation as to why this makes computers and the Internet a Bad Thing. Bet you're sick of it after the second chapter. I then skipped on through the book hoping to find anything useful, constructive, or readable. I failed. This is reading of the most frustrating kind because I couldn't resist pointing out the flaws in each of Clifford's arguments, but talking back to a book is a little pointless! Hence me writing this review, my first ever. All this book has taught me is to read reviews carefully before buying. Incidentally, Cliff, I bought your book online!
Rating:
Summary: A well-written and timely (even now) expose of Net hype
Review: Even though Silicon Snake Oil is a few years old (ancient by high tech standards) the words of wisdom ring true today. In fact, little has changed really. The hype continues, the promises made, the diappointments legion. I have found little on the Net that compares favorably to real life. Communications, knowledge, realtionships all happen better in the real world than they do online. Only those who have been online so long that there brains have turned to mush would argue with this. The Internet creates more problems than it solves and lowers the quality of life for all those who take part in it. Internet?? Internot!!!!
Rating:
Summary: Where did the paperless office go?
Review: In the 50's and 60's 'they' promised that freeways would alleviate traffic and help the inner cities! What are they promising us now with the internet? Has anyone complained of web traffic lately? Who are 'they'? I was too busy web surfing to read any book, then luckily, I heard Clifford Stoll speak in Buffalo, NY's SUNY University and was facinated. When my computer crashed, and I found myself with nothing to do, I decided to buy it, at a real bookstore, and read it. He is one of the most facinating individuals. His perspective challenges all the promises we are being made about the internet, and the hype, and really makes us think! A must read.
Rating:
Summary: The author argues everything about computers is inferior.
Review: I was hoping for a good critique of the internet (which deserves one), and figured that the famed astronomer and author of "The Cuckoo's Nest" could surely deliver one. I was quite wrong. Whiny, droning, and surprisingly weak, this book would serve better as an example of how Not to write a criticism of the internet (or of anything for that matter). If you want to read a tedious list of complaints and opinions about how everything is better in "the real world" than on a computer, then this is your book. Unfortuneatly, as much as he paints a dark picture of the net, he also paints a naively optimistic picture of the real world. In truth, the real world is not all great, and the networks are not all bad. This is elementary. Lot's of people have joined the digital bandwagon that I sense don't have a clue why. There is much to criticize of computers and networks, but this book goes about it terribly.
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