Rating: 
Summary: This Book Is Really Stupid: How To Irritate Your Readers
Review: This book feels like an avalanche of "wow!" stories about these fancy new applications of nano technology. The authors seem not to be interested in at least trying to appear credible. They show too obviously that they have no knowledge whatsoever of how real business works and only want to name as many examples of possible products that will impact almost all companies around, and of course also everyday life.In the beginning of the book, one will feel like forgiving these enthusiasts, but as soon as it is clear they only want to tell their fantastic stories, one just cannot take them seriously any longer. And do not think it will get better in the later chapters, because they are all the same. Uldrich and Newberry love to tell you how much the annual revenues are in all sorts of business segments and then scare all those working there how much these markets will be impacted by nano products. Just some basic laws of economics and common sense do not seem to come to their minds. If their logic would be true, we will see an enormous decline in economic growth, because everything around will soon be replaced by nano products all costing a mere fraction of existing products, lasting many times longer, etcetera, etcetera. Even if such products will be available, they will not be priced very cheaply. Let's make a comparison with computers. These have become thousands of times more powerful than one or two decades ago, but they still cost a lot of money. The authors like to be dramatic, they almost want to scare you what will happen if you do not consider to develop your own nano products. To me, their attitude has rather made me very sceptic about the impact nano technology will have on society. Alright, I believe many things will change in a couple of decades. But come on, be real, and stop claiming there will be all these "disruptive" innovations in these coming years until 2010. Ever heard of the internet bubble? As a final example I would like to illustrate their way of making so to say convincing calculations: "... Macy's spends $250.000 a week just to change signs in its stores..." I don't know how many stores they have (Uldrich and Newberry at least don't bother to mention any such relevant information in any of their comparisons), but checking Macy's website, I think I am safe to estimate the number to be at least 500. That would mean a maximum of $500 per store per week. But perhaps this could be even as low as $100? The authors want to convince us that it would be logical for Macy's to replace all their in-store displays by electronic billboards using nano technology. They do mention all the advantages of such screens (like always up to date information), but "forget" to make a cost comparison. My guess would be that such screens would have an economic life span of 3 years. That would mean Macy's could spend something between $15,000 and $75,000 per store on such screens. I really have got no clue how much these would cost (how many screens are we talking about? how much will be the costs for the devices themselves, the electricity to operate them, the information system to create and distribute all the real time information, etcetera?), but my guess is that it is doubtful Macy's would really be cheaper off. Perhaps they will be 2010, but today? If I were Macy's, I'd wait and see for some more years. The book reads as a superficial article in a magazine for a broad audience, written by a mediocre journalist that seems to find it very important to entertain the reader with very many lively examples, without spending any effort to go into substantial detail at all. The worst thing is that it is way too long. I wouldn't have minded if it was just a couple of pages long. If it had to be so superficial, it could have triggered me with some interesting thoughts about the near future, as long as the authors kept it short and left the fantasizing up to me. But because they just keep going on, the authors leave me with a mixed feeling: in stead of making me a believer of all the possibilities of nano tech in the coming years I have only become sceptic. In that sense, I suppose those who really have an interest in the success of nano tech aren't too happy that Uldrich and Newberry wrote this book in such a poor way.
Rating: 
Summary: There's a 90-100 percent probability!
Review: Uldrich and Newberry compare November 9, 1989, with the day the Wright Brothers flew at Kitty Hawk. This was the day two IBM scientists coaxed individual atoms to build a structure, the IBM logo.
As a result, nanotechnology, the science of manipulating material at the atomic level, was born.
I had heard Bill Gates talk about many of the advancements mentioned in this book, but I had no idea they were so close. Some of them are being produced already. Embedded nanoparticles are being used to make stain-repellent khakis, for instance. Also, in 2001 Toyota introduced bumpers that are sixty percent lighter and twice as resistant to scratching and denting.
Uldrich and Newberry predict that in ten years Nanotechnology could be a trillion dollar industry. Two companies, Nanosys, Inc. and ZettaCore, are working on constructing computer circuits that will create a 10,000-fold increase in computing power. Some applications could include tiny computers embedded in your clothing to monitor your health. In the health field, nano-sized drugs, because they are undetectable by the body's immune system, can reduce or eliminate side effects.
One of the reasons Ulrich and Newberry are so optimistic is because of the industry jumping that nanotechnology will engender. They use Hostess Twinkies as a hypothesis. R&D for the company may spend money studying vitamin supplements and aroma therapy (to increase taste sensation).
And there's good news for environmentalists. According to a Nationa Science Foundation official, "nanotechnology applications have the potential to save four hundred million gallons of gas annually and emit eleven billion fewer pounds of carbon dioxide into the air."
Remember that anthrax scare? According to Uldrich and Newberry "two separate nanotechnology-related products will be able to render anthrax harmless" by the end of 2003.
Much of what Uldrich and Newberry have to say is aimed at businessmen who may wind up extinct if they don't pay attention to nanotechnology. For instance, titanium dioxide nanoparticles can break down and loosen dirt smudges from materials, leading to such applications as a coating for new cars with self-cleaning nanoparticles. Car washes and gas stations beware!
Even more stunning is Uldrich and Newberry's prediction that within ten years nanotechnology will help cure blindness and hearing loss: "... parts of our bodies that already operate at the nanoscale, such as the retinal cones and rods that allow sight and the stereocilia in the inner ear that allow hearing, can be replicated."
If you're thinking that much of what I've said is "pie-in-the-sky," you should know that the National Science Foundation pegs the "probability of the type of commercial applications covered in this book actually occurring within the next fifteen to twenty years" within the 90 to 100 category.
Rating: 
Summary: The Next Big Thing is Really Small: How Nanotechnology Will
Review: When I first saw the title of Jack Uldrich's new book I thought "Here we go again ... another book that over-hypes the promise of nanotechnology." Much to my surpise, the book is well researched, thoughtful and takes a surprisingly realistic -- and decidedly business-like -- approach to the emerging field of nanotechnology. Uldrich explains what nanotechnology is, why it is important and outlines in a systematic and easy-to-understand manner how nanotech will impact (and disrupt) a wide variety of businesses within specified time frames. I particularly enjoyed the final chapter, where he outlines how the best technology does not always win in the marketplace ... it is a message that people who are hoping to strike it rich by investing in nanotech should read twice. Connie Page
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