The Technology Machine : How Manufacturing Will Work in the Year 2000
Author: Patricia E. Moody, Richard E. Morley
List Price: $28.00
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ISBN: 0684837099
Publisher: Free Press (14 October, 1999)
Sales Rank: 59,616
Average Customer Rating: 4.4 out of 5
Customer Reviews
Rating: 5 out of 5
Packed With Knowledge!
Patricia A. Moody and Richard E. Morley take a fascinating trip into the future, the not-too distant future, by exploring what manufacturing and product delivery to consumers will look like in the year 2020. By discussing past and current advances, the authors articulately present convincing arguments for their ideas with great zest. Don't worry, you won't find impenetrable technological prose here, quite the contrary. Instead, you'll find visions of point-of-consumption manufacturing, small work groups made up of people who live near their job sites and biotechnology that enables customized creation of replacement body parts. Gene Bylinsky of Fortune magazine calls this well-received volume, "a beautifully written, insightful and important new book... your best guide to success" in the 21st century. We at getAbstract recommend this book to forward-looking managers who understand that, even in the complex future, the main rule will be: Keep it simple.
Rating: 2 out of 5
Rantings about emergent behavior software agents
It took me a while, but I just finished The Technology Machine by Moody and Morley, and I'm sad to say that it is a poor vehicle to spread their valuable message to the world of manufacturing. Let me say at the outset that I am not an engineer, but I'm no dummy, either. I bought the book based on an intriguing review in upside (or Red Herring - one of those tech magazines).The Good News: Some good points are made in the book about the power of approaching complex logistical production problems with the use of properly designed software "agents", each one of which having the "intelligence of a chicken" but en masse creating an environment where behavior capable of handling complex issues efficiently emerges. A powerful idea, to be sure.
The Bad news: The message gets lost in the noise of a very poorly written book - the conversational style used is way too casual for a subject this serious. It's as if this were published by a vanity press - was there no editor? Typos abound (mislabeling GM Paint Shop as GE Paint Shop on page 225, or "...president of Nypro Corporate Inc. of Nypro, a company..." - page 237 are but two examples) and the grammer is atrocious - like the rantings of an angry curmudgeon. There is way too much "consultant-speak" in the beginning of the book, and towards the end it seems to lose focus. As a result, the strength of the message is quite diluted.
I have no doubt that the authors are very smart people and that they have contributed immensely to the world of manufacturing, but in my opinion this book does them a disservice and much of the value of their message is lost.
Rating: 5 out of 5
When Dick Morley speaks, listen
The fact is, if you're in manufacturing, when Dick Morley speaks, you have to listen. He's got a sharp mind and an unusual style, but more gems come out of his mouth than anyone else in the industry. The Technology Machine's view into the future is well worth the read, by managers and technologists, alike. I'm hoping for a follow on that takes an even more in-depth look at some of the technology and how it will play out in the next decade or two. Similar Products
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