The Perfect Thing
How the iPod Shuffles Commerce, Culture, and Coolness
Failed to add items
Add to Cart failed.
Add to Wish List failed.
Remove from wishlist failed.
Adding to library failed
Follow podcast failed
Unfollow podcast failed
Get 2 free audiobooks during trial.
Buy for $14.99
No default payment method selected.
We are sorry. We are not allowed to sell this product with the selected payment method
-
Narrated by:
-
Anthony Rapp
-
By:
-
Steven Levy
About this listen
Besides being one of the most successful consumer products in decades, the iPod has changed our behavior and even our society. It has transformed Apple from a computer company into a consumer-electronics giant. It has remolded the music business, altering not only the means of distribution but even the ways in which people enjoy and think about music. Its ubiquity and its universally acknowledged coolness have made it a symbol for the digital age itself, with commentators remarking on "the iPod generation". Now the iPod is beginning to transform the broadcast industry, too, as podcasting becomes a way to access radio and television programming. Meanwhile, millions of "Podheads" obsess about their gizmo, reveling in the personal soundtrack it offers them, basking in the social cachet it offers, and even wondering whether the device itself has its own musical preferences.
Steven Levy, the chief technology correspondent for Newsweek magazine and a longtime Apple watcher, is the ideal writer to tell the iPod's tale. He has had access to all the key players in the iPod story, including Steve Jobs, Apple's charismatic cofounder and CEO, whom Levy has known for over 20 years.
©2006 Steven Levy. All rights reserved (P)2006 Simon and Schuster Inc. All rights reserved. AUDIOWORKS is an imprint of Simon and Schuster Audio Division, Simon and Schuster Inc.Listeners also enjoyed...
-
Tim Cook
- The Genius Who Took Apple to the Next Level
- By: Leander Kahney
- Narrated by: Jonathan Cowley
- Length: 8 hrs and 56 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The death of Steve Jobs left a gaping void at one of the most innovative companies of all time. Jobs wasn't merely Apple's iconic founder and CEO; he was the living embodiment of a global megabrand. It was hard to imagine that anyone could fill his shoes - especially not Tim Cook, the intensely private executive who many thought of as Apple's "operations drone". But seven years later, as journalist Leander Kahney reveals in this definitive audiobook, things at Apple couldn't be better.
-
-
Tim Cook's personal advertisement!
- By AFPE on 03-06-20
By: Leander Kahney
-
In the Plex
- How Google Thinks, Works, and Shapes Our Lives
- By: Steven Levy
- Narrated by: L. J. Ganser
- Length: 19 hrs and 45 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Few companies in history have ever been as successful and as admired as Google, the company that has transformed the Internet and become an indispensable part of our lives. How has Google done it? Veteran technology reporter Steven Levy was granted unprecedented access to the company, and in this revelatory book he takes listeners inside Google headquarters - the Googleplex - to explain how Google works.
-
-
Just ok for me
- By Everyday Mom on 04-23-11
By: Steven Levy
-
After Steve
- How Apple Became a Trillion-Dollar Company and Lost its Soul
- By: Tripp Mickle
- Narrated by: Will Damron
- Length: 14 hrs and 42 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Steve Jobs called Jony Ive his “spiritual partner at Apple.” The London-born genius was the second-most powerful person at Apple and the creative force who most embodies Jobs’s spirit, the man who designed the products adopted by hundreds of millions the world over: the iPod, iPad, MacBook Air, the iMac G3, and the iPhone.
-
-
Disappointing & full of faked fiction
- By Peter Keller on 05-06-22
By: Tripp Mickle
-
Insanely Great
- The Life and Times of Macintosh, the Computer that Changed Everything
- By: Steven Levy
- Narrated by: Steven Levy
- Length: 8 hrs and 40 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The creation of the Mac, in 1984, catapulted America into the digital millennium, captured a fanatic cult audience, and transformed the computer industry into an unprecedented mix of technology, economics, and show business. Veteran technology writer and Newsweek senior editor Steven Levy zooms in on the great machine and the fortunes of the unique company responsible for its evolution. Loaded with anecdote and insight, and peppered with sharp commentary, Insanely Great is the definitive book on the most important computer ever made. It is a must-have for anyone curious about how we got to the interactive age.
-
-
Mac Aficionado (and a request to Audible)
- By Tim on 10-30-12
By: Steven Levy
-
Hackers: Heroes of the Computer Revolution
- 25th Anniversary Edition
- By: Steven Levy
- Narrated by: Mike Chamberlain
- Length: 20 hrs and 23 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Steven Levy's classic book traces the exploits of the computer revolution's original hackers - those brilliant and eccentric nerds from the late 1950s through the early '80s who took risks, bent the rules, and pushed the world in a radical new direction. With updated material from noteworthy hackers such as Bill Gates, Mark Zuckerberg, Richard Stallman, and Steve Wozniak, Hackers is a fascinating story that begins in early computer research labs and leads to the first home computers.
-
-
Remember Why You Got Into Computing
- By Dan Collins on 07-01-16
By: Steven Levy
-
Inside Apple
- How America's Most Admired - and Secretive - Company Really Works
- By: Adam Lashinsky
- Narrated by: Adam Lashinsky
- Length: 6 hrs and 50 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
If Apple is Silicon Valley's answer to Willy Wonka's Chocolate Factory, then author Adam Lashinsky provides listeners with a golden ticket to step inside. This primer on leadership and innovation, offers exclusive new information about how Apple innovates. It should appeal to anyone hoping to bring some of that Apple magic to their own company, career, or creative endeavor.
-
-
Maybe I'm a fanboy, but
- By Timothy A. Smith on 01-31-12
By: Adam Lashinsky
-
Tim Cook
- The Genius Who Took Apple to the Next Level
- By: Leander Kahney
- Narrated by: Jonathan Cowley
- Length: 8 hrs and 56 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The death of Steve Jobs left a gaping void at one of the most innovative companies of all time. Jobs wasn't merely Apple's iconic founder and CEO; he was the living embodiment of a global megabrand. It was hard to imagine that anyone could fill his shoes - especially not Tim Cook, the intensely private executive who many thought of as Apple's "operations drone". But seven years later, as journalist Leander Kahney reveals in this definitive audiobook, things at Apple couldn't be better.
-
-
Tim Cook's personal advertisement!
- By AFPE on 03-06-20
By: Leander Kahney
-
In the Plex
- How Google Thinks, Works, and Shapes Our Lives
- By: Steven Levy
- Narrated by: L. J. Ganser
- Length: 19 hrs and 45 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Few companies in history have ever been as successful and as admired as Google, the company that has transformed the Internet and become an indispensable part of our lives. How has Google done it? Veteran technology reporter Steven Levy was granted unprecedented access to the company, and in this revelatory book he takes listeners inside Google headquarters - the Googleplex - to explain how Google works.
-
-
Just ok for me
- By Everyday Mom on 04-23-11
By: Steven Levy
-
After Steve
- How Apple Became a Trillion-Dollar Company and Lost its Soul
- By: Tripp Mickle
- Narrated by: Will Damron
- Length: 14 hrs and 42 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Steve Jobs called Jony Ive his “spiritual partner at Apple.” The London-born genius was the second-most powerful person at Apple and the creative force who most embodies Jobs’s spirit, the man who designed the products adopted by hundreds of millions the world over: the iPod, iPad, MacBook Air, the iMac G3, and the iPhone.
-
-
Disappointing & full of faked fiction
- By Peter Keller on 05-06-22
By: Tripp Mickle
-
Insanely Great
- The Life and Times of Macintosh, the Computer that Changed Everything
- By: Steven Levy
- Narrated by: Steven Levy
- Length: 8 hrs and 40 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The creation of the Mac, in 1984, catapulted America into the digital millennium, captured a fanatic cult audience, and transformed the computer industry into an unprecedented mix of technology, economics, and show business. Veteran technology writer and Newsweek senior editor Steven Levy zooms in on the great machine and the fortunes of the unique company responsible for its evolution. Loaded with anecdote and insight, and peppered with sharp commentary, Insanely Great is the definitive book on the most important computer ever made. It is a must-have for anyone curious about how we got to the interactive age.
-
-
Mac Aficionado (and a request to Audible)
- By Tim on 10-30-12
By: Steven Levy
-
Hackers: Heroes of the Computer Revolution
- 25th Anniversary Edition
- By: Steven Levy
- Narrated by: Mike Chamberlain
- Length: 20 hrs and 23 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Steven Levy's classic book traces the exploits of the computer revolution's original hackers - those brilliant and eccentric nerds from the late 1950s through the early '80s who took risks, bent the rules, and pushed the world in a radical new direction. With updated material from noteworthy hackers such as Bill Gates, Mark Zuckerberg, Richard Stallman, and Steve Wozniak, Hackers is a fascinating story that begins in early computer research labs and leads to the first home computers.
-
-
Remember Why You Got Into Computing
- By Dan Collins on 07-01-16
By: Steven Levy
-
Inside Apple
- How America's Most Admired - and Secretive - Company Really Works
- By: Adam Lashinsky
- Narrated by: Adam Lashinsky
- Length: 6 hrs and 50 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
If Apple is Silicon Valley's answer to Willy Wonka's Chocolate Factory, then author Adam Lashinsky provides listeners with a golden ticket to step inside. This primer on leadership and innovation, offers exclusive new information about how Apple innovates. It should appeal to anyone hoping to bring some of that Apple magic to their own company, career, or creative endeavor.
-
-
Maybe I'm a fanboy, but
- By Timothy A. Smith on 01-31-12
By: Adam Lashinsky
-
Crypto
- How the Code Rebels Beat the Government - Saving Privacy in the Digital Age
- By: Steven Levy
- Narrated by: Rich Miller
- Length: 14 hrs and 2 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
If you've ever made a secure purchase with your credit card over the internet, then you have seen cryptography, or "crypto", in action. From Stephen Levy - the author who made "hackers" a household word - comes this account of a revolution that is already affecting every citizen in the 21st century. Crypto tells the inside story of how a group of "crypto rebels" - nerds and visionaries turned freedom fighters - teamed up with corporate interests to beat Big Brother and ensure our privacy on the internet.
-
-
Wish it could be updated today
- By Chip L. on 05-22-21
By: Steven Levy
-
Facebook
- The Inside Story
- By: Steven Levy
- Narrated by: Will Damron
- Length: 18 hrs and 57 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The definitive history, packed with untold stories, of one of America’s most controversial and powerful companies: Facebook. Based on hundreds of interviews from inside and outside Facebook, Levy’s sweeping narrative of incredible entrepreneurial success and failure digs deep into the whole story of the company that has changed the world and reaped the consequences.
-
-
Not a history of Facebook
- By Rodney on 12-02-20
By: Steven Levy
-
Jony Ive
- The Genius Behind Apple's Greatest Products
- By: Leander Kahney
- Narrated by: Simon Vance
- Length: 8 hrs and 45 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The best-selling author of Inside Steve's Brain profiles Apple's legendary chief designer, Jonathan Ive. Jony Ive's designs have not only made Apple one of the most valuable companies in the world; they've overturned entire industries, from music and mobile phones to PCs and tablets.
-
-
Was hoping to get to know the man behind the name.
- By Idan B. on 06-15-14
By: Leander Kahney
-
The Second Coming of Steve Jobs
- By: Alan Deutschman
- Narrated by: Charles Stransky
- Length: 7 hrs and 53 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
From the acclaimed Vanity Fair and GQ journalist–an unprecedented, in-depth portrait of the man whose return to Apple precipitated one of the biggest turnarounds in business history. With a new epilogue on Apple’s future survival in today’s roller-coaster economy, here is the revealing biography that blew away the critics and stirred controversy within industry and media circles around the country.
-
-
The Magic and Mayhem Behind the Icon
- By Adam on 01-06-03
By: Alan Deutschman
-
Power Moves
- Lessons from Davos
- By: Adam Grant
- Narrated by: Adam Grant
- Length: 3 hrs and 3 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Power is changing. Private corner offices and management by decree are out, as is unquestioned trust in the government and media. These former pillars of traditional power have been replaced by networks of informed citizens who collectively wield more power over their personal lives, employers, and worlds than ever before. So how do you navigate this new landscape and come out on top? Adam Grant, Wharton organizational psychologist, went to the World Economic Forum in Davos, the epicenter of power, and sat down with thought leaders from around the world, to find out.
-
-
Glad I didn't pay for it
- By Garry Schmidt on 01-17-19
By: Adam Grant
-
Shoe Dog
- A Memoir by the Creator of Nike
- By: Phil Knight
- Narrated by: Norbert Leo Butz, Phil Knight - introduction
- Length: 13 hrs and 21 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In this candid and riveting memoir, for the first time ever, Nike founder and CEO Phil Knight shares the inside story of the company's early days as an intrepid start-up and its evolution into one of the world's most iconic, game-changing, and profitable brands.
-
-
Just read it. (or listen, whatever)
- By Dan D on 07-07-16
By: Phil Knight
-
Press Reset
- Ruin and Recovery in the Video Game Industry
- By: Jason Schreier
- Narrated by: Ray Chase
- Length: 8 hrs and 14 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Jason Schreier's groundbreaking reporting has earned him a place among the preeminent investigative journalists covering the world of video games. In his eagerly anticipated, deeply researched new book, Schreier trains his investigative eye on the volatility of the video game industry and the resilience of the people who work in it.
-
-
Audio Quality is Inconsistent
- By Amazon Customer on 09-14-21
By: Jason Schreier
-
Think Like a Rocket Scientist
- Simple Strategies You Can Use to Make Giant Leaps in Work and Life
- By: Ozan Varol
- Narrated by: Ozan Varol
- Length: 10 hrs and 44 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Rocket science is often celebrated as the ultimate triumph of technology. But it's not. Rather, it's the apex of a certain thought process—a way to imagine the unimaginable and solve the unsolvable. It's the same thought process that enabled Neil Armstrong to take his giant leap for mankind, that allows spacecraft to travel millions of miles through outer space and land on a precise spot, and that brings us closer to colonizing other planets.
-
-
Incrementally new perspectives on rehashed themes
- By James S. on 06-13-20
By: Ozan Varol
-
Build
- An Unorthodox Guide to Making Things Worth Making
- By: Tony Fadell
- Narrated by: Tony Fadell, Roger Wayne
- Length: 11 hrs and 5 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Tony Fadell led the teams that created the iPod, iPhone and Nest Learning Thermostat and learned enough in 30+ years in Silicon Valley about leadership, design, startups, Apple, Google, decision-making, mentorship, devastating failure and unbelievable success to fill an encyclopedia.
-
-
Best guide for start up founders, ever!!!
- By Curly Beard on 05-28-22
By: Tony Fadell
-
Four Thousand Weeks
- Time Management for Mortals
- By: Oliver Burkeman
- Narrated by: Oliver Burkeman
- Length: 6 hrs and 13 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Nobody needs telling there isn’t enough time. We’re obsessed with our lengthening to-do lists, our overfilled inboxes, work-life balance, and the ceaseless battle against distraction; and we’re deluged with advice on becoming more productive and efficient, and “life hacks” to optimize our days. But such techniques often end up making things worse. The sense of anxious hurry grows more intense, and still the most meaningful parts of life seem to lie just beyond the horizon.
-
-
Make TIME for this one...
- By Ethan Babbage on 08-12-21
By: Oliver Burkeman
-
The Ultimate History of Video Games, Volume 1
- From Pong to Pokemon and Beyond . . . The Story Behind the Craze That Touched Our Lives and Changed the World
- By: Steven L. Kent
- Narrated by: Dan Woren
- Length: 23 hrs and 29 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
With all the whiz, bang, pop, and shimmer of a glowing arcade, volume 1 of The Ultimate History of Video Games reveals everything you ever wanted to know and more about the unforgettable games that changed the world, the visionaries who made them, and the fanatics who played them. Starting in arcades then moving to televisions and handheld devices, the video game invasion has entranced kids and the young at heart for nearly fifty years. And gaming historian Steven L. Kent has been there to record the craze from the very beginning.
-
-
Misleading title for an otherwise excellent book
- By CJ on 09-26-23
By: Steven L. Kent
-
High Output Management
- By: Andrew S. Grove
- Narrated by: Marc Cashman
- Length: 8 hrs and 2 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The essential skill of creating and maintaining new businesses - the art of the entrepreneur - can be summed up in a single word: managing. In High Output Management, Andrew S. Grove, former chairman and CEO (and employee number three) of Intel, shares his perspective on how to build and run a company. Born of Grove’s experiences at one of America’s leading technology companies, this legendary management book is a Silicon Valley staple, equally appropriate for sales managers, accountants, consultants, and teachers, as well as CEOs and start-up founders.
-
-
All nuts and bolts
- By Rancher on 05-22-21
By: Andrew S. Grove
Critic reviews
"Apple fans and iPod owners will enjoy Levy's exploration." (Publishers Weekly)
Related to this topic
-
Appetite for Self-Destruction
- The Spectacular Crash of the Record Industry in the Digital Age
- By: Steve Knopper
- Narrated by: Dan John Miller
- Length: 11 hrs
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
For the first time, Appetite for Self-Destruction recounts the story of the precipitous rise and fall of the recording industry over the past three decades, when the incredible success of the CD turned the music business into one of the most glamorous, high-profile industries in the world - and the advent of file sharing brought it to its knees.
-
-
Awesome Book
- By Todd on 08-15-09
By: Steve Knopper
-
Trade-Off
- Why Some Things Catch On, and Others Don't
- By: Kevin Maney
- Narrated by: Dennis Holland
- Length: 6 hrs and 58 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In Trade-Off, Kevin Maney shows how these conflicting forces determine the success, or failure, of new products and services in the marketplace. He shows that almost every decision we make as consumers involves a trade-off between fidelity and convenience between the products we love and the products we need.
-
-
No Trade-Offs for Reading Trade-Off
- By Joshua Kim on 06-10-12
By: Kevin Maney
-
All the Rave
- The Rise and Fall of Shawn Fanning’s Napster
- By: Joseph Menn
- Narrated by: John Rubinstein
- Length: 13 hrs and 59 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The definitive inside account of the file-sharing revolution that overthrew the music industry, All the Rave reveals the family betrayal, greed, and mismanagement that hijacked one the most fundamental innovations of the Internet era. Named one of the three best books of 2003 by Investigative Reporters and Editors Inc., All the Rave has been out of print until now and unavailable in most formats. Author and veteran technology journalist Joseph Menn also wrote 2010's Fatal System Error: The Hunt for the New Crime Lords who are Bringing Down the Internet.
-
-
The Far-reaching Karma of Napster
- By Susie on 04-29-13
By: Joseph Menn
-
The Innovation Secrets of Steve Jobs
- By: Carmine Gallo
- Narrated by: Sean Mangan
- Length: 8 hrs and 24 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In The Innovation Secrets of Steve Jobs, best-selling author Carmine Gallo reveals the qualities that make the Apple co-founder the most innovative leader in business today. Each principle is backed with research, quotes, and first-person interviews with experts and business leaders, as well as specific ideas for applying those principles to every business, large or small.
-
-
awful
- By Thomas on 10-15-11
By: Carmine Gallo
-
Googled
- The End of the World as We Know It
- By: Ken Auletta
- Narrated by: Jim Bond
- Length: 13 hrs and 53 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In Googled, esteemed media writer and critic Ken Auletta uses the story of Google's rise to explore the inner workings of the company and the future of the media at large. Although Google has often been secretive, this book is based on the most extensive cooperation ever granted a journalist, including access to closed-door meetings and interviews with founders Larry Page and Sergey Brin, CEO Eric Schmidt, and some 150 present and former employees.
-
-
Audio production could have been better
- By David on 11-12-09
By: Ken Auletta
-
Buying In
- The Secret Dialogue Between What We Buy and Who We Are
- By: Rob Walker
- Narrated by: Robert Fass
- Length: 9 hrs and 21 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Marketing executives and consumer advocates alike predict a future of brand-proof consumers, armed with technology and a sophisticated understanding of marketing techniques, who can effectively tune out ad campaigns. But as Rob Walker demonstrates, this widely accepted misconception has eclipsed the real changes in the way modern consumers relate to their brands of choice. Combine this with marketers' new ability to blur the line between advertising, entertainment, and public space, and you have dramatically altered the relationship between consumer and consumed.
-
-
Lets you in on the secret...
- By Jeff on 07-06-08
By: Rob Walker
-
Appetite for Self-Destruction
- The Spectacular Crash of the Record Industry in the Digital Age
- By: Steve Knopper
- Narrated by: Dan John Miller
- Length: 11 hrs
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
For the first time, Appetite for Self-Destruction recounts the story of the precipitous rise and fall of the recording industry over the past three decades, when the incredible success of the CD turned the music business into one of the most glamorous, high-profile industries in the world - and the advent of file sharing brought it to its knees.
-
-
Awesome Book
- By Todd on 08-15-09
By: Steve Knopper
-
Trade-Off
- Why Some Things Catch On, and Others Don't
- By: Kevin Maney
- Narrated by: Dennis Holland
- Length: 6 hrs and 58 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In Trade-Off, Kevin Maney shows how these conflicting forces determine the success, or failure, of new products and services in the marketplace. He shows that almost every decision we make as consumers involves a trade-off between fidelity and convenience between the products we love and the products we need.
-
-
No Trade-Offs for Reading Trade-Off
- By Joshua Kim on 06-10-12
By: Kevin Maney
-
All the Rave
- The Rise and Fall of Shawn Fanning’s Napster
- By: Joseph Menn
- Narrated by: John Rubinstein
- Length: 13 hrs and 59 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The definitive inside account of the file-sharing revolution that overthrew the music industry, All the Rave reveals the family betrayal, greed, and mismanagement that hijacked one the most fundamental innovations of the Internet era. Named one of the three best books of 2003 by Investigative Reporters and Editors Inc., All the Rave has been out of print until now and unavailable in most formats. Author and veteran technology journalist Joseph Menn also wrote 2010's Fatal System Error: The Hunt for the New Crime Lords who are Bringing Down the Internet.
-
-
The Far-reaching Karma of Napster
- By Susie on 04-29-13
By: Joseph Menn
-
The Innovation Secrets of Steve Jobs
- By: Carmine Gallo
- Narrated by: Sean Mangan
- Length: 8 hrs and 24 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In The Innovation Secrets of Steve Jobs, best-selling author Carmine Gallo reveals the qualities that make the Apple co-founder the most innovative leader in business today. Each principle is backed with research, quotes, and first-person interviews with experts and business leaders, as well as specific ideas for applying those principles to every business, large or small.
-
-
awful
- By Thomas on 10-15-11
By: Carmine Gallo
-
Googled
- The End of the World as We Know It
- By: Ken Auletta
- Narrated by: Jim Bond
- Length: 13 hrs and 53 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In Googled, esteemed media writer and critic Ken Auletta uses the story of Google's rise to explore the inner workings of the company and the future of the media at large. Although Google has often been secretive, this book is based on the most extensive cooperation ever granted a journalist, including access to closed-door meetings and interviews with founders Larry Page and Sergey Brin, CEO Eric Schmidt, and some 150 present and former employees.
-
-
Audio production could have been better
- By David on 11-12-09
By: Ken Auletta
-
Buying In
- The Secret Dialogue Between What We Buy and Who We Are
- By: Rob Walker
- Narrated by: Robert Fass
- Length: 9 hrs and 21 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Marketing executives and consumer advocates alike predict a future of brand-proof consumers, armed with technology and a sophisticated understanding of marketing techniques, who can effectively tune out ad campaigns. But as Rob Walker demonstrates, this widely accepted misconception has eclipsed the real changes in the way modern consumers relate to their brands of choice. Combine this with marketers' new ability to blur the line between advertising, entertainment, and public space, and you have dramatically altered the relationship between consumer and consumed.
-
-
Lets you in on the secret...
- By Jeff on 07-06-08
By: Rob Walker
-
The Friendly Orange Glow
- The Untold Story of the PLATO System and the Dawn of Cyberculture
- By: Brian Dear
- Narrated by: George Newbern
- Length: 21 hrs and 6 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
At a time when Steve Jobs was only a teenager and Mark Zuckerberg wasn't even born, a group of visionary engineers and designers - some of them only high school students - in the late 1960s and 1970s created a computer system called PLATO, which was not only years but light-years ahead in experimenting with how people would learn, engage, communicate, and play through connected computers.
-
-
Memory lane for the cyberist.
- By Robert C. Hickcox on 08-08-18
By: Brian Dear
-
You Only Have to Be Right Once
- The Unprecedented Rise of the Instant Tech Billionaires
- By: Randall Lane
- Narrated by: Walter Dixon
- Length: 5 hrs and 36 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Over the last three years, Forbes has published in depth profiles of this new batch of billionaires, including the founders of Spotify, Dropbox, Tumblr, and Twitter. Now, in a compilation introduced and updated by Forbes editor Randall Lane, fans and critics alike will get a comprehensive look at who these super-entrepreneurs are and what they say about their own success and their plans for the future.
-
-
Awesome book!
- By Jamal Love on 06-17-15
By: Randall Lane
-
The Starfish and the Spider
- The Unstoppable Power of Leaderless Organizations
- By: Ori Brafman, Rod Beckstrom
- Narrated by: Sean Pratt
- Length: 5 hrs and 32 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
If you cut off a spider's leg, it's crippled; if you cut off its head, it dies. But if you cut off a starfish's leg it grows a new one, and the old leg can grow into an entirely new starfish. The Starfish and the Spider argues that organizations fall into two categories: "spiders", which have a rigid hierarchy, and "starfish", which rely on the power of peer relationships.
-
-
Centralized and decentralized models
- By Chan Meng on 12-07-07
By: Ori Brafman, and others
-
Losing the Signal
- The Untold Story Behind the Extraordinary Rise and Spectacular Fall of BlackBerry
- By: Jacquie McNish, Sean Silcoff
- Narrated by: William Hughes
- Length: 11 hrs and 29 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Losing the Signal is a riveting story of a company that toppled global giants before succumbing to the ruthlessly competitive forces of Silicon Valley. This is not a conventional tale of modern business failure by fraud and greed. The rise and fall of BlackBerry reveals the dangerous speed at which innovators race along the information superhighway.
-
-
Fascinating
- By Gerardo A Dada on 09-05-15
By: Jacquie McNish, and others
-
Service Games
- The Rise and Fall of SEGA: Enhanced Edition
- By: Sam Pettus
- Narrated by: Tom Racine
- Length: 17 hrs and 13 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
New Edition! More content, images, and corrected text and facts. Monochrome edition. Starting with its humble beginnings in the 1950s and ending with its swan-song, the Dreamcast, in the early 2000s, this is the complete history of Sega as a console maker. Before home computers and video game consoles, before the Internet and social networking, and before motion controls and smartphones, there was Sega.
-
-
The Story of the Fall of Sega
- By Austin on 01-05-15
By: Sam Pettus
-
The New Analog
- Listening and Reconnecting in a Digital World
- By: Damon Krukowski
- Narrated by: Damon Krukowski
- Length: 3 hrs and 48 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Having made his name in the late 1980s as a member of the indie band Galaxie 500, Damon Krukowski has watched cultural life lurch from analog to digital. And as an artist who has weathered the transition, he has challenging, urgent questions for both creators and consumers about what we have thrown away in the process.
-
-
Very Interesting!
- By Daniel Cascaddan on 07-02-17
By: Damon Krukowski
-
No Better Time
- The Brief, Remarkable Life of Danny Lewin, the Genius Who Transformed the Internet
- By: Molly Knight Raskin
- Narrated by: Christine Marshall
- Length: 6 hrs and 22 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
No Better Time tells of a young, driven mathematical genius who wrote a set of algorithms that would create a faster, better Internet. It's the story of a beautiful friendship between a loud, irreverent student and his soft-spoken MIT professor, of a husband and father who spent years struggling to make ends meet only to become a billionaire almost overnight with the success of Akamai Technologies, the Internet content delivery network he cofounded with his mentor.
-
-
An Overlooked Hero of 9-11
- By Jean on 05-27-16
-
Electronic Dreams
- How 1980s Britain Learned to Love the Computer
- By: Tom Lean
- Narrated by: Mark Meadows
- Length: 10 hrs
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In Electronic Dreams, Tom Lean tells the story of how computers invaded British homes for the first time, as people set aside their worries of electronic brains and Big Brother and embraced the wonder technology of the 1980s. This book charts the history of the rise and fall of the home computer, the family of futuristic and quirky machines that took computing from the realm of science and science fiction to being a user-friendly domestic technology.
-
-
Awesome outline of electronic history
- By Johnny on 09-28-17
By: Tom Lean
-
Broad Band
- The Untold Story of the Women Who Made the Internet
- By: Claire L. Evans
- Narrated by: Claire L. Evans
- Length: 9 hrs and 1 min
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Women are not ancillary to the history of technology; they turn up at the very beginning of every important wave. But they've often been hidden in plain sight, their inventions and contributions touching our lives in ways we don't even realize. Vice reporter and YACHT lead singer Claire L. Evans finally gives these unsung female heroes their due with her insightful social history of the Broad Band, the women who made the Internet what it is today. Evans shows us how these women built and colored the technologies we can't imagine life without.
-
-
Inspiring
- By Jean on 03-29-18
By: Claire L. Evans
-
Automate This
- How Algorithms Came to Rule Our World
- By: Christopher Steiner
- Narrated by: Walter Dixon
- Length: 7 hrs and 41 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
It used to be that to diagnose an illness, interpret legal documents, analyze foreign policy, or write a newspaper article you needed a human being with specific skills - and maybe an advanced degree or two. These days, high-level tasks are increasingly being handled by algorithms that can do precise work not only with speed but also with nuance. These "bots" started with human programming and logic, but now their reach extends beyond what their creators ever expected.
-
-
good start, book runs out of sustenace
- By RealTruth on 02-15-13
-
The Click Moment
- Seizing Opportunity in an Unpredictable World
- By: Frans Johansson
- Narrated by: Erik Synnestvedt
- Length: 7 hrs and 41 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
On the one hand we aren’t surprised by the uncertainty of everyday life, but on the other we believe that success can be analyzed and planned for. It is a revealing paradox. The implications are explosive and they obliterate every common-sense notion we have about strategy and planning. The Click Moment is about two very simple but highly provocative ideas.
-
-
Outstanding book!
- By Anilyn Karel on 08-26-24
By: Frans Johansson
-
The Filter Bubble
- What the Internet Is Hiding from You
- By: Eli Pariser
- Narrated by: Kirby Heyborne
- Length: 7 hrs and 32 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In December 2009, Google began customizing its search results for each user. Instead of giving you the most broadly popular result, Google now tries to predict what you are most likely to click on. According to MoveOn.org board president Eli Pariser, Google's change in policy is symptomatic of the most significant shift to take place on the Web in recent years: the rise of personalization.
-
-
Now in the top 3 best books I've ever read
- By Brian Esserlieu on 05-26-11
By: Eli Pariser
People who viewed this also viewed...
-
Insanely Great
- The Life and Times of Macintosh, the Computer that Changed Everything
- By: Steven Levy
- Narrated by: Steven Levy
- Length: 8 hrs and 40 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The creation of the Mac, in 1984, catapulted America into the digital millennium, captured a fanatic cult audience, and transformed the computer industry into an unprecedented mix of technology, economics, and show business. Veteran technology writer and Newsweek senior editor Steven Levy zooms in on the great machine and the fortunes of the unique company responsible for its evolution. Loaded with anecdote and insight, and peppered with sharp commentary, Insanely Great is the definitive book on the most important computer ever made. It is a must-have for anyone curious about how we got to the interactive age.
-
-
Mac Aficionado (and a request to Audible)
- By Tim on 10-30-12
By: Steven Levy
-
Hackers: Heroes of the Computer Revolution
- 25th Anniversary Edition
- By: Steven Levy
- Narrated by: Mike Chamberlain
- Length: 20 hrs and 23 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Steven Levy's classic book traces the exploits of the computer revolution's original hackers - those brilliant and eccentric nerds from the late 1950s through the early '80s who took risks, bent the rules, and pushed the world in a radical new direction. With updated material from noteworthy hackers such as Bill Gates, Mark Zuckerberg, Richard Stallman, and Steve Wozniak, Hackers is a fascinating story that begins in early computer research labs and leads to the first home computers.
-
-
Remember Why You Got Into Computing
- By Dan Collins on 07-01-16
By: Steven Levy
-
In the Plex
- How Google Thinks, Works, and Shapes Our Lives
- By: Steven Levy
- Narrated by: L. J. Ganser
- Length: 19 hrs and 45 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Few companies in history have ever been as successful and as admired as Google, the company that has transformed the Internet and become an indispensable part of our lives. How has Google done it? Veteran technology reporter Steven Levy was granted unprecedented access to the company, and in this revelatory book he takes listeners inside Google headquarters - the Googleplex - to explain how Google works.
-
-
Just ok for me
- By Everyday Mom on 04-23-11
By: Steven Levy
-
Control Freak
- My Epic Adventure Making Video Games
- By: Cliff Bleszinski
- Narrated by: Kurt Kanazawa
- Length: 9 hrs and 24 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Video games are dominating the planet. In 2020, they brought in $180 billion dollars globally—nearly $34 billion in the United States alone. So who are the brilliant designers who create these stunning virtual worlds? Cliff Bleszinski—or CliffyB as he is known to gamers—is one of the few who’ve reached mythical, rock-star status. In Control Freak, he gives an unvarnished, all-access tour of the business.
-
-
5 star book, but obnoxious
- By Rodney on 06-10-23
By: Cliff Bleszinski
-
Becoming Steve Jobs
- The Evolution of a Reckless Upstart into a Visionary Leader
- By: Brent Schlender, Rick Tetzeli
- Narrated by: George Newbern
- Length: 16 hrs and 21 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
There have been many books - on a large and small scale - about Steve Jobs, one of the most famous CEOs in history. But this book is different from all the others. Becoming Steve Jobs takes on and breaks down the existing myth and stereotypes about Steve Jobs. The conventional, one-dimensional view of Jobs is that he was half genius, half jerk from youth, an irascible and selfish leader who slighted friends and family alike.
-
-
"Design is How it Works" -SJ
- By Cynthia on 03-29-15
By: Brent Schlender, and others
-
How to Decide
- Simple Tools for Making Better Choices
- By: Annie Duke
- Narrated by: Annie Duke
- Length: 6 hrs and 39 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
What do you do when you're faced with a big decision? If you're like most people, you probably make a pro and con list, spend a lot of time obsessing about decisions that didn't work out, get caught in analysis paralysis, endlessly seek other people's opinions to find just that little bit of extra information that might make you sure, and finally go with your gut.
-
-
A lot of useless fluff
- By Jerry Fletcher on 11-24-20
By: Annie Duke
-
Insanely Great
- The Life and Times of Macintosh, the Computer that Changed Everything
- By: Steven Levy
- Narrated by: Steven Levy
- Length: 8 hrs and 40 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The creation of the Mac, in 1984, catapulted America into the digital millennium, captured a fanatic cult audience, and transformed the computer industry into an unprecedented mix of technology, economics, and show business. Veteran technology writer and Newsweek senior editor Steven Levy zooms in on the great machine and the fortunes of the unique company responsible for its evolution. Loaded with anecdote and insight, and peppered with sharp commentary, Insanely Great is the definitive book on the most important computer ever made. It is a must-have for anyone curious about how we got to the interactive age.
-
-
Mac Aficionado (and a request to Audible)
- By Tim on 10-30-12
By: Steven Levy
-
Hackers: Heroes of the Computer Revolution
- 25th Anniversary Edition
- By: Steven Levy
- Narrated by: Mike Chamberlain
- Length: 20 hrs and 23 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Steven Levy's classic book traces the exploits of the computer revolution's original hackers - those brilliant and eccentric nerds from the late 1950s through the early '80s who took risks, bent the rules, and pushed the world in a radical new direction. With updated material from noteworthy hackers such as Bill Gates, Mark Zuckerberg, Richard Stallman, and Steve Wozniak, Hackers is a fascinating story that begins in early computer research labs and leads to the first home computers.
-
-
Remember Why You Got Into Computing
- By Dan Collins on 07-01-16
By: Steven Levy
-
In the Plex
- How Google Thinks, Works, and Shapes Our Lives
- By: Steven Levy
- Narrated by: L. J. Ganser
- Length: 19 hrs and 45 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Few companies in history have ever been as successful and as admired as Google, the company that has transformed the Internet and become an indispensable part of our lives. How has Google done it? Veteran technology reporter Steven Levy was granted unprecedented access to the company, and in this revelatory book he takes listeners inside Google headquarters - the Googleplex - to explain how Google works.
-
-
Just ok for me
- By Everyday Mom on 04-23-11
By: Steven Levy
-
Control Freak
- My Epic Adventure Making Video Games
- By: Cliff Bleszinski
- Narrated by: Kurt Kanazawa
- Length: 9 hrs and 24 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Video games are dominating the planet. In 2020, they brought in $180 billion dollars globally—nearly $34 billion in the United States alone. So who are the brilliant designers who create these stunning virtual worlds? Cliff Bleszinski—or CliffyB as he is known to gamers—is one of the few who’ve reached mythical, rock-star status. In Control Freak, he gives an unvarnished, all-access tour of the business.
-
-
5 star book, but obnoxious
- By Rodney on 06-10-23
By: Cliff Bleszinski
-
Becoming Steve Jobs
- The Evolution of a Reckless Upstart into a Visionary Leader
- By: Brent Schlender, Rick Tetzeli
- Narrated by: George Newbern
- Length: 16 hrs and 21 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
There have been many books - on a large and small scale - about Steve Jobs, one of the most famous CEOs in history. But this book is different from all the others. Becoming Steve Jobs takes on and breaks down the existing myth and stereotypes about Steve Jobs. The conventional, one-dimensional view of Jobs is that he was half genius, half jerk from youth, an irascible and selfish leader who slighted friends and family alike.
-
-
"Design is How it Works" -SJ
- By Cynthia on 03-29-15
By: Brent Schlender, and others
-
How to Decide
- Simple Tools for Making Better Choices
- By: Annie Duke
- Narrated by: Annie Duke
- Length: 6 hrs and 39 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
What do you do when you're faced with a big decision? If you're like most people, you probably make a pro and con list, spend a lot of time obsessing about decisions that didn't work out, get caught in analysis paralysis, endlessly seek other people's opinions to find just that little bit of extra information that might make you sure, and finally go with your gut.
-
-
A lot of useless fluff
- By Jerry Fletcher on 11-24-20
By: Annie Duke
What listeners say about The Perfect Thing
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Charlotte A. Hu
- 05-19-13
This Book is a Blast
This book is hardly academic, but it has a lot of fascinating data. It rambles and I love the narration in the audible.com version. The narrator's delivery is awesome. It's also awesome that I was listening to the audible version of the book on ... of course ... my iPod.
I'm not a Mac-ophile. Unlike some of the comments in the book about the spiritual journey of the company Apple, I'm not really there. However, I really enjoyed the description of the how the iPod came to be. How the designers really wanted something "perfect" and kept pushing to create it. I love their obsession with minimalism. The focus on designing something to such a level that the design itself becomes virtually invisible -- that the functionality of the device is key.
The discussions about how the iPod has made people into Stepfords like the bad robot wife movie is hilarious. Anyone with a long commute knows the daily mindlessness and sense of complete lost time, even life from those lifeless, senseless minutes that seem to drain years from one's life. My iPod took the drear out, engaged my mind with audiobooks or at least let me feel like the time was valuable with foreign language vocabulary study.
I find this book odd for its obsession with music, since music is only one of many types of media one can consume on this device. One company, sadly gone out of business, created a set of Chinese character flashcards for the iPod, which I thought was awesome. I love Lumosity, so I was really stoked to hear they'd created Apps for the iPod, but when I went to the iTunes store, was sad to discover they are only for the iPod touch.
The pocket entertainment system has significantly reduced the pain of plane rides and unfortunately, I have endured too many transoceanic flights -- the worst is a half-globe flight with a wailing infant -- but the iPod adds a cottony distance between me and the child making sleep possible and taking the edge off the baby's high notes.
Honestly, I can't imagine life without this thing now. It improves my life in so many ways. I can consume audio books at a significantly higher rate than I was ever able to consume paperbooks. And I can carry them with me without exceeding airline luggage limits. I can change, according to brain fatigue from Chinese philosophy or Japanese language instruction to Judas Priest with the same swish and flick hero Harry uses to vanquish villains in Potter flicks.
Thanks to the Apple team and thanks to Steven Levy for this fun and frolicking history of the thing that modernized life.
I read on the internet that iPods have sold more than 300 million. In this book, Steven Levy notes that the walkman sold around 300 million. Is that right? Are they neck and neck for sales? Seems odd somehow.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
1 person found this helpful
-
Overall
- aharris
- 01-26-07
An enjoyable listen
I enjoyed this audiobook. I knew it was a fluff piece and it didn't have character development, etc, but its a book about the iPod, so that's not what I was looking for. It was an interesting look at the making of the iPod and some very "fanboy" observances. As much as I enjoy my MP3 player (not an iPod, btw), it IS just another means to listen to my own audio collection, albeit a very cool one.
And agreeing with the previous reviewer, the chapter on shuffle-mode was quite a bit long in the tooth and really only worth a couple of minutes mention.
The quality of this audiobook's recording was substandard. The voice was "tinny" and not as clear as most other audiobooks, which is ironic as heck.
Overall, though, if you consider yourself a tech fan, I would recommend this book.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
8 people found this helpful
-
Overall
- Todd Mundt
- 07-05-07
An Appreciation of the iPod
An enjoyable book, keeping in mind that this isn't a critical appraisal - it's more about the phenomenon of the iPod and its impact on culture and music consumption. I saw myself in the book - everything from the new enjoyment I derive from my music collection thanks to my library's portability and shuffle, to the physical connection I feel with my iPod, and now, my iPhone. I think Levy nicely captured the tactile enjoyment many people derive from their iPods. He also filled in a few gaps (for me, at least) in the iPod story.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
4 people found this helpful
-
Overall
- Scott T. Hards
- 01-14-09
Mildly entertaining, but too lightweight at times
This title reads more like a collection of magazine articles or essays than a solidly researched book. Given its source - Newsweek tech writer Steven Levy - that doesn't surprise. The sections that discussed the development of the iPod and the thinking of Apple's staff were interesting, but lengthy discussions of hip young people trying to out-cool each other with their music selection, or an inane chapter on whether the shuffle function is really random (of course it is!) bog down what could have been a much more in-depth look at an admittedly amazing product and cultural phenomenon.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
1 person found this helpful
-
Overall
- dennis
- 12-02-06
not a book, it's a commercial!
Not one single character developed to relate to. Whats worse is no info either. He makes a hundred references to how "sexy", how "naked the beauty is". Tries to get you to believe it is the "drug of today". It is neither. Nothing helpful like, tips, shortcuts, fixes support, websites, NOTHING! The whole book is about how your playlist can make you cool. Dozons of obscure bands are mentioned.(with no sample sound of course.) Nothing about photos, or t.v. programs, The man does not even talk about the fact it playes videos or movies. One whole chapter wasted on, if the "shuffle is random or not! Yes it is. In his perfection rant, he doesn't wish to talk about the high cost-crashes-cables that break in your hand-no support-$30.00 for a piece of plastic accessory-downloads of inconsistent quality and volumn-you buy it and they think they still own it, dictating exactly what you may or may not do. We can go on. Bottom line, the artist sets the mood, and delivers the emotions, not the i-pod. It's a high teck tape recorder, thats all. The positive item is the author has a great vocabulary and a good writer. In the end no info was exchanged, i learned almost nothing,and it was a waste of time and money.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
7 people found this helpful