Neuromancer - William Gibson

[ZOK]

Yes, some tempting stuff on there!

 

The shakedry jackets are basically your standard Gore high end cycling jackets with a hood attached and another grand tacked on to the price.

[milko]

For a while they were doing some collabs with Nike ACG that weren't quite so wince-inducingly priced, but also very scarce. The one item I managed to get, I looked like a dickhead in and had to send back.

[The Boatman]

https://www.theguardian.com/fashion/2020/jun/16/william-gibson-im-always-striving-not-to-be-noticed
 

 

[RadgyAdgy]

On the topic of Neuromancer I recently found out the BBC did a radio version of the book:

 

 

 

 

It's been an age since I read the book but the radio play is a decent recreation from what I can remember.

[ZOK]

Nice, I’ll give that a listen myself.

 

There’s a decent narration by Jeff Harding on Audible if anyone fancies an audiobook version.

[Vulgar Monkey]

Re techwear, wasnt there another author who predicted a fashion genre combining sportswear, outdoorsy stuff and heavy military influence?

Pretty ironic that it's then gibson who goes and inadvertently sets off the whole nato strap thing.

[Nick R]

El Sandifer has begun publishing her history of cyberpunk ebook, with a preview chapter about Neuromancer, Blade Runner and Akira:

 

http://www.eruditorumpress.com/blog/the-future-that-was-the-future-is-born-a-triptych-moment/

[TehStu]

Cyperbunk genre is absolutely my thing, but I realized it was mostly film/anime. So I've been trying to correct that with reading. I finished this over the summer and I'm kinda sad I wasn't into reading as a kid (until I encountered Pratchett as a teen - but didn't progress much beyond that). SO many things in modern pop culture now make sense. I mean, The Matrix. The concept of information security people building decks (like, typically Pi type computers in little cases with giant wifi antennae). So many other things, I've forgotten most and will likely need another read. But not before reading more of his stuff. Oh! I swear blind the idea of the Belter language in Expanse came from here, although my breadth of sci-fi means I could be way off.

 

What I particularly loved is that he didn't really explain anything. It's just expected you know these terms (and 4 decades of technology improvements since have helped) and/or infer their meaning. No real hint of trying to tie it to real life stuff, beyond some brand name-dropping which obviously hasn't aged well but I can see meant something at the time (I mean, who didn't want a Sony CRT). 

 

Oh hey, and Amazon is making The Peripheral

[Vulgar Monkey]

I've always kinda liked those slightly outdated tech referenced in cyberpunk / sci-fi (Sony as above, some of the now defunct businesses in Blade Runner, the big CRT screens in Alien), as they themselves enable a bit of inferred world-building. I always took it that the Alien computers might be big chunky things due to different tech inside, and the readouts because, I dunno, all the UX designers got wasted in the corp-wars of the late 90s.

 

Moreover, when you see scenes in old movies that would no longer work because of modern tech (mobile phones being the big one), its always fun to imagine scenarios where that tech may be irrelevant. Maybe one day personal infosec gets to the point where we all need to go back to using hardwired phoneboxes or something for example.

 

 

[TehStu]

On 11/10/2020 at 10:57, Vulgar Monkey said:

I've always kinda liked those slightly outdated tech referenced in cyberpunk / sci-fi (Sony as above, some of the now defunct businesses in Blade Runner, the big CRT screens in Alien), as they themselves enable a bit of inferred world-building. I always took it that the Alien computers might be big chunky things due to different tech inside, and the readouts because, I dunno, all the UX designers got wasted in the corp-wars of the late 90s.

What's weird is that they don't feel like product placement. Like, Gibson mentioned so many brands that I think he was just linking to relatable stuff at the time. Same for Blade Runner. But when Stark steps out of an Audi, and it's the only brand you notice, it's jarring. 

 

 

On 11/10/2020 at 10:57, Vulgar Monkey said:

Maybe one day personal infosec gets to the point where we all need to go back to using hardwired phoneboxes or something for example.

Love this concept Would make a great thread. 

[Nick R]

An article in praise of William Gibson, to mark 40 years since the publication of Johnny Mnemonic in May 1981:

 

https://thewalrus.ca/why-william-gibson-is-a-literary-genius/