IoT (Internet of Things) gewinnt immer mehr Bedeutung und die wenigsten machen sich Gedanken über ihre Konsequenzen für unser Leben, unsere Gesellschaft und unsere Freiheit. In diesem schön gemachten Novellenbuch schildert Cory Doctorow einmal mehr die Pervertierung einer, in den Anfangsjahren, hoffnungsvollen Entwicklung, die aber im Laufe der Zeit immer mehr ihre Fratze zeigt und kritisch hinterfragt werden muß, was in diesem Kleinod getan wird. This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. But Doctorow has shown what he's capable of, and it is a sight to behold.more In the hands of a lesser writer, it could have easily been didactic or dry. This is a work filled with political arguments, and technical details. But Salima is more than this in both her sense of community, and her alienation. The relevance of her story to current debates about immigration should not be lost on readers.įrequent readers of Doctorow's books are likely to be familiar with the type of plucky, can-do attitude technophiles that populate the pages of his works. Her background - and her struggle to build a new life for herself after fleeing from an conflict zone - is also an important theme in the story. Because she hasn't grown up with these types of appliances, she is able to challenge the underlying assumptions that have led to this particular subversion of consumer freedom. Doctorow first defines the problem with a delightful opening scene about a toaster oven that rejects bread due to copyright issues, and then follows up with the backstory of the novella's protagonist Salima.Īs a refugee, Salima provides an outsider's point of view on the society that has created this system of copyright and DRM. It's worth highlighting that Unauthorized Bread is in part so effective because of how the narrative is structured. While the premise - that future appliances could be designed to require brand-specific consumables - may seem to be a comedy, Cory Doctorow's in-depth knowledge of these matters makes it clear that this future is all-too-plausible and no laughing matter. Set in a near-future Boston, Unauthorized Bread is an exploration of the potential problems caused by user rights, copyright and digital rights management (DRM). While the premise - that future appliances could be designed to require brand-specific consumables - may seem to be a comedy, Cory Doctorow's in-depth knowledge of these matters mak This is among Doctorow's finest works.įrom the opening sentence, this is a charming and affecting story built on a bedrock of compassion and knowledge. From the opening sentence, this is a charming and affecting story built on a bedrock of compassion and knowledge. However, the stakes rise when the group finds themselves faced with the danger of losing everything they've built and being deported back to their war-torn countries.more Salima then takes it upon herself to lead a dangerous jailbreaking underground, training a child army that liberates the building's appliances, even those hated elevators. When hedge funds tank the companies behind these electronic "conveniences," they stop working altogether. The toaster won't toast unauthorized bread. The fridge won't chill unauthorized groceries. Not only are the elevators digitally programmed to economically discriminate against the building's tenants (the low-income residents can only use the elevators if they're not occupied by anyone from the wealthy side of the building), but the apartments' appliances are designed to extract revenue. But soon the program's newest recipients, Salima-a young woman recently released from a refugee camp in Arizona-and her friends with similiar backgrounds, discover themselves living in a technologically fortified parallel universe. But New York Times bestselling author Cory Doctorow's Unauthorized Bread-a novella about immigration, the toxicity of economic and technological stratification, and fighting against all odds to survive and prosperįrom the outside, the Boston-based subsidized apartments reserved for low-income tenants in a new technologically-advanced building seem like a dream come true. New York Times bestselling author Cory Doctorow's Unauthorized Bread-a novella about immigration, the toxicity of economic and technological stratification, and fighting against all odds to survive and prosper From the outside, the Boston-based subsidized apartments reserved for low-income tenants in a new technologically-advanced building seem like a dream come true.