Tuesday, April 27, 2010

Page 18: Daemon

This is another first.  I'm reading a book that is so good I need to talk about it even before I finish.  I am currently about half-way through Daemon by Daniel Suarez.  This is a technothriller that should appeal to all you geeks out there, especially all you gamers, and I know one in particular who should read this book even though his first choice is non-fiction.

A 'daemon', as defined in the book, "is a computer program that runs continuously in the background and performs specified operations at predefined times or in response to certain events."  In this book the 'daemon' was created by one of the most brilliant computer game programmers in California.  He has recently died from brain cancer and certain events the 'daemon' finds begin to trigger specific actions.  His 'daemon' is so good it can kill, speak, make contact through a computer game, and all sorts of other amazing things.  The scary part is that everything in the book is possible with current technology.  The 'daemon' is such a threat to national security that even the National Security Agency is called in to help find and stop it.

I'm going to start Googling many of the terms that are used by Suarez to get a better understanding of all the technical computer acronyms and words he uses.  Even though I have not finished this book, and don't like to write about a book until I do, this is one that I think many of you will be glad to read. It will give you an entirely different perspective on the potential of computers, the internet, and all the intricate connections with the real world that already exist.  Hang on for a fast-paced ride.

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