Kit Eaton

What the f*ck is 5G, and how does it even work? The world loves 4G phones, tablets and other gizmos and we take the tech for granted...but when that 4 grew up into the next-gen 5, it seems everyone perked up and started caring about phone networking tech. Journalists journaled, politicians, er, politicked, and tin-foil hat wearers reached for the extra-thick reinforced foil. Why all this fuss? Believe it or not, 5G could change the way you live. Because though it seems like smartphones are only good for tiktok and texting, 5G has the power to revolutionise how we interact with public spaces - from concerts and gigs to coffee shops, paving the way for foundational tech like virtual and augmented reality. This book will explain this missing radio link that will propel us into the future of self-driving cars and VR. Oh, and along the way we'll explore why 5G and coronavirus are very definitely and completely, utterly, not the same thing

What the f*ck is the Cloud, and how does it even work? Ah, The Cloud. It's such a useful bit of tech jargon isn't it? The kind that's casually thrown around in work meetings by bosses who (kind of) understand and maybe even at the nerdier type of dinner or drinks parties. People joke about the cloud while others take it for granted and some worry about this mysterious entity where all of our data is stored, accessible at the touch of a screen from anywhere on Earth. But what even is the cloud, and for that matter, where is the cloud? Join us on a journey from the very first iterations of the internet that we know and (sometimes) love, all the way through thorny issues of data collection and storage (weren't we all fooled by the 'ten years on' social media trend, even as we rely on cloud-stored photos of cats to cheer us up?) and discover the mysterious place where The Cloud ominously hovers.

What the f*ck is the Dark Web, and how does it even work? Whether it's from dodgy acronym-titled crime shows to news stories designed to terrify you down to your socks we've all heard about sites like Silk Road and the ways criminals use cryptocurrency online. But did you know that among the various shady corners of the dark web you can also find portals to the BBC and Facebook? The thing is even the way the everyday internet works is a mystery to us and its darkest corners are, of course, more deeply shrouded. So, let's go on a journey from the birth of the Net through the strangest dark services - need a hitman to bump off your superfluous...er...beloved spouse? - to the surprisingly positive uses of dark technology, including dodging the watchful eye of oppressive censors. Over half of us can't remember a time before the internet - and for the rest it's increasingly difficult to imagine life without the damn thing! It's about time we understood more about it and we can start with the question: What The Fuck is The Dark Web?