September 2015

Software by Rudy Rucker (Italian edition)

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The novel “Software” by Rudy Rucker was published for the first time in 1982. It won the Philip K. Dick Award. It’s the first book of the “ware” tetralogy.

Cobb Anderson is dying. He doesn’t have enough money to afford a heart transplant and drowns his last sorrows in alcohol. When he lost all hope, he’s approached by a bopper, one of the sentient robots that evolved after the programming carried by Anderson himself.

The bopper offers Cobb Anderson immortality but he must go to the Moon, where the boppers have built their society and where there’s also the laboratory where they could cure their creator. Accompanied by the weird cabbie Sta-Hi, Anderson starts his journey but the boppers’ offer hides a catch because immortality can only be achieved by transferring his mind into a bopper body.

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At the Brighton Community Stadium in Brighton what is perhaps the biggest surprise in the rugby history happened today. In this busy Saturday in the Rugby World Cup, Japan has in fact defeated South Africa 34-32. It really is an outstanding achievement because the South Africans were by far the favorites and on paper they were supposed to easily defeat the Japanese.

General Manager Deborah DiSanzo opens IBM Watson Health Global Headquarters (Photo courtesy IBM)

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In recent days, IBM announced more news about Watson Health, the business unit officially opened in April 2015 with the aim of exploiting its Watson cognitive computing system in the medical field. Deborah DiSanzo was named general manager of Watson Health, which will have its headquarters in Kendall Square, an area of ​​Cambridge, Massachusetts. IBM also announced new collaborations and new cloud services.

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Philip Douglas Jackson was born on September 17, 1945 in Deer Lodge, Montana, USA. As an NBA player, Phil Jackson won two titles with the New York Knicks though he didn’t really play in 1970 because of an injury. As a coach he won 6 NBA titles with the Chicago Bulls of Michael Jordan end 5 NBA titles with the Los Angeles Lakers, first the ones of Shaquille O’Neal and Kobe Bryant then the ones of Kobe Bryant and Pau Gasol. Now he’s the president of the front office of the New York Knicks and he’s trying to bring them back to top levels.

The Pride of Chanur by C.J. Cherryh

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The novel “The Pride of Chanur” by C.J. Cherryh was published for the first time in 1981. It’s the first novel of the Chanur series.

Pyanfar Chanur is the captain of the space freighter “The Pride of Chanur” trading among the planets of the Compact. At Meetpoint station you can do good business but for her, her crew and generally for the hani it’s always necessary to look away from the kif and the trouble that always accompany them.

When an alien belonging to an unknown species secretely sneaks into her starship, Pyanfar Chanur must make a difficult choice that can have serious consequences. Opening new trade routes would mean a big deal for the hani and considerable prestige for the Chanur clan but the kif want the alien back at all costs.