The computer, writes Peter Lunenfeld, is the twenty-first century’s culture machine. It is a dream device, serving as the mode of production, the means of distribution, and the site of reception. We haven’t quite achieved the flying cars and robot butlers of futurist fantasies, but we do have a machine that can function as a typewriter and a printing press, a paintbrush and a gallery, a piano and a radio, the mail as well as the mail carier. But, warns Lunenfeld, we should temper our celebration with caution; we are engaged in a secret war between downloading and uploading—between passive consumption and active creation—and the outcome will shape our collective futures.

彼得·伦菲尔德写道，计算机是二十一世纪的文化机器。它是一个梦想的装置，作为生产方式、分配手段和接收场所。我们还没有完全实现未来派幻想中的飞车和机器人管家，但我们确实有一台机器，可以作为打字机和印刷机，画笔和画廊，钢琴和收音机，邮件和邮车。但是，Lunenfeld警告说，我们应该谨慎地调整我们的庆祝活动；我们正在进行一场下载和上传之间的秘密战争，被动消费和主动创造之间的战争，其结果将塑造我们的集体未来。