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Vernor Vinge, first author to describe cyberspace and 'The Singularity,' dies at 79
(www.theregister.com)
Are robots the foundation for freedom from economic slavery?
I really liked how he envisioned space travel and the culture that came with it. A small but rich detail was how all the time measurements where given using kiloseconds and mega seconds to describe months and years since a nomadic space tribe would have little use for calendars associated to orbits. It's creative and thought out.
His books and short stories set in a sooner future where society and our education system is vastly different because of AR are a lot of fun as well.
Also, space spiders.