ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

WRITING A BOOK is always a bit of a solitary process. Thankfully I have been blessed with excellent support from the best supporting cast this side of The Sopranos—and fortunately with none of the criminality.

Thanks go out first and foremost to Ed Faulkner, Jamie Joseph and Jake Lingwood at Penguin Random House, without whom Thinking Machines would remain a thoughtful pitch. In close succession are my agent, Maggie Hanbury, her wonderful assistant, Harriet Poland, and everyone who spoke with me as part of this book (a list of names is gratefully reproduced here). Firm handshakes are very much owed to Simon Garfield, Simon Callow and Colin Wyatt, who have always been much-appreciated supporters of my writing. I also extend thank-yous to my colleagues at Cult of Mac: in particular publisher Leander Kahney and my fellow Brit writer Killian Bell. After that, solemn nods of manly, stoic gratitude go out to a ragtag crew of friends and associates, including (but not limited to) Dan “Doctor of Thuganomics” Humphry, James Brzezicki, Alex Millington, Tom Green, Tom Atkinson, Nick and Janine Newport, Nick Meanie (who hopefully forgives my terrible postage failures) and Michael Grothaus, who will be a first-time author (congrats!) by the time this book hits the shelves. Also, my wife, Clara, Guy and Ann Dormehl, assorted members of my newly enlarged family, and my faithful feline, Figaro.

Oh, and everyone who has kindly spent time and money buying this book and any others bearing my name. I hope you all live long and prosper.