The Future of Looking Back is the first book in the 20th anniversary Microsoft Research series, and author Richard Banks explores questions of stuff and sentiment, reminiscences and remembering, legacies and memory in our digital age by reflecting on the suitcase memorabilia left by his grandfather, the questions of what he'll pass on to his own grandchildren and the projects his digital social team at Microsoft Research puts together to see how technology fits into our lives.
The details of MSR projects and studies should be some of the most interesting sections of the book, but there aren't always as many details as you might want. Banks spends almost as much time describing Last.fm and Nike+ as SenseCam, a camera worn around the neck that takes a photo every minute and is used by dementia sufferers, as well as Gordon Bell, a Microsoft researcher who is digitising his entire life.
