Prototype: How Canadian Innovation Is Shaping the Future

Charles R. Crawford, a former associate professor of computer science at
York University, is a computer-programming and mathematics consultant.

This book, like so many other books on the business of technology, tries
to describe the prototype successful enterprise. What sets this one
apart is the format—Atkinson has organized the material around a tour
of Canada—and the level of technical detail.

If it were a film, you might call Prototype a road movie in eight
parts. Parts 1 to 3 describe B.C.-based companies that are involved in
oceans, forests, drug research, and video games, among other areas. Part
4 looks at companies in Edmonton and Saskatoon that are involved in
agriculture and the Internet. Parts 5 and 6 take place in Toronto and
Ottawa and cover a variety of areas of technology. Part 7, set in Quebec
and Newfoundland, describes businesses in biotechnology. Part 8 takes us
back first to Ottawa with a look at federal government support of
technology, and then to British Columbia, where we encounter a company
developing and selling Linux-based software. As the book and the journey
progresses, Atkinson lists attributes of his prototype hi-tech business
and provides “e-rules” for running the business.

The format and the author’s lively prose keep the book interesting.
However, Atkinson is something of a cheerleader when it comes to
technology. Almost all the companies he describes are success stories;
the many recent—and spectacular—failures in the technology sector
are mentioned only in passing. And Atkinson’s optimism goes a bit too
far when he calls the speed of light “the fastest known speed,” as
if some bright inventor will one day improve on that.