Also, since he is not just a prophet of doom but has spend a major part of his life trying to turn the tide, creating and inspiring stuff most of us have profited from, he deserves a hell of a lot more respect than he usually gets.

You might find that Ivan Illich might be worth reading for a wider view (Illich wrote before PCs let alone the Internet).

http://www.infed.org/thinkers/et-illic.htm