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This is "the Word" -- one man's word, certainly -- about the art (and artifice) of the state of our computer-centric existence. And considering that the "one man" is Neal Stephenson, "the hacker Hemingway" (Newsweek) -- acclaimed novelist, pragmatist, seer, nerd-friendly philosopher, and nationally bestselling author of groundbreaking literary works (Snow Crash, Cryptonomicon, etc., etc.) -- the word is well worth hearing. Mostly well-reasoned examination and partial rant, Stephenson's In the Beginning... was the Command Line is a thoughtful, irreverent, hilarious treatise on the cyber-culture past and present; on operating system tyrannies and downloaded popular revolutions; on the Internet, Disney World, Big Bangs, not to mention the meaning of life itself.… (more)
This is a historical document about operating systems, which I expect would be interesting to very few people these days. I picked it up because 1.) I just recently returned to the command line myself, and 2.) Neal Stephenson is writing about computers and that's, like, my favorite. It's a little immature and a lot biased, plus the metaphors get completely out of hand. But rarely have I seen a final essay so nicely tie up a book like this, and as everyone knows, I'm a sucker for a good ending. ( )
A bit dated now, and would love to see some updates ... but still a cool overview of the great OS wars. Makes you feel like reading a lot of Neal Stephenson again. ( )
A brief history of operating systems and user interfaces. It's a quick read, and has some fun soliloquys on plebians. It's not necessary reading, but it's a good distraction for an hour or two. ( )
About twenty years ago Jobs and Wozniak, the founders of Apple, came up with the very strange idea of selling information processing machines for use in the home.
Quotations
It is the fate of manufactured goods to slowly and gently depreciate as they get old and have to compete against more modern products. It is the fate of operating systems to become free. [37]
There is massively promiscuous metaphor-mixing going on here, and I could deconstruct it till the cows come home, but I won't. [63]
Last words
He would probably tell you that life is a very hard and complicated thing; that no interface can change that; that anyone who believes otherwise is a sucker; and that if you don't like having choices made for you, you should start making your own.
This is "the Word" -- one man's word, certainly -- about the art (and artifice) of the state of our computer-centric existence. And considering that the "one man" is Neal Stephenson, "the hacker Hemingway" (Newsweek) -- acclaimed novelist, pragmatist, seer, nerd-friendly philosopher, and nationally bestselling author of groundbreaking literary works (Snow Crash, Cryptonomicon, etc., etc.) -- the word is well worth hearing. Mostly well-reasoned examination and partial rant, Stephenson's In the Beginning... was the Command Line is a thoughtful, irreverent, hilarious treatise on the cyber-culture past and present; on operating system tyrannies and downloaded popular revolutions; on the Internet, Disney World, Big Bangs, not to mention the meaning of life itself.
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Wikipedia in English (1)
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