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3.73 AVERAGE
3.73 AVERAGE
It’s been quite a while since I read this and I remember it being a book that helped me navigate the social phenomenon of the Internet and how it has developed.
Mainly humorous, definitely tongue-in-cheek, this book still makes points that are worth exploring today even though it is almost 20 years old.
An updated version would be appreciated.
Mainly humorous, definitely tongue-in-cheek, this book still makes points that are worth exploring today even though it is almost 20 years old.
An updated version would be appreciated.
Outdated but highly interesting. Worth the time spent reading it.
Very dated by now, but a very interesting perspective on mediated experience, how OS fit into that, Stephenson’s perspective on that cultural/systemic approach, and even the fact that this conversation may not be super impactful if you are trying to optimize happiness.
This essay is 12 years old, and apart from the obvious technical content it was fun to see the seeds of the ideas that would form Cryptononicon and Anathem.
I don't fully agree with his description of society, but he does make some interesting observations. Well worth the read.
I don't fully agree with his description of society, but he does make some interesting observations. Well worth the read.
Unique book length essay about operating systems circa 1999: their relative merits, their business models (some of the discussion a prefiguring the two-sided platform business/econ lit by half a decade!), and their metaphysical meaning.
Engaging throughout. I far from agree with everything written, but strongly recommended.
Engaging throughout. I far from agree with everything written, but strongly recommended.
Pretty outdated. Stephenson trying not to be an elitist prick, and occasionally succeeding. Eh.
Three stars largely because it made me really want a Linux box to play with. And because it did straighten out some things I was hazy about.
Three stars largely because it made me really want a Linux box to play with. And because it did straighten out some things I was hazy about.
funny
informative
fast-paced
Can't believe this is my introduction to Neal Stephenson's work? What a way to start! I cackled, nodded sagely and pondered the world in which operating systems are bigger than the Superbowl. Happy to report that his wit and observations piqued my interes in the rest of his repertoire.
To the topic at hand. What if, stay with me, our world is the one Aliens deem magical?
What if Technology and Science are just magic in a parallel world. I mean - look at the marvels of our sorcery. We can heat food and reheat it in colorful boxes (they used to just come in black and silver for decades). What about suspending moving people inside flat contraptions we hold in our hands or larger ones we nail to our walls and watching them go through life in a flurry of action, drama, mystery, fantasy, romance and so much more? What about the thing that has an invisible power and existance that we can't physically touch but it knows everything and tells us everything and connects us to everything and as the saying goes: "if it's not on Google it's not worth knowing?"
Sorcery my fellow Homo Sapien.
The teletype sequence sounds like something from Unseen University in Disceorld. Young apprentices (high school students) need to first write down alphanumeric code on paper (spells) then go to their teletype room and input the spell into the electronic cauldron (machine, not computer) and it eould boil away communicating with the spirits (university mainframe) which would send back a powerful elixir (teletype receiving meaningful symbols via) letters. Maybe Rincewind could learn this sorcery.
Magic I tell you. Magic
To the topic at hand. What if, stay with me, our world is the one Aliens deem magical?
What if Technology and Science are just magic in a parallel world. I mean - look at the marvels of our sorcery. We can heat food and reheat it in colorful boxes (they used to just come in black and silver for decades). What about suspending moving people inside flat contraptions we hold in our hands or larger ones we nail to our walls and watching them go through life in a flurry of action, drama, mystery, fantasy, romance and so much more? What about the thing that has an invisible power and existance that we can't physically touch but it knows everything and tells us everything and connects us to everything and as the saying goes: "if it's not on Google it's not worth knowing?"
Sorcery my fellow Homo Sapien.
The teletype sequence sounds like something from Unseen University in Disceorld. Young apprentices (high school students) need to first write down alphanumeric code on paper (spells) then go to their teletype room and input the spell into the electronic cauldron (machine, not computer) and it eould boil away communicating with the spirits (university mainframe) which would send back a powerful elixir (teletype receiving meaningful symbols via) letters. Maybe Rincewind could learn this sorcery.
Magic I tell you. Magic
Interesting. Mac girl, but if I may need to check out some DIY (Linux/Red Hat/etc.) for my next computer ...
funny
informative
lighthearted
reflective
medium-paced
The problem with reading this book over 10 years after it was published is it reads like a love letter to a doomed operating system that became non-existent 2 years after said book was published. As such, it leaves little to consider in the department of a satisfactory conclusion.