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Books : In the Beginning...was the Command Line |
List Price: $10.00Amazon.com's Price: $8.00 You Save: $2.00 (20%)Prices subject to change.
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Binding: Paperback
Dewey Decimal Number: 005.43
EAN: 9780380815937
ISBN: 0380815931
Label: Harper Perennial
Manufacturer: Harper Perennial
Number Of Items: 1
Number Of Pages: 160
Publication Date: November 01, 1999
Publisher: Harper Perennial
Release Date: November 09, 1999
Studio: Harper Perennial
Sales Rank: 87560
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Editorial Review:
Product Description:
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.
Amazon.com Review:
Neal Stephenson, author of the sprawling and engaging Cryptonomicon, has written a manifesto that could be spoken by a character from that brilliant book. Primarily, In the Beginning ... Was the Command Line discusses the past and future of personal computer operating systems. "It is the fate of manufactured goods to slowly and gently depreciate as they get old," he writes, "but it is the fate of operating systems to become free." While others in the computer industry express similarly dogmatic statements, Stephenson charms the reader into his way of thinking, providing anecdotes and examples that turn the pages for you.
Stephenson is a techie, and he's writing for an audience of coders and hackers in Command Line. The idea for this essay began online, when a shortened version of it was posted on Slashdot.org. The book still holds some marks of an e-mail flame gone awry, and some tangents should have been edited to hone his formidable arguments. But unlike similar writers who also discuss technical topics, he doesn't write to exclude; readers who appreciate computing history (like Dealers of Lightning or Fire in the Valley) can easily step into this book.
Stephenson tackles many myths about industry giants in this volume, specifically Apple and Microsoft. By now, every newspaper reader has heard of Microsoft's overbearing business practices, but Stephenson cuts to the heart of new issues for the software giant with a finely sharpened steel blade. Apple fares only a little better as Stephenson (a former Mac user himself) highlights the early steps the company took to prepare for a monopoly within the computer market--and its surprise when this didn't materialize. Linux culture gets a thorough--but fair--skewering, and the strengths of BeOS are touted (although no operating system is nearly close enough to perfection in Stephenson's eyes).
As for the rest of us, who have gladly traded free will and an intellectual understanding of computers for a clutter-free, graphically pleasing interface, Stephenson has thoughts to offer as well. He fully understands the limits nonprogrammers feel in the face of technology (an example being the "blinking 12" problem when your VCR resets itself). Even so, within Command Line he convincingly encourages us as a society to examine the metaphors of technology--simplifications that aren't really much simpler--that we greedily accept. --Jennifer Buckendorff
Average Rating: 
Rating:  -
A thoughtful missive on how the interface between users and products, whether an old MG, Disney World, or computer software, reflects and affects our view of life and the world. Not being a programmer it was a bit dry in some of the sections on different OS options, the details of which seem to bother other reviewers. But since I took that subject to be the Macguffin used to make his point about perception, metaphor, and choice, and since I'm to ignorant to know better, those sections didn't bother ... Read More
Rating:  -
This essay is nearly 8 years old, and in dire need of an update. So in 2004 Grant Birkel set out to do just that, producing a set of comments called "The Command Line in 2004". It's freely available on the web, and I suggest you read that version instead of the (older) book.
As far as Stephenson's original writing: Wow, what a disappointment. I love his fiction, but this was a subject that needed much more grounding, and the essay doesn't have it - it's prone to offer ridiculous analogies, ... Read More
Rating: -
A good way to think of this book: a treatise for kids that grew up in the GUI and getting them to understand the importance of proper syntax. On the shell. Because that's where the hotness is at.
Rating: -
You would think that a book focused on operating systems--even one with a focus on the sociological and philosophical implications of the rapid evolution of interface technologies--which was written in 1999 would be rather dated by now.
But this is a book written by Seattle author and revered science fiction prophet, Neal Stephenson (author of Cryptonomicon).
The book is called In the Beginning...Was the Command Line. I recommend it. To geeks and non alike. Stephenson is a man who's ... Read More
Rating:  -
I was excited about this book for about the first 10 pages. I did manage to read the first 100 pages but I just couldn't make myself read the rest of it.
This book is full of gross technical errors, sweeping generalizations, long sidebars about unrelated topics, and useless anecdotes.
I am a professional software engineer and spent years working early stage start-ups in Silicon Valley--The author knows very little about computers, programmers, and user interfaces.
Yes, ... Read More
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