Rating: 
Summary: Good For Some He Chose Books
Review: "In The Beginning Was The Command Line", Neal Stephenson saw this and decided it was good. Fortunately for many who have made their fortunes in the various valleys of silicon, he decided to become an author and not an innovator in computers. I am not a programmer, and what I know about hardware would fill maybe one 3x5 card. I loved this book for one of the same reasons I so enjoy this man's fiction. He can take what he understands and communicate what he knows to those who have small amounts of computer knowledge. If for you software is something that comes out of a box, or if you run your own Linux system, the book is worthwhile. It is also entertaining and evenhanded.In this, "essay", you will be given a concise history of debates that continue to rage. The difference here is Neal Stephenson rarely takes sides, or withholds harsh judgment. He was an Apple enthusiast until a machine ate a massive file, and he runs NT, and programs Linux as well. These thoughts were recorded in January of 1999, so like any comment on these topics, if he were to release this today, I'm sure there would be changes. There are some constants that continue to hold to this day. If the Justice Department had used people like the Author, resolutions would have been reached years ago. This book does a great job of dissipating the fog that self interested parties shroud the truth with. Why Apple came within an ace of failing is the same reason they may yet fail. He explains that for all the complaining about Microsoft, without them there is no question users would be worse off. He breaks people down into believers, and those who want to believe. If everyone had closed himself or herself off as Apple has, we would still have choice, as well as havoc and outrageously expensive machines. This book is not limited to the debate mentioned above. He also explains Operating Systems more clearly that I have ever read, and he discusses BeOS and Linux as well. I thought I understood the very basic ideas of Linux. All I knew was the marketing of it, the Author takes the reader through what operating Linux requires, and while he uses it himself, he also is candid about who can reasonably expect to choose and use it as a system. As always he entertains with his characterizations of issues. There is a chapter on, "MGBs, Tanks and Batmobiles", "Morlocks And Eloi At The Keyboard", and "Metaphor Shear", to mention a few. If you have read his fiction, his ability to forecast the future of technology remains amazing. It is true he is extremely well equipped with a sky-high I.Q. His genius is his ability to extrapolate his position from what he knows, to what he believes will happen. If you have not read his fiction, you are missing a great talent. I hope he updates this work.
Rating:
Summary: A Linux newbie must read!
Review: I can not express in words how enjoyable and enlightening this book is.
Rating:
Summary: Every computer user must read...
Review: If you are a intermediate to advanced computer user, you must read this essay. It is an insightful look into the origins of the operating systems. While he does seem to go off on wild tangents throughout the essay, they always seem to have some type of fundamental relationship to his current topic of discussion. I found his views of Windows, MacOS, GNU/Linux, and BeOS to be right on the money. For those who did not like this essay, perhaps your letting your "OS religion" cloud your judgement. As a Computer Engineering student, I found the subject matter compelling and his writing style intuitive. If you're a proponent of open-source, hate Microsoft, or love Microsoft, you should read this book.
Rating: 
Summary: UNIX, maybe; LitCrit, yes
Review: In the Beginning... is a compelling argument for using UNIX (though I am not entirely comvinced), and an interesting perspective on operating systems; but perhaps more importantly, this short and easily readable book serves as evidence for those who are seeking some background on Stephenson himself to understand better what goes into his novels. Having read all of the five currently available books, I am intrigued by recurring themes, especially as they grow out of the writer's own experiences with computers.
Rating:
Summary: Inciting and Insightful; vintage Stephenson
Review: I have to pre-declare a degree of bias here: I'm definitely one that favors "The Unix Way," and a decided devotee of command line control, so it's fair to say that the book tends to speak directly to my biases. But it seems to me to be an essay WELL worth reading, as its insights do quite a good job of goring a whole host "holy cows" that probably ought to get gored. There's much of it that I don't FULLY agree with, but the fact of it having so many vigorously (violently?) expressed opinions in one place provides a whole lot of food for thought. I found it useful to bounce its opinions off my own to better understand my own thinking, and suggest that as its greatest value.
Rating: 
Summary: Serious lack of knowledge
Review: Neal is out of his element here. This is his personal viewpoint of how the PC world developed during its early stages. Unfortunately there is a lack of understanding of how all the parts of this history fit together as well as a lot of just plain mis-information in here. If you want an accurate view pick up "Fire in the Valley" by Freiberger and Swaine.
Rating: 
Summary: Don't believe the hype
Review: Yes, it is short, and parts of it are amusing. And, yes, Stephenson does make some interesting points. However, this book has two fundamental problems. First, the prose is so clunky that I found the book painful to read. I am a software engineer: beyond working, the software should have beauty in each line. Similarly, when I read, I don't just want information: I want to feel the flow and beauty of the language. My second problem with this book is that, while it is short, it only has enough material for a book one-quarter the size. Borrow it from a friend and read the first chapter - that's all you'll need.
Rating:
Summary: Add a little depth to your daily compute
Review: After Stephenson's behemoth Crytonomicon comes this slim but entertaining offering. The format is book but it feels more like a high-note guest speech given by a masterful speaker. It's engaging, amusing, provides several laughs and some handy insights to remember long after the event. Stephenson is a smart, widely-read guy with a keen eye, an original turn of thought and a lively imagination. The subject is computer operating systems but it's not a dreary geeks-only read. Of course user-friendly windows, icons and other GUI-phernalia shield most of us from operating systems. And that in itself has a bunch of implications that Stephenson astutely explores. Mac vs Microsoft was one of the few passionate ideological conflicts of the late 20th century after the demise of communism. Stephenson provides an interesting reframing of that debate, leaving you wondering whether the goodies vs. baddies split was quite so clear cut. Having put Mac and Microsoft more or less in the same box, he moves on to the free spirits of Linux and the outer reaches of BeOS The latter part of the book is less engaging when it goes into the technicalities of working with Linux and BeOS although even here the bigger-picture implications are interesting. In such a slim volume I could have done without a couple of pages full of command line code, but even that is a typically endearing Stephenson foible. He's so eager to communicate what he's found out that he sometimes goes too far with the detail. This is a really entertaining and thought-provoking read for anyone remotely interested in computers and society - and a must for anyone who enjoys Stephenson's writing. Apart from his other books, it's also worth checking out the big piece he wrote in Wired magazine 4.12 about the FLAG project.
Rating:
Summary: ...though the line does eventually end at DisneyWorld.
Review: Very knowledgeable, assured - and witty - conclusions about the genesis of general-use operating system GUIs. The author of the impressive SF novel THE DIAMOND AGE employs his engagingly conversational style to explain why he thinks the design of computer interfaces has divorced users from a true use, understanding and appreciation of such devices. Is the predominance of the graphical interface symptomatic of our general laziness, or part of our salvation from creeping technocracy? There is much that is uncontestably true about this thesis, and even more truth to the related commentary concerning the state and direction of personal computing - and of modern society. Yet, I could not help feeling, by the end of this essay, that Stephenson actually left the central question begging: Why precisely does it matter whether computers provide everyone with control over their functionality? Though I hardly qualify as a "power user", my own personal inclination is towards that degree of freedom: to be able to get under the hood and choose how I want my equipment to perform without having it dictated to me. This is something that is still much too complicated and tiresome for most people to bother with - a point which, of couse, Stephenson makes repeatedly. Unfortunately, he does not sufficently delineate the reasons for our need to aspire to this degree of expertise. Yet another example of a programmer's priestly attitude towards those pesky end users, perhaps? Likewise, Stephenson's ambivalence towards Microsoft as a monopoly, while admirably idiosyncratic, seemed almost cavalier in its disregard for the history of a company that has flaunted its predatory arrogance - and still does. That is the reality the poor Nells of user-dom have to contend with. Simply reduced, his argument seems to be MS ain't a monopoly because I don't think so, and anyway someone else would have been just as bad so what difference does it make? But read Command Line for yourself and see what you think. I guarantee that it will make the time fly by, give you a chuckle or two - and much to think over. And it sure beats a trip to DisneyWorld.... For now.
Rating:
Summary: Short But Sweet
Review: Part overview, part rant, part investigation of the interaction between culture and the metaphors of abstraction, and all Stephenson. A very fast read, that never gets lost while ricocheting across quite a bit of terrain. Only for people who have experienced frustration using their computer...or, put more succinctly: only for everyone. If you're wanting this book for yourself because you're a Stephenson fan, it's only flaw is that it's too short. If you're wanting this book because you have an interest in how computer use relates to society, it's only flaw is that it's too short. If you're wanting this book as a gift for someone else, you only have to ask yourself one question: do they have a computer? If so, they will value this book as a gift.
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