Rating: 
Summary: Self-righteous but good
Review: As a technical writer, programmer and software developer I found Neal's views on the same level as mine. Self-righteous may sound "mean", but it doesn't have to be. Masking complexities of OSes with GUIs only takes away the true power of them. It also gives non-techies false delusions that they are hackers, which they are far from. And they are usually in superior positions in life because true techies stay techie. And our lives are more like Dilbert's boss shaking the Etch-a-Sketch while we must sit back and keep quiet than we realize. The discussion of the multiple OSs (Mac, MS, Linux, and BeOS) was interesting and fair. It also made a lot of sense. But not one mention of Frank Soltis or the AS/400. That is a big hole left out of the computing world blinding the fact that it's just PCs out there. In reading the BeOS story of creating a hardware dependant OS, porting to Mac, then Intel drew an interesting similarity, although completely opposite, to the AS/400. Instead of Porting OS/400 (AS/400's OS) to other hardware, they are trying to bring everything to the AS/400 (ie NT is already done, Linux is next). It would have been interesting to hear Neal's view on this. Anyhow, good reading. I read it cover to cover. It's not Snow Crash, that's a one of a kind. :) And it wasn't meant to be. Maybe a little too techie near the end for a "user" to understand.
Rating:
Summary: Eloi beware...
Review: Besides having a cool little cover gimmick, this concise book has a bundle of thought provoking commentary in its jacket. If you're not too astute regarding computer topics, don't let that stop you. This book contains a history that is instructive for the uninformed and a humorous review for those previously acquainted. I concede to the other reviewers that his history is not complete, but put forward that the essay is more about trend than specifics. Also, his devotion for Be and Gnu/Linux does get in the way of the larger picture in places. This aside, Stephenson also provides us with an enlightening look at how our computer facades reflect our larger decision making processes. He contemplates our culture of abundant sensory-motivated consumerism and the rampant proliferation of the "Do it for me and make it snappy, easy and fun" attitude (wonderfully demonstrated through the Disney experience). Also, he examines how this changes our functioning as a society and points out why we must be careful not to drown in it all. More than just an entertaining history of Operating Systems, this is a work of social introspection and a chronicle of one man's fact-finding mission regarding how human emotion relates to our choices about computing. Fit into 151 pages and fast paced, it's worth the read no matter which side of the crossroads you stand.
Rating: 
Summary: Right up there with Shoshana Zuboff and Neil Postman
Review: This book joins the rank of the genre's best. We get to see our technology-infused world through the eyes of someone interpreting it with a creative, disturbed but informed lucidity.... and who dares to go against the grain. Nice job Neal. Write more of this stuff, please.
Rating: 
Summary: You get what you pay for
Review: Like far too many like him, Stephenson confuses his own obsessions with what is good for mankind. Given what he is, and what he knows, the old example from the Jargon File applies only too well: d00d! u R 1 331337 haXoR! The book may as well have been called "Angel/daemon's introduction to theology for pagans". Of course, it will find an audience, at least before the stock market collapses.
Rating: 
Summary: missing history, strange conclusions
Review: I'm a professional programmer and an avid Linux owner. I'm always happy when someone throws a little barb at Microsoft or Apple. That having been said, I think this book generates more heat than light when it comes to the "OS War." It's somewhat weak on history, and a bit out of touch with what the average computer user wants. A glaring omission is the early history of Stephenson's beloved Unix. To hear him tell it, Unix begins with Richard Stallman and Linus Torvalds. Now, to be sure these two are giants whose shoulders we stand upon, but where is the story of Unix's actual invention at AT&T in the early 70s? The word "AT&T" appears only once in the book, briefly cited as something that Stallman was reacting against. The dark side of Unix's corporate past - the fact that Unix originally was a proprietary operating system under AT&T, and that AT&T completely missed the point of Unix and sold the license to Novell, who also blew it - would have fit right in with Stephenson's argument. Basically, for Stephenson, Unix IS Linux. There is no description whatsoever of the rich Unix tradition that precedes the founding of the Free Software Foundation, nor of the contributions that commercial Unixes like SunOS and Solaris have made, such as NFS, NIS, etc., nor of academic contributions like BSD or X. Stephenson lauds XWindows but makes it seem as if it too were a product of his open-source, hacker utopia - and not of the MIT X Consortium. These traditions were direct antecedents of today's hacker community, and Stephenson gives them short shrift. Finally, there is Stephenson smugly chiding us on how GUIs make us into sheep led by a corporate shepherd. But he undermines his own argument by detailing (pretty factually) the time and sweat of installing and using Linux. So we are supposed to like this better than Microsoft? For the uninitiated, it sucks just as much - maybe more! If you are a programmer and a professional, Linux/Unix is the best route to go down. For the rest, people want something that turns on quickly, that doesn't wreck their stuff, and is easy to use. Windows isn't that - but neither is Linux. Stephenson is missing out on the real story: the imminent destruction of the personal computer as we know it. Someday very soon, small, highly-networked, specialized devices will replace the generalized, complicated computer. People will only pay for what they need. And what they get will be appliances, things that require neither a $95 per call help line (Microsoft) nor a descent into the depths of hacker message boards (Linux), to fix. Something like a TV set. Probably Linux or its descendant will be the operating system that these things will run on, but most people besides programmers won't need to care. It's a fun ride, and you'll certainly finish knowing more than you did when you started. If I had to do it over, I'd buy and read this book again. But there is much more than this.
Rating:
Summary: the cult of the philosopher king
Review: speaking as if he were a platonic philosopher king, seeing the truth behind the world of shadows by understanding the command line and being able to operate linux while ranting about the foibles of mainstream operating system, i should have been annoyed. instead, i was so convinced by him that i went out and got a copy of linux, installed it on my machine feeling like i too saw through the illusion that apple and microsoft was feeding me. until i realized that linux is very technical and i couldn't really do anything practical without investing in a great deal of time learning an arcane interface. so i give him points for writing a compelling piece that is hard to argue with on the theoretical level. on the practical level, he speaks from the arrogance of a guy who felt to figure out something difficult and feels compelled to spread the word because he did the impossible. linux has a lot to offer, but it isn't for everyone and there are a lot of arguments for not using it (i.e being a graphics professional and needing software that's mainstreamed and quick to use) nonetheless, a compelling read and for a while, it was good to see through the shadows, whether or not they really exist.
Rating:
Summary: In the end...
Review: A good quick read, however I agree that this book feels like it should have been an essay in WIRED. His analogies are fun and make me want to give Be a spin. (I always wanted to own a Batmobile! )
Rating:
Summary: Smart perspective in plain english...
Review: This book is an excellent and plain-spoken commentary on both the OS wars and the direction media and technology are driving world culture. While other reviews have complained that some topics are inadequately covered, for example the Be operating system, they are missing the point that this is neither a review of Be for the uninitiated, nor a some kind of technical manual. People looking for that should stick to PCWEEK and O'Reilly This book distills a lot of perspective in a few short chapters. For those who are willing to accept Stephenson's arguments without a lot of direct evidence this is an insanely useful book. Of course, if you don't believe him, you can test his conclusions just by running four or five computers in your home with the various OSes installed. More important than his commentaries on the relative merits of the OS are his fun yet chilling thoughts in chapters like THE INTERFACE CULTURE where he discusses Disneyland and our love for mediated experience. This is the same territory investigated by semiotician Umberto Eco in his book Travels in Hyperreality but Stephenson is more lucid & terse, and does not bog himself down with theoretical constructs.This book is worth any four college texts in critical theory and should be read by MBA's as well as anybody working with the media. Don't discount it just because it feels like light reading and more the journalistic essay than the scholarly dissertation.
Rating:
Summary: Lacking...
Review: This book was well writen and well explained, and I loved Stephenson's analogies, but his lust for unix based operating systems and his lack of knowledge of others (mainly BeOS) disapointed me. The book would have been more properly titled as "Unix is god, the rest, well they are there." because that was his overall outlook of operating systems from my perspective. Finally, I would recomend this book to anyone whole is a user of multiple OSes and enjoys the topic of OSes. [Recomended]
Rating:
Summary: Engaging Overview
Review: One of the best articles I have ever read was Neal Stephenson's(the Hacker Tourist) detailed description of the laying of atransoceaning and transcontinental cable (in Wired a few years back...) Since then, I have been consistently disappointed with his writing, which is often smug and sophomoric...indeed the Hacker voice that we've become familiar with. I recommend "In the Beginning" because it deals with a common subject from a perspective that I have not encountered before. It is expert but does not require expertise to read, it is passionate but balanced. I particularly appreciate his ability to transcend the Mac/PC theological debate. He is the only MacOS person I have ever encountered who explicates the paradox of the hermetically sealed MacOS claiming to be somehow anti-authoritarian, whereas the free-for-all WINTEL world is painted as "big brother." And he makes me want to try Linux...just to be cool. It is two hours well spent if you are interested in this stuff. Get it from the local public library.
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