Rating: 
Summary: Excellent storytelling, but...
Review: "In the Beginning..." provides a highly readable and insightful history of user interfaces to computers, and for that I would heartily recommend it.
My main complaint with this essay is that in the section on mindshare Stephenson seems to completely miss the two main arguments for why most people use Windows or a Mac instead of Linux, Unix, or BeOS. I worked for an organization that tried to use Applixware (the word processing software Stepenson touts) on Unix as their corporate software. It was a dismal failure even though Applixware was much better software. The reason was that although Applixware worked fine for internal use, the moment someone needed to exchange documents with someone from another organization extreme frustration would set in because even though Applixware could import & export to Word format, it didn't really work that well. The organization gave it up and moved to Windows and Word at the desktop. At home, the issue is games - until the hot new commercial games routinely run on Linux my family will not give up their Windows PCs.
A lot has changed in the 5 years since this book was published. I would probably have enjoyed it much more had I read it in 1999. It would be interesting to hear Stephenson's thoughts now that Apple's OS X is based on Unix and users can easily pull up a "Command Prompt" window in Windows XP.
Rating: 
Summary: To GUI or Not To GUI
Review: Absolutely brilliant book. "In the Beginning..." cleverly disguises itself as a historical account of the nature of the various software platforms. The real meat is the discussion of GUIs (Graphical User Interfaces), the upsides, the downsides and the tension between GUIs and the lack of GUIs. One cannot have this type of discussion without touching on the true nature of mankind. And that is exactly what Mr. Stephenson does. If you prefer organic, seemingly "unstructured" access, go with the command prompt. If you prefer popular & "easy" access with all of its shortcomings, hail the GUI. But be careful, as the folks designing the GUIs are in the business of building filters and facades. If, however, you choose no Graphical User Interface whatsoever, you have sworn yourself to great responsibility and to the integrity of the code! I was mesmerized from the start & totally blown away & surprised by the last 10 pages. I had no idea when I picked it up that this short essay carried such enduring weight. I recommend it to all humans who thirst for knowledge of the Root. ps. don't mess with the kernel, it is a good way to crash your system!
Rating:
Summary: Computing 101
Review: If you are even vaugely interested in that plastic box you sit in front of 10 hours a day, you must read this.
Rating: 
Summary: Quick and Fun
Review: "In the Beginning... was the Command Line" is that rarest of specimens: a short book written by Neal Stephenson. In truth, "Command Line" isn't really a book. It began its life as an online post, and was only published after the fact. In it, Stephenson sketches out a brief outline of the development of computers - especially personal computers and their operating systems - during the 1980s and `90s. It is a quick and fun read, filled with Stephensonian humor and creative metaphors that both entertain and enlighten. In the course of "Command Line," Stephenson briefly touches on the basics of programming before moving on to discuss the history of operating systems over the last twenty years. He looks at the main operating systems out there (specifically Mac, Windows, Linux, BeOS), how they evolved, and their attractions and advantages. His main points are that "it is the fate of operating systems to become free" and that Microsoft's commitment to maintaining its own closed operating system will cripple its broader software development activities, much in the way Apple was hurt by its insistence on producing its own hardware. Though not much is developed, there is a lot of interesting food for thought in these few pages. Stephen works largely through metaphors, and "Command Line" is written for the layperson. Few people should have any difficulty getting through the book, even without computer experience. Amazon's insistence that the book was written "for an audience of coders and hackers" strikes me as bizarre. There is almost nothing technical in "Command Line," and what is technical (a brief discussion of the Linux file tree is the only topic that comes to mind) is not critical to understanding any of his points and arguments. In addition to summarizing the history of operating systems, Stephenson also considers some related cultural topics, such as the significance of the graphical user interface as opposed to the command line. Although some of this was interesting, there were a few digressions I thought didn't work particularly well, and which I would have expected to be edited out (or at least significantly revised) before publishing. Although "Command Line" was written five years ago (a long time in the computer world), its age does not damage it much (especially in the historical sections). If you're interested in the history of personal computing over the last twenty years, "In the Beginning... was the Command Line" is a quick read that can serve as an entertaining introduction. Although it doesn't have much substance, it still manages to make many interesting points. Unless you are a hard-core Stephenson fanatic, "Command Line" is probably not worth purchasing. Since it was originally nothing more than a post on the Internet, it can still easily be found online.
Rating:
Summary: Entertaining as Neal always is..
Review: Romance and image are important to technology, as is interface. From the command line grew a number of applications. This book is an essay on the early history and sociology of the personal computer. The author considers Apple, Microsoft, Linux, and Be, Inc. and makes analogies. HTML files are just telegrams. The introduction of the Mac started a sort of holy war in the computer world. Even after the introduction of Windows, the underlying differences remained. Microsoft's disregard of aesthetics was discussed at length by Mac users. Some people think Microsoft is too powerful, others that it is too tacky. Bill Gates did not make Microsoft work by selling the best software or by selling it at the cheapest price. Apple is wedded to harware, Microsoft to its OS, operating system. Perhaps both should jetison these areas. Microsoft is more successful in software applications. The operating systems market is a death trap. Americans have a preference for mediated experience. Contemporary culture is a two-tiered system. A minority of people run the show. The minority understands how everything works. The OS has become an intellectual labor-saving device. One should, however, be wary. The GUIs, graphic user interfaces, use bad metaphors. For instance, the document is lost forever when the computer crashes. The GUI has become a sort of meta interface for household items and everyday thinking. Apple created a machine that discouraged hacking. The price had fallen drastically for IBM compatible PCs by the mid nineties, and they could be hacked. Stephenson found that Unix was hard to learn. A sort of acculturation takes place. After the crash of his powerbook and the loss of a large and important file, he sought to use Linux. He notes that Linus Torvalds deserves a lot of credit, but he could not have created Linux without the help of other people. Linux is open source software. Editor, compiler, and linker form the core of a software development system. Linux deals with errors better than the commercial systems the author used in the past. This book is a wonderful compilation of PC history and practice for the general technically-challenged reader. An overview of the industry in terms of business and marketing issues is presented. Bravo!
Rating:
Summary: Dated, but still fun
Review: _________________________________ Stephenson opens with a neat analogy -- computer operating systems
companies as auto manufacturers: "...Eventually the big dealership came out with a full-fledged car:
a colossal station wagon (Windows 95). It had all the aesthetic
appeal of a Soviet worker housing block, it leaked oil and blew
gaskets, and it was an enormous success..." Compare this to the Linux guys, "a bunch of RVs, yurts, tepees, and
geodesic domes set up in a field." Here's their sales pitch: Hacker with bullhorn: "Save your money! Accept one of our free
tanks! It is invulnerable, and can drive across rocks and swamps
at ninety miles an hour while getting a hundred miles to the
gallon!"
Prospective station wagon buyer: "I know what you say is
true...but...er...I don't know how to maintain a tank!"
Bullhorn: "But if you accept one of our free tanks we will send
volunteers to your house to fix it for free while you sleep!"
Buyer: "Stay away from my house, you freak!!" This is a very entertaining book. It's aimed at the Unix-literate (whose ranks
certainly don't include me), but anyone who's messed about with computers
will find some goodies. Like Microsloth technical "support" -- Our Hero is
attempting to install Windows NT 4.0 : "The installation program simply stopped in the middle,
with no error messages. I went to the Microsoft Support website
and tried to perform a search for existing help documents that
would address my problem. The search engine was completely
nonfunctional; it did nothing at all. It did not even give me a
message telling me that it was not working... So I created a new Microsoft support account, then logged on to
submit the incident. I supplied my product ID number when asked,
and then began to follow the instructions on a series of help
screens... I was never able to submit my bug report,
because the series of linked web pages that I was filling
out eventually led me to a completely blank page: a dead end.
So I went back and clicked on the buttons for "phone support" and
eventually was given a Microsoft telephone number. When I dialed
this number I got a series of piercing beeps and a recorded
message from the phone company saying "We're sorry, your call
cannot be completed as dialed..." "Technical writers" are usually in the same league as "military
intelligence," but Stephenson is one of our best writers in any genre.
Don't miss this one. Highly recommended. This appears to be exactly the same text that Stephenson posted
online in early 1999. It's nice to have it available as a book, but it's
still available free [Google]. Unfortunately, in porting his text to print,
the publishers failed to add either a ToC or an index (bad, bad Avon!)
-- a major inconvenience, which I worked around by downloading a
searchable copy. Saved retyping all these cool quotes, too.
| 
