In the Beginningwas the Command Line

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]

Warning: I am a die-hard Neal Stephenson fan. If this bothers you, don't read further!
That aside, "In the Beginning Was the Command Line" should be required reading for anyone who a) regularly uses a personal computer b) has expressed an opinion on the current DOJ vs. Microsoft case. Most computer users are as unfamiliar with why they use Windows (or Macs) as they are with the history of the elevator. The elevator did not significantly change the world; GUI's & PC's have. I know half of you are already yawning, looking for another book to purchase, but wait...this is a really quick read, &, better yet, it's hysterically funny! Yes, folks, you not only get informed, are given some concepts to contemplate, you actually enjoy the process!
Stephenson admits this book is simply an essay, his musings on the 4 main operating systems currently in use (MacOS, Windows, Linux, BeOS) & how they can be viewed in the context of global culture. He gives examples from personal experience, & unlike most techno-geek/hacker types, he doesn't appear to view Bill Gates as the anti-christ (which is probably why some people hate this book). But please, don't let that scare you off. This book is an easy read for those who have never typed a single line of code in their life, while still being thought provoking for even the "Morlocks" (Stephenson's term) of the world.
Let's face it: if you're reading this, you're an Internet user. Thus, you use computers. You need the information in this book. It's only $6. BUY IT!

An outstanding overview of the history of the life-cycles of PC operating systems and hardware; with interesting thoughts about where we should choose (that right, we can choose ! ) to evolve to next (So where do you want to go today ! ) You may not agree with him, but so what ? The arguments are well presented and well worth considering. HOWEVER ! Please note that this is an essay, not a book.

Metaphore shear is the single most topical section of the book that still resonates as powerfully today as when the book was released. Some aspects of the book make it a bit dated now (BeOS is pretty much gone, and Neal has since made his peace with Apple again - though Mac OS X is Unix and so now has, you guessed it - A COMMAND LINE! so give him a break). I know of no other concise and readable work that addresses the plain truth of why computing is so bizarre for so many people use. Understanding the points made in this book is critical if you intend to stay relevant as telecommunications skills become even more important as Globalism 3.0 launches us into the 21st century.

Stphenson's syle glides you through what can be a very complicated journey with the wit and knowledge of a good tour director.
He will introduce you to the sights, and share with you the benefits of his experience in a manner that shares his enthusiasm for the subject matter. You may not agree with his opinion of the various landmarks on the way, but you wil at least know Why he feels the way he does - this reason, and depth being missing from most popular (newspaper/magazine) discource of the topics.
This is worth the time of a quick couple hundred pages.

This is by far the most well written essay on the computer industry and the technology that impacts our lives daily. The insight into the future of operating systems and the major players in the computer industry is enrapturing. There is a point at which the essay takes a trip down a tangent road, however, Stephenson does bring it full circle. Stephenson really paints a full and complete picture of not only where the computer industry has been but where it's going and why. He focuses on all the nuisances and events that have brought us to the advent of LINUX and the Microsoft anti-trust trial. It's not light reading; more academic in nature, but you will undoubtedly understand the personal computer's past and future.

"The writing in this book is marvelously simpleminded and glib; the author glosses over complicated subjects and employs facile generalizations in almost every sentence."
Or so says Neal Stephenson in the voice of his own virtual critic reviewing his book. Stephenson complains about Microsoft and Appple, celebrates Linux, and uses Disney as a metaphor for the metaphor of the OS. Stephenson then applauds Microsoft for taking out the drudgery of typing miles of code, describes Linux as a world of hyper-geeks who have rejected the mouse in favor of the command line, and suggests that the universe is actually a graphical user interface created by the Master Programmer.
If all of this sounds a little confusing, then join the club! Stephenson seems to care a lot, but about what I have no idea. He makes some good points about how culture and technology meet in the way Microsoft and Apple market their error-prone products to customers who buy their stuff more as a way of being part of a group than as a choice to buy and use good technology, but he wanders off into mazes of techno-speak and stomps around in his own tar-pit, ranting about bad customer service and how a computer (an Apple) once ate one of his documents.
In the end, he doesn't seem really mad at Microsoft and seems to think that being a herd of technically illiterates depending on MS for our next fix and making Bill Gates even richer might not be such a bad thing after all.

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.

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.

I picked up the book at breakfast Saturday morning and didn't put it down until lunch (when I'd finished it).
It was a pretty interesting/humorous/insightful/thought-provoking look at the social/business forces at work in their evolution past and future.
The author calls it an essay, and it really is at only 140 medium-small pages. But I really appreciated the fact that he managed to articulate a good deal of what I've grown to think of the whole unix/dos/mac/windows/linux/beos soap opera. He steps beyond the usual 'first there was mac, then there was windows' accounting of the situation.
As someone who has computer books coming out of his ears and ultimately ends up tossing most of them after a year or two, I'm going to have to make a permanent place for this one on my shelf.

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.

This essay posits one of the best metaphors for our society today. The use of GUI in place of the command line on our computers perfectly sums up what is wrong with us today: we want everything explained to us in simple, attractive, neat little packaged terms. And we'll PAY for it! After all, only someone who wants a pretty format would buy this book instead of getting it from Neal's own web site (where it is FREE! ). - This review refers to the online version of the text.

This book introduced me to the open source movement. Refreshing view of the programmer as "creator" in the domain of binary world. Interesting parallels to religion. This book captures the heart and soul of the information age.

I am a 21 year old art student who has recently started using linux.

I read this book and found that it was pretty good for what it was, a not-too-in-depth look at operating systems -who makes them, what accounts for the technical and mostly non-technical differences that they have, and what kind of users each one has.

I gave it four stars because reading it was quick and enjoyable, but I would warn potential readers that it is not very deep at all. It is mostly a well ordered set of opinions. Don't expect to learn much about the history of Unix or Linux, or any of the people that are associated with either of them. (There is some brief information, but not much.)

In the Beginning details the development of the major OS systems of our day and age. Mac OS, Windows, Linux, and BeOS are each studied and scrutnized. Their advantages and disadvantages are clearly stated. The writer compares the development of the four OS's to many real world examples, including Disney World and a car dealership. For anyone who is interested in OS history or just curious as to why Windows keeps adding applications to their system, this is an excellent. Be warned, if you are a diehard supporter of a particular OS, you may not appreciate some of the skerwing each OS takes from the author. Still, it was an excellent read and I recommend it.

I don't see a reason to buy this book. Nothing Stephenson has to say is new or interesting - anybody who'd consider buying the book has most likely read articles about the "OS Wars" for years now. This book rehashes the most commonly made points, seemingly without much thought. More than that, Stephenson makes his points using elaborated metaphors which are so smug and self-assured (and trite - he compares OS's to cars throughout the course of the book), I found them actively annoying.

I expected a lot when I sat down to read this book, and I was disappointed. However, it has virtues that make it worth reading. First, it is very short and easy to read. Second, it is relatively entertaining. Third, it gives a thoughtful and seldom voiced perspective on the future of Microsoft and the dominance of their OS. Its shortcomings are that it rambles, goes off on irrelevant tangents, has some very weak and poorly supported arguments, and assumes total technological illiteracy of the reader.

Neal Stephenson takes you on an interesting journey through competing operating systems and touches on bigger issues you may never have thought about in this context. A good quick read, and worth the time....

Don't get me wrong, I really enjoy Neal Stephenson's books. The historical content he winds into his plots is engaging. However, I have been working with the micro computer since before the command line. Neal, you have the title wrong. In the beginning was the Monitor. No doubts in my mind. My right hand is still trained to enter octal codes on a keypad at lightening speed! The Command line came much later, more like the coalescence of matter in the Universe when clumps of useful things needed some impactful gravity. The Monitor was there before the clumps and after the octal toggle switches, address load and register load momentary switches. The Monitor got the human fingers attached to the computer once and for all. So, 2 stars because the title is just wrong!

basically it's a long Linux rant by someone who, while bright, isn't very deep in his thoughfulness, ability to craft a truly fetching AND sturdy idea, disregards fatal flaws in logic, induction, deduction, and reason.
Too bad.
He's pretty fair writer of fiction though, at least in his ability to create compelling atmospheres- in his fiction he makes the same sort of mistakes he makes in this book.
He *is* honest though- and that's makes him a better fellow than about 90% of the rest of the hacks in this world known as "writers."
Sorry though- this little folio is a awaste of time- just experiment with Linux yourself and see if you like it- ditch all this justification crap in here.

While I did buy and read this book cover to cover in about 3 days, I regard that time spent as wasted. Stephenson, while a flashy fiction writer, left me wanting in this essay based on the evolution of the user interface. I will admit he managed to eek out a few brilliant remarks and commentary, (find the metaphor dealing with the OS car dealerships), but overall the essay was a poorly disguised rant. Stephenson manages to whine and carry on like a 8 year old with a stubbed toe for around 150 pages. I salute his fiction writing abilities, but the man is no sociologist.

This book, available for free at Stephenson's website if you don't want to shell out eight bux, is amazing.
As a hacker reading it was an almost religious experience; it caused me to begin experimenting with various Linux distributions. The non-technical may be bored. For hackers it is a must read.

I think Stephenson misses the point entirely. The PC beat the Mac because it managed to embrace computer gaming without being perceived as a toy. Let me ask you -- do you really think people buy 2 Ghz machines to run Office?

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.

In short, the book is Mr. Stephenson's opinions of operating sytems and the companies/organisms that create and sell them. This seems based on his private experience - very narrow & anecdotal. His treatment of BeOs is so thin I don't really know any more about it than when I started (it's the Batmobile? what does THAT mean?) He lauds the emergence of Linux and asserts that operating systems are "born to be free" as is Linux. That same idea could be applied to books, but I still had to pay $6 to find out what he had to say. Oh, and by the way, I just paid $400.00 to have a qualified Linux jock install Linux as my dsl gateway. I love it...but it's NOT free. He IS right that NT server is overpriced and could be tons more reliable. I think Mr. Stephenson wanted to get a few things off his chest, and he should have done it with a nice essay in Wired. I don't think he should have put it out as a book.
Just for the record, I've read Snowcrash and loved it, Diamond Age and thought that was pretty good but flawed.