

In the Beginning was the Command Line, by Neal Stephenson - andreyf
http://www.cryptonomicon.com/beginning.html?

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sh1mmer
I have this essay as a book in hard copy. Now that Neal has released it, if
you don't already have it you should definitely read it.

It strangely continues to be true. Maybe because the concept he talks about
pervade the makeup of the operating systems he discusses so much.

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anamax
In the beginning, there were switches and lights....

And, "Bill Gates and Paul Allen came up with an idea even stranger and more
fantastical: selling computer operating systems." is false. IBM had been
selling operating systems for years, thanks to one of the consent decree.
(This let Amdahl and the first clone makers concentrate on building hardware
and ignore software.) Moreover, Gates almost certainly knew that IBM sold
operating systems.

I doubt that IBM was the first to sell operating systems, and if it was, I
seriously doubt that Microsoft was the second.

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jbjohns
I looked at the new Mac Pro the other day, and it seems to me that things are
coming full circle. The advantage Mac gets by controlling the hardware _as
well as_ the software is really putting them ahead of Microsoft in terms of
what they can do and I would expect it to continue.

To be more clear, if you build for a maximum of 3 possible configurations you
can make a much better experience than someone who has to deal with a
virtually infinite amount. So, takes less resources to do and makes a better
experience in the end. Sounds like a win-win to me.

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mpk
Ok, ok, it's a classic essay.

However, it's a classic. Not news.

Next thing you know there'll be a front-page article recommending "Godel,
Escher, Bach", a trip through the Jargon file, a link to the Scary Devil
Monastery group and, hey, did you read that thread where Linus gets into a
flame-war with Tanenbaum?

Also, ED is the standard editor! Yeah!

~~~
andreyf
I know, it's even been posted, nearly a year ago:
<http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=95912>

Apologies to showing it to you twice. However, I think the benefit of showing
it to those who haven't seen it outweighs the cost of seeing it twice (feel
free to down-vote this to negate the karma).

~~~
mpk
Not to worry, I was just feeling cranky. Posting at 3 AM and all that :)

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gaius
Interestingly since writing that Stephenson has stated in interviews that he
exclusively uses OSX these days.

~~~
eli
Indeed, he said in 2004:

    
    
      I embraced OS X as soon as it was available and have never
      looked back. So a lot of "In the beginning was the command
      line" is now obsolete. I keep meaning to update it, but if
      I'm honest with myself, I have to say this is unlikely.
    

[http://interviews.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=04/10/20/15182...](http://interviews.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=04/10/20/1518217)

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cliffw
In the beginning was the punch card.

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bitdiddle
great classic read. It should be posted once a year, holiday time seems about
right :)

