
The Unix Hater’s Handbook, Reconsidered - nickb
http://esr.ibiblio.org/?p=538
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tptacek
ESR missed the entire point of the Unix Hater's Handbook. He apparently
couldn't be bothered to note who the authors were. The book isn't a "polemic"
against Unix; it's an affectionate critique from people "in the family". The
Unix Haters clearly think Unix is the worst OS out there, except for all the
others, and they clearly understand Unix better than ESR claims to.

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dmv
From the 'Preface' part: "I know and rather like some of the authors, so it
actually makes me a little sad to report that fourteen years later, writing
them off this way is easier than ever."

He knows who they are and what they were about. His point was not that it was
a 'polemic' against Unix. It was that their wordplay was ineffective and is
now dated and shortsighted, when they could have delivered a directed and
informed critique that might have inspired more.

~~~
tptacek
How do you write a Unix Hater's Handbook that isn't going to "date" itself?
How does your reservoir of ideas run so dry that a review of a 14 year old
book is your best one?

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gamble
Hint: any book that comes packaged with a barf bag may not be taking the
subject quite so seriously as you believe it is.

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astine
Yes, "The Unix Hater's Handbook" is outdated. Then again, it is 14 years old.
Who wouldn't think it was obsolete.

