Book: In the Beginning was the Command Line
This is a non-fiction look at the history of computer operating systems.
It’s an interesting read, with some very amusing commentary, though it’s showing its age a bit now as it was written in 1999. If you were using computers in the ’90s, then I think you’ll find it enjoyable to read, but, probably not otherwise.
As someone who used computers during the ’80s, I was sad to not even see a mention of the Commodores and Ataris of the time, but, that’s mostly a nostalgia thing.
I also agree with his experience of Linux in the late ’90s – it seemed a heck of a lot more solid 10 years ago than it does now (obviously he has not said it’s unstable now, not in that book at least). But, I suppose that’s the price of the ‘cruft’ he describes (I’m talking X crashing/freezing on desktops, not Linux per se).
A quote that from the book:
(about GNU) “… their project to build a free Unix was a little bit like trying to dig a subway system with a teaspoon”.
Definitely worth a read!