Loaded with computer jargon and acronyms, this is a story told with gusto by a knowledgeable devotee—but for computer...
There’s no free lunch, but there is abundant free source-code software out there in the ether. Perhaps you have no idea what “source code” is. You will get just the sketchiest of notions here, hidden in a thoroughgoing description of the movement to spread the thing around.
Wayner, a prodigious computernik, shows us a civilization of hackers, by hackers, and for hackers, and his account is of particular interest to that breed of programmers who can write their own superior variant operating systems and say to hell with Windows. It all started in Finland not so long ago when Linus Torvalds, the principal guru of free software, wrote his original operating system on his dinky PC. Then he gave it, gratis, to anyone who wanted it. That fit of altruism earned him more devoted followers than L. Ron Hubbard. His program, Linux, became the system that (together with another from Berkeley) is the wellspring for a universal cadre of hackers who elaborate and enhance the software (which, happily, is amenable to such manipulation). Their hard work and considerable debugging are freely available to all, so nobody needs to buy shrink-wrapped programs. Some enterprising lads, nevertheless, have packaged manuals, CDs, and backups for sale at nominal cost. (Their software may be reproduced freely.) Was the movement, as one leader famously asked, a bazaar of ideas—or more like a cathedral under the benign guidance of one architect? As the hacker garage bands of the Internet formed various allegiances, it became a real free-for-all. Eventually AT&T and Microsoft noticed and, with the whiff of money in the air, lawyers were hired (in a move that was particularly offensive to the attorney-phobic author). The Source Wars are heating up, but it will be a tough fight. Wayner’s money is on the hacker freedom-fighters against the plutocratic suits.
Loaded with computer jargon and acronyms, this is a story told with gusto by a knowledgeable devotee—but for computer illiterates outside cubicle farms, accessibility will be limited.Pub Date: Aug. 1, 2000
ISBN: 0-06-662050-3
Page Count: 288
Publisher: N/A
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 15, 2000
This is not the Nutcracker sweet, as passed on by Tchaikovsky and Marius Petipa. No, this is the original Hoffmann tale of 1816, in which the froth of Christmas revelry occasionally parts to let the dark underside of childhood fantasies and fears peek through. The boundaries between dream and reality fade, just as Godfather Drosselmeier, the Nutcracker's creator, is seen as alternately sinister and jolly. And Italian artist Roberto Innocenti gives an errily realistic air to Marie's dreams, in richly detailed illustrations touched by a mysterious light. A beautiful version of this classic tale, which will captivate adults and children alike. (Nutcracker; $35.00; Oct. 28, 1996; 136 pp.; 0-15-100227-4)
Pub Date: Oct. 28, 1996
ISBN: 0-15-100227-4
Page Count: 136
Publisher: Harcourt
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 1996
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
An extravaganza in Bemelmans' inimitable vein, but written almost dead pan, with sly, amusing, sometimes biting undertones, breaking through. For Bemelmans was "the man who came to cocktails". And his hostess was Lady Mendl (Elsie de Wolfe), arbiter of American decorating taste over a generation. Lady Mendl was an incredible person,- self-made in proper American tradition on the one hand, for she had been haunted by the poverty of her childhood, and the years of struggle up from its ugliness,- until she became synonymous with the exotic, exquisite, worshipper at beauty's whrine. Bemelmans draws a portrait in extremes, through apt descriptions, through hilarious anecdote, through surprisingly sympathetic and understanding bits of appreciation. The scene shifts from Hollywood to the home she loved the best in Versailles. One meets in passing a vast roster of famous figures of the international and artistic set. And always one feels Bemelmans, slightly offstage, observing, recording, commenting, illustrated.
Pub Date: Feb. 23, 1955
ISBN: 0670717797
Page Count: -
Publisher: Viking
Review Posted Online: Oct. 25, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 1955
© Copyright 2024 Kirkus Media LLC. All Rights Reserved.
Follow
Popular in this Genre
We can’t wait for you to join Kirkus!
It’s free and takes less than 10 seconds!
Already have an account? Log in.
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
Welcome Back!
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
bookshelf
