Had Uncle Screwtape been a programmer instead…

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In his work, In the Beginning was the Command Line, Neil Stephenson sought to critique the world of operating systems in the world around him. With the seemingly exponential speed with which the operating systems had evolved after the article’s publication in 1999, another writer and programmer, Garrett Birkel, produced an annotated version in 2004. Birkel left the main text unchanged but produced notes to give updated information. For his contribution Birkel sought to clarify or built upon a number of the metaphors that Stephenson had utilized. Birkel also uses the opportunity to disagree with Stephenson and takes Stephenson to task for assumptions that smell of bias. One major theme of Stephenson’s article is concerned with giving a brief personal history of operating systems. He relates his high school experiences working on a teletype, a device that connected to a computer via a phone line. From there the computer technology evolved to incorporate monitors that support Graphical User Interfaces (or GUIs.) He relates the importance of this change by emphasizing the shift from command driven navigation to users relying on seemingly inane computer icons to navigate programs. Stephenson goes on shares his positive and negative personal experiences with a variety of computers and operating systems. It is in this context that he devotes special attention to the issues surrounding the various operating systems that computer users have to choose from. He paints Microsoft as being on the beginning of a death march, due to its “bug” filled software releases and its business model centering on selling intangible products (Microsoft’s operating systems) that are comparable to those that are offered online for free. Stephenson uses his critique of Microsoft to espouse the benefits of the Free Software operating system Linux. Stephenson considers Linux superior in terms of its power, malleability to knowledgeable users, and the community of Linux users working openly for a common good. As Stephenson continues he writes broadly about the nature of operating systems and the pro and cons they hold over their users.

The importance of Stephenson’s essay lies in his use of a variety of metaphors to make complex ideas accessible. Though according to Birkel the metaphors can be ill fitting, Stephenson is able to examine the issues surrounding operating systems, particularly how consumers view operating systems in the “Car Lots” metaphor. The importance of Stephenson’s article is also shown by his ability to ask the right questions. For example he examines why the general population tends to pay for Microsoft’s while there are free alternatives that are widely available. He does not simply accept Microsoft’s position in the P.C. market as something to be passively accepted by P.C. users, but encourages his readers to explore a variety of operating systems to find what will be beneficial to them. He utilizes his knowledge and experience gained from years of working on and around computers to cause his readers to ask meaningful questions about how they relate to their operating systems. It is these questions that may lead users to take a more active role in how they approach their computers and perhaps choose an operating system that leads them down a more difficult path that ultimately yields greater freedoms. In addition Birkel’s contributions in the form of his annotated version cannot be over looked. By updating the piece Birkel didn’t simply maintain its accuracy but demonstrated a sometimes insightful differing opinion, continuing Stephenson’s example of thinking critically about the pros and cons of the various operating systems. In the end it is Birkel who emphasizes most clearly the importance of valuing a computer and the time spent working on it through the filter of, “Its (the operating systems) ability to help me get my work done.” The article also serves as an important role in its function as a brief history of computer interfaces and how they are in a continual state of change. This history also allows for those that have little familiarity with the various operating systems to have a better understanding of computer subcultures they may have never learned about otherwise.