undefined | Better HN

0 pointsmrbill8y ago0 comments

Depth of information, organization, etc. I wish there were more books like these covering other platforms - like one about DEC's minicomputers, another covering Cray, etc.

Plus they're nice and thick, without a third of it being indexes and footnotes.

0 comments

3 comments · 2 top-level

criddell8y ago· 1 in thread

Have you read Tracy Kidder's book Soul of a New Machine? If so, what did you think?

I read it five or six years ago and I loved it.

mrbillOP8y ago

Yes, I read it in the mid-80s and loved it, and own multiple copies. Steven Levy's _Hackers_ is a similarly good book.

I found out years later that one of the moderators on a discussion site I frequent is Tom West's daughter, and I sold her a laptop at one point.. Isn't it weird how "small" the world can be?

pinewurst8y ago

Another vote that both of these are great books - richly informative, classics of history of computing/technology. I own hardcover 1st editions of both.

j / k navigate · click thread line to collapse