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In the Beginning Was the Command Line (1999)

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412 points conanxin | 4 comments | 27 Jul 24 06:25 UTC | HN request time: 0s | source
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mxwsn ◴[27 Jul 24 07:02 UTC] No.41084928[source]▶
This essay by Neal Stephenson was first published in 1999. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/In_the_Beginning..._Was_the_...

The analogy of OS as cars (Windows is a station wagon, Linux is a tank) is brought up in the recent Acquired episode on Microsoft, where Vista was a Dodge Viper but Windows 7 was a Toyota Camry, which is what users actually wanted.

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1. justin66 ◴[27 Jul 24 18:28 UTC] No.41088400[source]▶
> recent Acquired episode on Microsoft, where Vista was a Dodge Viper but Windows 7 was a Toyota Camry, which is what users actually wanted.

I assume if anyone associated with Microsoft compared Vista to anything other than an abject failure, it's because they are - at best - broken or defective people who were involved in the creation of Vista, and therefore not objective and not to be trusted in any way.

Dodge Viper? WTF?

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2. throwawaydummy ◴[27 Jul 24 22:53 UTC] No.41089920[source]▶
Doge Vipers get a bad rep even in need for speed lol but idk enough about cars to know why
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3. 00N8 ◴[27 Jul 24 23:35 UTC] No.41090144[source]▶
The first generation or two of Vipers were very raw & unrefined, with ~400 horsepower, no stability control, no anti-lock brakes, minimal safety features, cheap & janky looking interiors, etc. It sounds great to me (aside from the lack of a/c & nice ergonomic interior), but it would be extremely easy to have a bad time if you're an average driver.

I'm not sure about the analogy though, they might have been thinking of later Viper versions where the complaints would be more about cost, gas mileage, or general impracticality for daily use.

4. jholman ◴[28 Jul 24 07:04 UTC] No.41091704[source]▶
This might help?

https://youtu.be/WdtK9Sj8ADw?list=PLoTU9_iCGa6go3vsnxlNn1wZS...