http://www.ariadne.ac.uk/authors/madeleine-shepherd/ Recent content in Madeleine Shepherd on Ariadne Hugo -- gohugo.io en-gb Thu, 23 Mar 2000 00:00:00 +0000 http://www.ariadne.ac.uk/issue/23/checkout-review/stephenson.html Thu, 23 Mar 2000 00:00:00 +0000 http://www.ariadne.ac.uk/issue/23/checkout-review/stephenson.html In the beginning...was the command line is a non-technical, comparative study of computer operating systems (OSs) from one man's personal viewpoint. That man is science fiction author, Neal Stephenson - styled 'the hacker Hemingway' by Newsweek. Stephenson set out to write an article for Wired magazine and so rich was the material that he ended up with a 150 page paperback, which is also available as a web essay. While it's great to have things available freely on the web, a piece this length on the screen is not easy on the eyes.