Review: Insanely greatEditorial Review - Kirkus ReviewsA breezy, anecdotal, yet discerning history of the people, ideas, and technology that led to the user-friendliness of the Macintosh computer. Levy (Artificial Life, 1992, etc.) is among our best interpreters of computer technology (he speaks fluent geek). Here, however, his overbearing passion for the Macintosh keeps this from being a first-class treatment; though he recounts Apple's wrong turns and the widespread criticisms of Steve Jobs, his report lacks the rigor of Tracy Kidder's The Soul of a New Machine or even of his own Hackers (1984). Moreover, there are surprising gaps here: The early days of home-computing are limned only briefly, as are Apple's beginnings. But in tracing the evolution of how humans conceive of, and relate to, information in cyberspace, the author has done his research. From a 1945 essay by Vannevar Bush describing a ``memex''--a sort of desk/cockpit with monitors for ``piloting'' one's way through information--that inspired Douglas Engelbart to invent the desktop metaphor and the now-ubiquitous mouse, Levy takes us to the golden age of Xerox's Palo Alto Research Center (``Nerds now think of it as Camelot''). There, although Xerox overlooked the invention of the personal computer, Allan Kay wrote SmallTalk-- the simple operating system that would one day be embodied in the Mac--and conceived of the ``DynaBook,'' the inspiration for Apple's PowerBook and considered ever since the Grail of computer designs. As the creation of the Mac looms, Levy focuses on the personal contributions and internal politics of those working at Apple; on software offerings like PageMaker, which revolutionized desktop publishing; and the last step in evolving the Mac as we know it: Bill Atkinson's HyperCard, the program that changed the way computer-users think about information. Everything you never realized you wanted to know about the Mac, by a very smart, infectiously enthusiastic partisan. User reviewsReview: Insanely Great: The Life and Times of Macintosh, the Computer that Changed EverythingUser Review - Eddy Allen - GoodreadsThe creation of the Mac in 1984 catapulted America into the digital millennium, captured a fanatic cult audience, and transformed the computer industry into an unprecedented mix of technology ... Read full review Review: Insanely Great: The Life and Times of Macintosh, the Computer that Changed EverythingUser Review - John - GoodreadsThis was decent, although 20 years old. I like Steven Levy and this was read by him, which made it better. The afterword and other updates to the audiobook after Jobs death as well as a very recent ... Read full review Review: Insanely Great: The Life and Times of Macintosh, the Computer that Changed EverythingUser Review - Jon Laiche - GoodreadsThis book helped to direct and define my career as scholar, historian, teacher, techie, and modern pagan. Read full review Review: Insanely Great: The Life and Times of Macintosh, the Computer that Changed EverythingUser Review - Phil Simon - GoodreadsAn excellent look at the rise and challenges of the Macintosh. To me, this book was a bit of a trip down memory lane. I remember some of the very applications that Levy describes. I remember the ... Read full review Review: Insanely Great: The Life and Times of Macintosh, the Computer that Changed EverythingUser Review - Erik Granlund - GoodreadsEven though I've heard this story at least 100 times now, the author was still able to make it interesting and added a couple little tidbits that I hadn't heard before. I would recommend it to anyone who wants to learn more about the creation of the Macintosh without all of the technical jargon. Read full review Review: Insanely Great: The Life and Times of Macintosh, the Computer that Changed EverythingUser Review - Denis Collins - GoodreadsAn interesting particularly since I was reading it when Steve Jobs died. Read full review Review: Insanely Great: The Life and Times of Macintosh, the Computer that Changed EverythingUser Review - Peter - GoodreadsExcellent book. Enjoyed it. (This review was created in July 2011, long after I read the book.) Read full review Review: Insanely Great: The Life and Times of Macintosh, the Computer that Changed EverythingUser Review - Alex - GoodreadsAn interesting look at the history of personal computers and of course the Mac. Would be hard to recommend to anyone unless they had a interest in computers. Read full review Review: Insanely Great: The Life and Times of Macintosh, the Computer that Changed EverythingUser Review - Ben Galbraith - GoodreadsI generally love Steven Levy's work and this is no exception. Read full review | User ratings| 5 stars | | | 4 stars | | | 3 stars | | | 2 stars | | | 1 star | |
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