false http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1178729306m/826811.jpg 826811 1 Yes, it's a cliché, but it's true enough to be worth repeating: <I>User Friendly</I> is to the open-source world what <I>Dilbert</I> is to swarming hives of Windows cubicles. Set in an ISP company that keeps getting bought and sold, the constant remains a team of cynical, hilarious techies. M.B.A.s and marketers drift in and out, as do CEOs, often making statements like, "I can't surf the Web. I think the Internet is broken." For anyone who's dealt with similar situations, <I>User Friendly</I> is the ultimate in-joke.<p> To be fair, the comic is pretty basic in layout and execution. No one will confuse this book with a graphic novel, since the visuals basically exist only to further the punch line. (Think of a stripped-down <I>Bloom County</I> and you're getting close.) Lots of the jokes involve goofy, clichéd rants about the beauty of Quake, Linux, and <i>Star Wars</i>--the holy trinity for a white, wired, 18-26 year-old male audience. But when the author, Illiad, nails the bloated bureaucracy that exists in the tech working world, it's a laugh-out-loud payoff. In one comic, a new "suit" walks into the tech den and asks, What's "one thing that makes your job difficult, and we'll see about eliminating that." The chorus erupts: "Meetings." The new boss replies: "Very good. Now let's spend a few hours discussing why meetings make you unproductive." A comic that tilts at windmills and Windows, it's clear why <I>User Friendly</I> has developed such a strong online cult following. <I>--Jennifer Buckendorff</I> 812537 29 9 1999 User Friendly: The Comic Strip total:30|5:0|4:1|3:0|2:0|1:0| 30 120 51 1 5 0 false false Mon Oct 27 17:13:36 -0700 2008 Mon Oct 27 17:18:22 -0700 2008 more...]]> 4 0 false false Mon Nov 09 16:24:14 -0800 2009 Mon Nov 09 16:24:14 -0800 2009 0 0 false false Sat Nov 07 07:16:44 -0800 2009 Sat Nov 07 07:16:44 -0800 2009 3 0 false false Fri Oct 02 15:38:33 -0700 2009 Fri Oct 02 15:38:33 -0700 2009 4 0 false false Thu Oct 01 10:17:09 -0700 2009 Thu Oct 01 10:17:09 -0700 2009 0 0 false false Wed Aug 26 23:30:02 -0700 2009 Wed Aug 26 23:30:02 -0700 2009 4 0 false false Wed Aug 26 08:50:47 -0700 2009 Wed Aug 26 08:50:56 -0700 2009 5 0 false false Fri Aug 21 13:15:37 -0700 2009 Fri Aug 21 13:15:37 -0700 2009 0 0 false false Wed Aug 19 08:59:56 -0700 2009 Wed Aug 19 08:59:56 -0700 2009 0 0 false false Mon May 25 16:03:40 -0700 2009 Mon May 25 16:03:40 -0700 2009 4 0 false false Tue May 19 13:40:28 -0700 2009 Tue May 19 13:40:28 -0700 2009 0 0 false false Sat May 02 22:47:36 -0700 2009 Sat May 02 22:47:36 -0700 2009 2 0 false false Sat Jan 01 00:00:00 -0800 2000 Tue Apr 07 14:57:02 -0700 2009 Tue Apr 07 14:57:09 -0700 2009 0 0 false false Mon Apr 06 22:53:15 -0700 2009 Mon Apr 06 22:53:15 -0700 2009 0 0 false false Sun Mar 29 00:21:54 -0700 2009 Sun Mar 29 00:21:54 -0700 2009 0 0 false false Sat Mar 28 01:25:11 -0700 2009 Sat Mar 28 02:10:37 -0700 2009 3 0 false false Tue Mar 24 19:37:42 -0700 2009 Tue Mar 24 19:37:42 -0700 2009 5 0 false false Fri Jan 01 00:00:00 -0800 1999 Thu Mar 19 17:21:09 -0700 2009 Thu Mar 19 17:21:19 -0700 2009 0 0 false false Wed Feb 25 10:27:41 -0800 2009 Wed Feb 25 10:27:41 -0800 2009 4 0 false false Thu Feb 12 00:00:00 -0800 2009 Wed Feb 18 15:21:42 -0800 2009 Wed Feb 18 15:22:17 -0800 2009 3 http://www.goodreads.com/book_link/follow/8?book_id=826811