Fascinating look into operating systems and the need for interfaces. Many of the specifics are, of course, dated, as you would expect of any book about computers written over a decade before it was read. The underlying concepts, however, are still entirely fresh. The book looks at Windows, MacOS, Linux, and BeOS, explaining what each are, what they represent, who uses them, why Linux and BeOS are inherently superior, and why they will probably never capture the mindshare that Windows and MacOS enjoy. The ideas are fascinating and provocative, and Stephenson manages to make a case for the superiority of the more difficult interfaces to learn without actually damning the more popular interfaces or the communities that prefer them. One of the few books I've read that I wished was longer.