Unix has affected just about every computer now being used. DOS's few good features come from Unix; the C programming language was invented for Unix; and the Internet owes much of its growth to the advent of low-cost, multi-user Unix workstations.
A Quarter Century of Unix (written by an unrepentant Unix aficionado) details the operating system's conception at Bell Labs, its gestation within the research community, and its eventual release into the commercial arena.
Along the way, you'll pick up fistfuls of Unix lore, gossip, and a few glimpses of the people who made Unix one of the most successful digital viruses in the history of computer science.
There are a few holes in this history, and it's a shame author Peter Salus didn't concentrate more on the people who created Unix. You'll be hard-pressed to learn much about Onyx's founder, Bob Marsh. On the other hand, you will learn that the first edition of Unix, dated November 3, 1971, came with a built-in Basic interpreter, a program for generating form letters, and a command for hanging up the typewriter. Useful features, those.
A Quarter Century of Unix, by Peter H. Salus, US$24.75. Addison-Wesley Publishing Company: (800) 447 2226, +1 (617) 944 3700.
STREET CRED
Graphic MysteryTomorrow's Print News Today
Return of the Emperor's Nightingale
A Gingerbread Man Worth Catching
A History for Wireheads
