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3.83 AVERAGE
3.83 AVERAGE
I'm late to the party, but this holds up as a portrait of tech in the early 90s.
Depending on your headspace at the time of reading, I could see this book striking you as hilarious, tedious, or lugubrious -- maybe all three at once. Compared to Neal Stephenson this author doesn't completely INHABIT the geek mind, but he's working hard to imagine it.
I tried and tried to get into this... made it about 2/3s of the way.
I really enjoyed reliving parts of my life through this book, and especially how interestingly he captured that time. I lived in Santa Barbara and was awakened by the Northridge earthquake. I was in school at UCSB and saw a lot of Doom played back then. I'm in the field of software right now and actually approaching the age of obsolescence, I guess, though I feel like my skills are still sharp. Maybe I'll never see it coming.
Anyway, the phone isn't showing me what I typed anymore, so I guess I'll wrap this up. Interesting characters, and so much symbolism about creating new things... I really feel like he captured this time, but also noticed things that I didn't see when I lived it. And that these things are repeating again right now.
Aha! I solved the interface problem!
So many people in this book are people I know from my life and experience: coworkers, costudents, and even family. He captured a big ball of reality here and wrapped it in entertaining words and thoughts. I think this is my favorite of his books, now.
Anyway, the phone isn't showing me what I typed anymore, so I guess I'll wrap this up. Interesting characters, and so much symbolism about creating new things... I really feel like he captured this time, but also noticed things that I didn't see when I lived it. And that these things are repeating again right now.
Aha! I solved the interface problem!
So many people in this book are people I know from my life and experience: coworkers, costudents, and even family. He captured a big ball of reality here and wrapped it in entertaining words and thoughts. I think this is my favorite of his books, now.
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
reflective
relaxing
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
An interesting time capsule of the tech world from the mid 90's. A time before the Internet became a utility and loves were lived out on social. It was nice to picture a time before social media.
funny
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
Such a nostalgic trip! The events in 'Microserfs' are before my time, but wow this was a time capsule. If you are curious about the tech world of the 90s before the .com boom, this is the book for you. We follow a couple of Microsoft employees who share a home and a friendship, as they struggle to come into their own in their private lives, reconcile their relationship to work and of course, the finances that come with it.
For me this was a humorous take on a history lesson. It's told in the form of a journal, so the thoughts are written simply, to the point, and contain a lot of the impressions of the protagonist. We see a world in which Microsoft is king and Bill is its icon. Apple is barely a startup. Silicon Valley is still developing, San Francisco is considered libertarian and artistic, a beacon of light in what is otherwise an economically-focused region.
In many ways this reminded me of something like 'The Big Bang Theory' or 'The Office', the characters are nerdy, the jokes are cheesy, but the sentiment between them is full of authenticity and heart. They have inside jokes, yet they get on each other's nerves. They blindly believe in each other's ideas and continue to support them even when difficulties abound. It's genuinely a fun read, and I liked to understand more about the corporate culture as well. Susan is dating within the office, Dan met his significant other, Karla, as a colleague. Microsoft is a safe space, startups are highly risky, something that stayed completely the same. In their 20s, people try to pursue their own ideas, only to realise in their 30s that they can't afford anything. And Menlo Park wasn't associated with Meta yet. Something that surprised me was that we already see generations of families who work in tech, such as Dan's dad, who was made redundant in his 50s.
A bit dated, but I had a good time.
For me this was a humorous take on a history lesson. It's told in the form of a journal, so the thoughts are written simply, to the point, and contain a lot of the impressions of the protagonist. We see a world in which Microsoft is king and Bill is its icon. Apple is barely a startup. Silicon Valley is still developing, San Francisco is considered libertarian and artistic, a beacon of light in what is otherwise an economically-focused region.
In many ways this reminded me of something like 'The Big Bang Theory' or 'The Office', the characters are nerdy, the jokes are cheesy, but the sentiment between them is full of authenticity and heart. They have inside jokes, yet they get on each other's nerves. They blindly believe in each other's ideas and continue to support them even when difficulties abound. It's genuinely a fun read, and I liked to understand more about the corporate culture as well. Susan is dating within the office, Dan met his significant other, Karla, as a colleague. Microsoft is a safe space, startups are highly risky, something that stayed completely the same. In their 20s, people try to pursue their own ideas, only to realise in their 30s that they can't afford anything. And Menlo Park wasn't associated with Meta yet. Something that surprised me was that we already see generations of families who work in tech, such as Dan's dad, who was made redundant in his 50s.
A bit dated, but I had a good time.
slow-paced
Michael said this, and it was sooo deep, and then Karla said that, and it was really funny, and then we hung out and did some quirky stuff, and it was great, and now I'm waxing lyrical about whether our body is a machine etc etc, and then we did some coding, and we ate some fast food... Look, you just had to be there, OK?
