Customer Reviews

Nerds 2.0.1

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(8)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

This is a strange book, though the author collects some really neat information together. Thus, it is worth it to read. But I take issue with several things. First off, the authors makes such a big deal about early hackers being hippies and drug users. Since that is not substantiated elsewhere I have to wonder if Segaller really wanted this to be true and so he made it seem so. I mean he talks about it so much that one gets the idea he wants to be a hippie and a druggie. Really! Most of the nerdy computer types are just too happy to get high off C code rather than ecstasy or whatever!

Second, the book degenerates in about the last sixth into this hyper rush of adrenaline dealing with the web world since 1992, how fast it is, how quick it all changes, and how venture capitalists played such a role. Maybe that is all true, but the sheer love of computing seems really lost. It is like Segaller is writing an economic history and so it got boring for me. There was no sense of perspective. Sure, the world has sped up since the web became ubiquitous but it will undoutedly settle down again into something more staid and bureaucratic.

Once again, it is a worthwhile book to read, but please don't make it the only one you read on the subject of computer and Internet history!!!!

I generally enjoy computer history books because they usually are fun to read and (like any good history book) there is a lot learn. Both of these statements do not apply to Nerds 2.01. The author acknowledges his lack of technical knowledge early on and it hurts his ability to convey this story. Not only does he miss major events completely he glosses over the ones he does mention (TCP/IP maybe gets 1 page in total).

I had trouble coming back to this one and would defintely not recommend it.

I am a little more than halfway through this book, and having missed the PBS series, I feel I'm at a slight disadvantage. My instinct tells me that this plays far better as a companion to the series rather than on its own. I would also suggest that an alternate subtitle should be "A Brief Oral History of the Internet," because the narrative excels with its treatment of the people involved and their stories. The author is less adept in his breathless technical language and descriptions that will confuse the layman and infuriate the expert.

As a side note, Segaller's many errors regarding simple facts of the U.S. space program did not inspire my confidence in his investigative abilities, especially since Segaller ties the subject together with the very beginnings of ARPAnet.

Additionally, this book is "obsolete" because Segaller uses contemporary analogies to illustrate the significance of the history (he uses dangerous words such as 'now' and 'present,' which automatically date any history book). Nevertheless, I would not want to attempt a history of the Internet, and it is for his daunting task that Segaller deserves recognition.

I'll agree with people who think this book misses many of the major parts of the Internet, but I also think that it really does hit on many of the major "events" of the Internet. It gives a very good way-back history and, come on now, who could write a book describing the 1990's of the Internet? The book would have to be thousands of pages. This book really hits on some good highlights. yeah it covers a lot of Microsoft, but you have to - even if they were dragged online. I found it easy to skip paragraphs at a time, but I couldn't put the book down entirely.

As noted in previous reviews, the book covers American computer/networking history moreso than the Internet proper. I found the origins of ARPA and the major companies to be fascinating. Certainly the author doesn't go into technical detail into protocols and such, no moreso than a WWII history book has to teach the subject of military strategy. The best thing about the book was the lighthearted style, that did a good job of showing these industry heavyweights as real people.

Lay readers who really don't understand how they are able to log on to their computers and read this review will benefit greatly from this useful and lucid introduction to the origins and development of personal computing and the Internet. A companion to a PBS series (which I did not see), this "oral history" of the Internet begins with the Pentagon-funded origins of networking, describes the advent of PCs, and ends with the giddy stock market created by venture capitalists and IPOs.

Like the seminal "Where Wizards Stay Up Late," this books debunks the myth that the Internet was created by the Pentagon in order to create a communications network that could survive a nuclear war. (Like most legends, this one has a basis in fact: Paul Baran at the Rand Corporation in the early 1960s proposed the theoretical underpinnings for a creation of such a network, but nothing much came of it.) Since this fiction remains so prevalent, it's worth recapping what really happened. In 1968-69, a division of the Pentagon offered grants to a loose consortium of University-based computer centers to develop network protocols--primarily as a method of saving money, since the government was spending a fortune buying mainframe computers for reseach projects at each university. The first nodes of ARPAnet, which became a linchpin for the development of the Internet, were the mainframes at UCLA, Stanford, UC Santa Barbara, and the University of Utah--hardly the center of the military's defense network. Moreover, the protocols, hardware, and software developed for the network were the common property of the academic community and were never "top secret."

The books also succeeds when recording the voices of the major players in the development of computers, networking, and the Internet: Marc Andreessen, Steve Ballmer, Tim Berners-Lee, Stewart Brand (the ur-tech-hippie), Vint Cerf, Doug Engelbart, and dozens more--they're all here. Regular readers of "Dr. Dobbs Journal" or even CNet won't find much technical information here they don't already know, but that`s not the point, Instead, Segaller captures the excitement and passion experienced by those in the middle of it all. Nevertheless, readers who are not tech-savvy will gain a basic understanding of how it all came about--and how it all works.

Written in 1998, when the capitalization of Web-related businesses was at its most irrational, the book is surprisingly level-headed in its analysis of contemporary trends. Segaller has the foresight to admit that it's too early to tell if many of the newly formed dot.coms would even survive the next five years. (The focus of an entire chapter, Excite--later merged into Excite@Home--is one of the more spectacular flameouts.) The book has some unintentionally comic moments quoting programmers and venture capitalists who were so confident they had recreated the world economy that they seemed to believe they were immune from its cyclical pressures. Yet, regardless of the short-term economic prognosis, there's no doubt that the nerds interviewed for this book are responsible for the dawn of a uniquely transformed era in human communications.

Stephen Segaller's work still feels relevant for anyone wanting a better understanding of the technologies, personalities and commitment required to develop much of what maybe taken for granted now. It probably felt outdated in 1999 as it does reading it in 2006 and should be read in conjuction with many other books on the subject for a balanced and more thorough understanding. He brings the brilliance of the nerds to life, and you can't help but remember where you were or how you benefited as each new piece of wizardry became available.

Anyone ineterested in the Internet should read this book. "Nerds: A Brief History of the Internet" is a comprehensive narrative about the people and ideas that coinicided with the development of this mass medium.

Several years ago, I knew a man named Larry Roberts and knew he had played a mjor role in the formation of the ARPANET but until reading this book, I had no idea how big a role he did indeed play! Mr. Segaller has written a fascinating book (which goes along with the PBS series) documenting the history of what is now called the Internet.

In addition to the formation of the 'Net, it's also fascinating to trace the rise of many technologies and companies we now take for granted. Items like packet-switching, TCP/IP, Ethernet, as well as companies like Apple, 3Com, Sun, and Cisco to name a few. I found it interesting as well how the 'Net and these various companies worked in a kind of "tandem" to produce the technology we know today. Also fascinating was reading about the visionaries who saw this all coming back in the 1970s.

While Steven readily admits his book is probably already obsolete (given the 'Net's constantly changing state and with one update out already), this book is still an excellent historical look at one of the most amazing sociological phenomenons of our time.

As positive and as promising as the pre-Dot-com Bubble days were, the sorrid reality of the next decade chose to replace those golden days with fools who would trade in that Gold for Cash. The downfall of Excite. The HP-Compaq merger orchistrated by Carly Fiorina which led to the Global outsourcing to Asia. The decline of AOL. And China attempting to Censor the Western Internet.

As much as we would long for these bright sunny days of the Roaring 1990s that this book ruminates about, the current state of the Internet and the Tech Industry is looking pretty dim. And it is time for the innovators to take back control from the crooked profiteers!