Five years ago, Neal Stephenson wrote In the Beginning…was the Command Line, an interesting and persuasive article on the evolution of operating systems, that is just about the right level detail without being boring, and is just about challenging enough without losing the non-techie reader.

Now Garrett Birkel has written The Command Line in 2004, an annotated version of Stephenson’s original, with some counter-points and interesting commentary, from a 2004 viewpoint. Both original and annotation are well-written, although I’d advise caution on relying too heavily on the car/monkey analogies (which can only stretch so far), and I’d stay well clear of the tangential ramblings on cultural relativism. Stick with the OS-related stuff, and it’s an interesting read. And it also contains the wonderful phrase “informational soixante-neuf”.

(You can also read an original, unannotated copy. It is worth remembering when reading either that since the release of OS X, Stephenson has changed his mind somewhat on some aspects).