Book Review: Michael Crichton's Electronic Life
Added: January 23rd, 2007 (tagged with: book+review)
Rating: 3 out of 5
Michael Crichton's Electronic Life is a non-fiction piece of work that aimed to educate people who were looking into buying a computer for the first time in 1983. Crichton talks about the practical matters when it comes to deciding what computer to buy in his discussion of everything from A (Afraid of Computers) to Z (Zenith: The Final Days).
An interesting piece of knowledge I picked up while reading this book is that the 1973 movie, Westworld, that Michael Crichton wrote and directed, was the first feature film to digitally process film. They obtained a sort of blocky, animated effect
as the point-of-view for a robot.
I have taken a course about the history of computing, so I am familiar with all the technical advances that have happened over the years. But the books I had to read did not give a good first-hand view of computing. That is what this book did. It presented a first-hand view of the state of computing in 1983. Reading the book in 2007, there were a few pretty funny exerts:
Buying a Computer:
Specifically, think carefully before you buy a machine that can't run under CP/M.-- Page 25Memory:
The earliest machines had only 4K; most machines are now sold with at least 16K, and many users feel unhappy without at least 64K.-- Page 93Monitor:
Color monitors are generally unsatisfactory for text displays. If you want to view both color graphics and text, you probably need two monitors.-- Page 99Notebook:
Keep a notebook for your machine.-- Page 101Operating System:
Some operating systems, such as CP/M, are referred to as "popular," as if the operating system were a thing to be embraced in its own right.-- Page 101
Even though Michael Crichton wrote Electronic Life almost 25 years ago, some points he makes do still apply to buying a machine today:
Debugging:
Programs never work the first time.-- Page 50Documentation:
Many otherwise excellent programs have astoundingly bad instructions.-- Page 59Parents:
You've just bought a home computer, but before you've even figured out how to turn the damn thing on, your seven-year-old daughter starts banging away at it, making it do all kinds of tricks.-- Pages 104-105Computer Widow:
The little machines are incredibly compelling, and one can work them long into the night. [...] She's back in two hours, stamping her foot, insisting you come to bed. [...] She's a computer widow, and you have a problem.-- Pages 133-134
The first computer I remember growing up with was a Wang Labs computer running a 80386 processor and Windows 3.11. I can remember upgrading the memory, adding an external CD-ROM drive, and connecting to the "Internet" through a 14.4Kbps modem. And, throughout my life, I have worked on a few monochromatic monitors.
Electronic Life was a good nostalgic book to read. If you are interested in the state of computers in 1983, I suggest you read this book.
