Product Description
The creation of the Mac in 1984 catapulted America into the digital millennium, captured a fanatic cult audience, and transformed the computer industry into an unprecedented mix of technology, economics, and show business. Now veteran technology writer and Newsweek senior editor Steven Levy zooms in on the great machine and the fortunes of the unique company responsible for its evolution. Loaded with anecdote and insight, and peppered with sharp commentary, Insanely… More >>
Insanely Great: The Life and Times of Macintosh, the Computer That Changed Everything
2010-04-29 19:16:53
I found the author biased in his book. He was obviously an Apple/Macintosh supporter in the war between Apple and IBM.
I respect the author for his thorough research on the subject. He had done very good work on the history of Apple/Macintosh and I found the book engaging in that respect. I knew more about the computer industry after reading the book.
However, I was dissapointed that the author had not displayed more objectivity. Right from the beginning, he started gushing about what a great computer the Mac was, and how it changed his life. He did make a few fair comments on the poor performance in some aspects of the Mac, but inevitably, he always come up with some excuses or other for the computer.
Throughout the book, I get the feeling that the author was very pro-Apple. I feel that to get a fair and accurate picture of the industry, I will have to read another account of the industry, maybe this time from a pro-IBM view.
I recommend this book to those who are ardent Apple fans and who wants to know more about the computer and how it was developed. Be warned though, that it is a biased report and it is good not to believe everything the author says.
Rating: 2 / 5
2010-04-29 19:16:53
I like to call this book “The Epic of Macintosh.” I read it at my local public library in 3 hours, after I left work. It is not a book that I highly recommend simply because it seems to be one long eulogy that canonizes anyone and everyone who was originally affiliated with Macintosh back in the early 80’s. But if I might rely on the proverbial “silver lining,” Steven Levy does reveal quite a few things about the advent of this machine that continues to, as Steve Jobs, former CEO of Apple Computers, put it,”change the world.” He talks about the LISA, Apple’s first marketed PC–and its failure, and the people at PARC (Palo Alto Research Center,) who aided in its development into what would later become the Macintosh. He also has an uncanny way of depicting Steve Jobs as a benevolent Christ figure with a mission.
One point I did find particularly interesting was the debt of gratitude all PC users owe to the Apple Corporation. Apple’s design for a GUI (graphic user interface) epitomized their insistence for finding an easier way for the consumer to navigate through a computer. This made the machine much more personal and tactile. The stodginess and sluggishness of command lines, characteristic of the old IBM’s, were integrated into systems with which future developers could fathom, much less create, virtual reality.
Levy traces the story of the Macintosh as if he is telling us about his fiancée who has three months to live. I must admit that I have yet to find a user who speaks of his PC with such affection. However, this is common in the Macintosh arena. What is so amazing is that no matter how many times their hard drives crash, the Macintosh community swears by their machine with an allegiance that would turn any Latin American military leader green with envy. Seeing this, I had visions of the Cult of Isis and the Cult of Caesar, only to find out, with no great surprise, that there was already a Cult of Macintosh.
I believe that the consumers who are loyal to Mac! intosh, not only stay allied to the company for its product, but also its ethos, which is sung by Levy as he depicts the overall feeling of the people originally involved with Macintosh, people who wanted to “change the world” or “make a dent in the universe.” This feeling pervades still with today’s Macintosh consumer. And although the Mac sometimes seems on the upswing, one cannot help but wonder what will become of this company. Levy attributes the business blunderings of former Apple bigwig John Sculley to the demise of Macintosh. I fear the Cult of Macintosh will cease to exist.
How many gods have died due to lack of followers?
Rating: 2 / 5
2010-04-29 19:16:53
This book is too friendly to Apple, I have to say. I’ve been studying Apple history for many years, I find this book full of interesting facts, but to friendly to Apple’s many mistakes.
If you just want to know about the history of the PowerMac, you can read its excerpt on MacWorld. Which issue I have forgotten.
An easier rean than Jim Carlton’s book which is long and tedius. I find Another book, _Infinite Loop_ deeper. Though many don’t like that book, because the author seemed to sour grape.
Rating: 4 / 5
2010-04-30 19:16:53
This book lets Stephen Levy do a decent job reviewing the history of the Macintosh in an entertaining and fun read. However, his neverending enthusiasm for the Mac makes his writing biased. This book is informative I will agree, but a lot of it should be taken with a grain of salt.
Rating: 3 / 5
2010-04-30 19:16:53
This book is bad enough, with respect to both technology and history, that it is hardly worth a review. The author’s grasp of computer technology, or lack of it, is ludicrous. He relies on word-of-mouth from selfserving informants instead of research. Even the editing of the book is severely lacking: Misspellings and especially ungramatical constructions are rife. It’s a book I would definitely not pass on.
Finally, though I bow to no one in my admiration of the Macintosh (I’ve owned enough of them since ‘84 and a Star before that), the MacSycophancy expressed in the book is almost embarassing.
Rating: 1 / 5