<story><title>A Repository with 44 Years of Unix Evolution</title><url>http://www.dmst.aueb.gr/dds/pubs/conf/2015-MSR-Unix-History/html/Spi15c.html</url></story><parent_chain></parent_chain><comment><author>fit2rule</author><text>As a 45 year old with 30 years of experience in the computer industry, such titles interest me, immensely.&lt;p&gt;I grew up with Unix.&lt;p&gt;I remember the days when Unix was a seriously advanced topic, available only to the elite privileged (adults) who were granted access to it as a technological resource only through machinations that were out of my scope of influence, as a 13 year old learning computing in 1983.  It was a vast mystery.&lt;p&gt;It was only with great effort on my part that access was eventually granted in the form of a login over a slow modem.  That was enough for me to move to the next phase.&lt;p&gt;Then, it was a mystery in terms of taxology.  I had a near-infinite, seemingly overwhelming number of things to learn - more than what was in my high school curriculum, more than my little home 8-bit computer could teach me, more .. it seemed at the time .. than all the books on my shelf.&lt;p&gt;Well, it was only a few years - actually probably less than 10 months - until I was able to grasp at least a &lt;i&gt;little bit&lt;/i&gt; of the subject, and do something with it.  That was enough to propel me into the professional sphere - where I was able to move from a clueless teenager into the clued-up programmer zone.&lt;p&gt;And then (late 80&amp;#x27;s) it became a game of &amp;quot;which Unix do you want to know?&amp;quot;, and that game was as thorny as any other.  I chose Risc&amp;#x2F;OS (from MIPS, pre-SGI) and it worked out: I gained my own machine (physical hardware) as a result of commercial delivery of products - a few files of .c&amp;#x2F;.h - which I&amp;#x27;d managed to build as a result of eager learning applied to real application.&lt;p&gt;And then: Linux.  This changed the world completely, at least for me at the time.  When I first saw Linus&amp;#x27; post on the minix-list, announcing his sharing of work I thought completely inapproachable and beyond the horizon, I immediately applied myself to catching up.  And then, through the 90&amp;#x27;s, the commercial applications of these skills gave me an even deeper understanding of the subject - and Unix became less of a mystery and more of a resource for living.  And so it was: for a decade I built Unix software, like no other, which resulted in many great things for many great people.&lt;p&gt;Then, we flipped the century bit, and Unix - in spite of all the predictions from industry experts - was still with us. It didn&amp;#x27;t just go away because of pop-culture desires and mores, it was seriously entrenched.  That 80&amp;#x27;s decision seemed all the more wise in 2001, when it became clear to me that Unix was not going away.&lt;p&gt;So I kept at it.  I coded all I could.  I got a tiBook - astounded, but content nevertheless, that Apple (of all companies) was producing a portable Unix workstation - something that I&amp;#x27;d dreamed of for over a decade. And there it was, the tiBook.  So I&amp;#x27;ve upgraded my way from there, to my current extremely satisfying device (MBP Retina) .. and beyond that, even beyond my wildest teenage dreams: here we are today - I carry around a Unix workstation in my pocket.&lt;p&gt;Its my primary means of communication, just like I always knew it would be.  It does all the things that I used to do with the Risc&amp;#x2F;OS pizza box.  It does it in a way that makes total sense - a simple interface, like the embodiment of the holy pipe, but at my fingertips.&lt;p&gt;It has been a challenge, a fantasy, and a real desire to see Unix become what it is today - but its also been a privilege.  I think that all of my fellow hackers who professed faith in the technology, must feel the same - at least those who have watched it happen over decades.  Truly, a unique human experience.&lt;p&gt;And therefore I&amp;#x27;m really glad to see this article.  It has been very enlightening - and as well, personally satisfying - to see that others recognize the power of this technology, which took decades to become the force of power that it is today.</text></comment>
<story><title>A Repository with 44 Years of Unix Evolution</title><url>http://www.dmst.aueb.gr/dds/pubs/conf/2015-MSR-Unix-History/html/Spi15c.html</url></story><parent_chain></parent_chain><comment><author>duiker101</author><text>The first commit sits at page 11070, &lt;a href=&quot;https:&amp;#x2F;&amp;#x2F;github.com&amp;#x2F;dspinellis&amp;#x2F;unix-history-repo&amp;#x2F;tree&amp;#x2F;7317268623b44e8f3a51c34e3ca717316f613958&quot; rel=&quot;nofollow&quot;&gt;https:&amp;#x2F;&amp;#x2F;github.com&amp;#x2F;dspinellis&amp;#x2F;unix-history-repo&amp;#x2F;tree&amp;#x2F;7317268...&lt;/a&gt;</text></comment>