Quotations Weblog


Silicon Snake Oil After Ten Years

April 7th, 2006 by Laura Moncur in Literature

Silicon Snake Oil : Second Thoughts on the Information HighwayI saw the book on my bookshelf. We had bought it when it came out. I loved reading Clifford Stoll’s nonfiction book, Cuckoo’s Egg, about how he had helped the NSA catch an international spy who had been hacking into his computers at the astrophysics lab. I really thought he had a lot to say about the computer industry.

For some reason, I had never read the book.

So, over ten years since its release, I picked up Silicon Snake Oil. My Post-Bubble eyes thought that maybe Clifford had predicted the Dot-Bomb. These are the quotes I found:

Tell that to all the artists who use Photoshop as their only medium now.

Tell that to people who make more money selling products on World of Warcraft or Second Life than they do in “real” life.

Tell that to the creators of Google.

Tell that to Ebay.

Okay, Cliff, you’re a troglodyte.

While Clifford Stoll sat complaining about the Internet and how it’s not as good as “real” life, people have been ignoring him and making it better and better. Instead of sitting and grousing about why something isn’t good enough, get out there and make it better.

For all of Clifford Stoll’s Quotes:

For more information on Clifford Stoll:

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