These machines have no common sense; they have not yet learned to "think," and they do exactly as they are told, no more and no less. This fact is the hardest concept to grasp when one first tries to use a computer.

Programs are meant to be read by humans and only incidentally for computers to execute.

Programming is legitimate and necessary academic endeavour.

People who are more than casually interested in computers should have at least some idea of what the underlying hardware is like. Otherwise the programs they write will be pretty weird.

The best theory is inspired by practice.

I currently use Ubuntu Linux, on a standalone laptop - it has no Internet connection. I occasionally carry flash memory drives between this machine and the Macs that I use for network surfing and graphics; but I trust my family jewels only to Linux.

It would be nice if we could design a virtual reality in Hyperbolic Space, and meet each other there.