"User Friendly" from O'Reilly (fwd)

[Steven Pritchard <steve@silug.org>]

I think we may have a copy of this to give away at the next meeting.  :)

BTW, just to add to the stuff they quote in this press release, I
should mention that reading the day's User Friendly is near the top of
my list of things to do each morning.  See

    http://www.userfriendly.org/

if you haven't read it before, or just go buy the book.  :-)

----- Forwarded message from Christina Silveira -----

September 27, 1999

O'Reilly Announces Publication of Their First Cartoon Book
User Friendly to Come Out in October

SEBASTOPOL, CA-O'Reilly and Associates has announced the upcoming
publication of User Friendly by Illiad, a collection of one of the
funniest, most off-beat, and original comic strips to come along in
years.

Like all good myths, User Friendly has elements that are a bit
implausible. But like all good myths, we look in the mirror and see
ourselves. Well...we do if we're Internet Geeks, anyway. It is a rare
breed User Friendly celebrates-the happy few who have given up
distractions like worldly success, social lives, and (much of the time)
sleep, in order to pursue the *really* important things. Like the
latest computer game. Or the perfect hack, evolved in jewel-like
splendor at 3am in the morning. Or keeping the Internet running.-Eric
S. Raymond

User Friendly began in November of 1997 in-you guessed it-a small
Canadian ISP, as a lark to entertain co-workers. The online cartoon
quickly attracted a dedicated following which surpasses monthly
circulation numbers of most leading computer magazines. User Friendly
has become the one of the most widely read web-based cartoons on the
Internet today. Dust Puppy, one of User Friendly's main characters,
even made an appearance in the Top Ten on Time Magazine's Online Man of
the Year Poll for 1998, according to Lev Grossman of Time Magazine.

"Someone once told me that working as a cartoonist must be a really
cushy gig. 'Draw funny pictures all day! You have it easy.,'" says J.D.
"Illiad" Frazer. "I took the time to explain what was involved in
facing a production deadline once a day, every day, 365 days a year. He
gave me a glassy-eyed stare and then started laughing. 'Man it sucks to
be you.' But you know, I'm not complaining!"

"A techno-nerd or hacker's sense of humor is edgy, brainy, surreal,
gently self-mocking, but fundamentally kind-hearted," says Raymond.
"It's intelligence without either apology or condescension; it's satire
without superiority or irony or exhaustion. It combines passion for
one's craft with a healthy refusal to get stuffy or self-important
about same."

"O'Reilly is proud to bring the Internet's own cartoon series to the
world of print. User Friendly is a geek's strip with a mass appeal. It
perfectly captures the humor of the Internet," says Simon Hayes,
O'Reilly editor. User Friendly will be released in October 1999 as an
8" X 9" trade paperback and will retail for $12.95.

What User Friendly Readers and Critics say:

"The perfect book or gift for the computer professional. Good for more
than a few good laughs! Buy it!" -John C. Dvorak, Computer Columnist

"Eric Raymond wrote essays about the Internet community. Illiad went
one step further and captured the spirit of the ISP and the free
software communities in cartoon form. If you've ever wondered what goes
on behind the scenes at your ISP or how free software users sometimes
think, all can now be revealed." -Alan Cox, Linux God and Kernel Hacker

"The only reason everyone in the world doesn't read User Friendly is
that not everyone has fast access to the Web. Now you can get the book,
so there's no excuse at all. The only problem with User Friendly as a
book is you'll read it all at once, when you ought to ration yourself
for a little joy every day." -Jerry Pournelle, Senior Contributing
Editor, BYTE.com

"User Friendly is smart and sassy and just what I've been waiting for-a
cartoon that computer geeks can relate to. A cutting-edge cartoon about
cutting-edge technology, User Friendly is funny enough that even the
non-geeks will get it.  The recent Star Wars spoof was intelligent,
timely, and funny. I'm proud to have User Friendly in Linux Journal."
-Marjorie L. Richardson, Editor in Chief, Linux Journal

"Illiad's understanding of the Linux and Open Source community is
uncanny. You have to live it to know it as well as he does. User
Friendly is more than a cartoon, it's brilliant social commentary for
the computer culture of today. You really feel connected to him,
because he seems to live in your mind. It's a must-click, the cartoon
kicks ass!" -Trae McCombs, Manager, Linux.com

"One of the characteristics of healthy cultures is that they can poke
fun at themselves. I guess the hacker culture is in good health,
because User Friendly is hilarious. Its irreverence, sophisticated
in-jokes, and surrealistic edge are a rocket straight out of the
Internet's collective unconscious." -Eric S. Raymond, Open Source
Evangelist

"...the cartoon is so insightful and captures the essence of today's
web industry so brilliantly that it's definitely going to be big."
-Nina Furu, columnist, digi.no

"Just wanted to start off by saying I laughed so hard at User Friendly
that I had to clean my monitor. That's a compliment. Really."-Pandora

"Unfortunately I was drinking a soda at the time I first read one of
your strips. Thank God for keyboard savers..." -Frank H.

"You are killing me! I damned near snorted my laptop up my nose
laughing over the cartoon where the NT server is singing 'I'm in my
happy place, REBOOT HAHAHA.' I could swear that is what our servers
sound like sometimes." - Ross B.

"User Friendly has my sides splitting daily. Illiad has taken a step
that no  one else has done by doing a strip for the Un*x/Geek community
that's funny and cute." -Trae McCombs, manager, themes.org

More information about the book, including Table of Contents, index, 
author bio, and samples
http://www.oreilly.com/catalog/friendly/

Cover graphic in jpeg format
ftp://ftp.ora.com/pub/graphics/book_covers/hi-res/1565926730.jpg

For a comic strip that may be run once without charge, along with a
review or article, contact Lisa Mann (707) 829-0515 ext 230 or
lisam@oreilly.com

For a gif or jpeg of "Dust Puppy" contact Lisa Mann (707) 829-0515 ext
230 or lisam@oreilly.com

"User Friendly" cartoons
http://www.userfriendly.org

User Friendly is available at your local bookstore in the computer
section.

User Friendly
By Illiad
1st Edition October 1999 
1-56592-673-0, 128 pages (est.), $12.95 

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