Unix commands and Chapter 6 of Natural Born Cyborgs

After using Unix for the first time I learned that commands are very important. Unlike in Windows where you click everything, Unix you simply type a command and something happens. A few important commands in Unix include chsh, ls, cd and date. The chsh command allows you to change your shell or the unit that reads your commands and tells the computer what to do. The next command, ls, creates a list of the files and directories in a given directory. This is much like browsing through "My computer" in Windows where everything is listed from "My Documents" to drives. The third command, cd, is what allows you to change directories. For example you can change between the root of steel and your own directory with your own files. This would be similar to changing from "control panel" to "My Documents" in Windows. The last command is not as technical as the others but is still helpful none the less. The date command allows you to view the date and time by simply typing in date. The Windows equivalent of this would be to hover the mouse over the time on the tool bar. Unix is very unique to any other operating system that I have used it will take some time to get use to it.


Natural Born Cyborgs---Response

In this chapter there is much talk of networks, and electronic paths. The idea that people are able to leave such paths for others to follow is very helpful in producing efficient systems. The example about purchasing a CD from amazon.com displayed this concept very well. The web site uses information gathered from users purchases to help other users find what they are looking for easier. This not only makes shopping easier for the customer, but also allows for more sales for amazon. The same system of gathering information is used in search engines. If a page is more popular under a certain keyword than it will be listed closer to the top rather than the bottom. The concept of these electronic paths and networks helps tremendously with connecting people to what they want in a faster and more efficient manner.