We build our computers the way we build our cities — over time, without a plan, on top of ruins. - Ellen Ullman

But now what? Is this a ticket to a new understanding of my life, or a bomb that's going to blow up everything?

Consider one more possibility: that you remain essentially the same person you were, neither new nor destroyed.

I have a suggestion for Microsoft — no fancy programming required. Just let us users hang out a "Do Not Disturb" sign. Then leave us alone. We're dreaming.

Computer science was then generally a subdepartment of electrical engineering,