I had the pleasure on Tuesday of attending the “Programmers at Work” reunion panel at SDWest. My column covering the talk — which featured Andy Hertzfeld, Charles Simonyi, Dan Bricklin, Jaron Lanier, Scott Kim, Bob Carr and Jef Raskin — is now up, here.
As it turned out, the discussion centered on some questions about software development that fascinate me. In truth, they have obsessed me for the last year and a half. During that time, an idea for a book on this subject gradually assembled itself out of the bits and pieces of my enthusiasm. The idea acquired its own force. I could not ignore it. After a career of helping friends write book proposals, I wrote one myself (I’d done this only once before, in my previous incarnation as a theater critic, and the results were negligible). One thing led to another, and now, to my amazement, I have a deal to publish it (with Crown, a division of Random House).
So it looks as if I am actually going to get to write the book I want to write. Which is really all any writer can hope of the world.
Though I don’t plan to write the book on this blog, I’ll probably be posting occasionally about it, as time permits. If you’re curious, today’s column touches on many of the themes I’ll be exploring. I’m not leaving Salon — not after pouring my heart into it for 8 1/2 years! — but beginning soon, I’ll split my days between my job and research on the book. I feel comfortable doing this because — compared with some of the bumpier periods since the collapse of the Internet boom — Salon is in a good way, overall, with lots of new editorial energy and strong business leadership.
Now, if we can only unseat the Bush administration, 2004 may turn out to be a pretty good year!
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