The idea of writing this book came up one night while having dinner with Ventura at the Crocodile Cafe in Pasadena. This was really a joint project, that could have turned into a nightmare without her support, encouragement, and expertise in personal computers. For all these things, and for tolerating my sometimes single-minded attention, I am very grateful to her. I am also very much indebted to six good friends, Paul Burridge, Mladen Chargin, Gary Dilley, Carl Hennrich, Hector Jensen and Mark Miller, who read the entire manuscript of this book and made many useful suggestions. I also want...