I imagine that this could have been the source of the translation that then spread in English. Stephen Fry in the Guardian on Saturday October 27, 2007.įound at, translation dated, by Maria Lacargia. Personally, I'm a Quaker, which in my mind integrates some of the best things of both catholic and protestant Christianity (and relates to other religions as well). I didn't translate it myself, just copied it from somewhere else on the Net, because it appealed to me. Had one, as I had been living in Italy and was aware of Eco. I didn't make a record of where I originally saw this,īut I put this on my web site a long time ago, near when I first The excerpt is from an English translation of Umberto Eco's back-pageĬolumn, 'La bustina di Minerva,' in the Italian newsweekly Espresso You prefer)? Ah, that is to do with the Old Testament, and is Talmudic Return to DOS to change things in accordance with bizarre decisions.Īnd machine code, which lies beneath both systems (or environments, if It's true: Windows represents an Anglican-style schism, bigĬeremonies in the cathedral, but there is always the possibility of a You may object that, with the passage to Windows, the DOS universe hasĬome to resemble more closely the counterreformist tolerance of the User is closed within the loneliness of his own inner torment. Program yourself: a long way from the baroque community of revelers, the To make the system work you need to interpret the Hermeneutics upon the user, and takes for granted the idea that not allĬan reach salvation. Of scripture, demands difficult personal decisions, imposes a subtle Everyone has a rightĭOS is Protestant, or even Calvinistic. It is catechistic: the essence of revelation isĭealt with via simple formulae and sumptuous icons. To reach – if not the Kingdom of Heaven – the moment in which theirĭocument is printed. It is cheerful, friendly,Ĭonciliatory, it tells the faithful how they must proceed step by step Indeed, the Macintosh is counterreformist and has been influenced by the Opinion that the Macintosh is Catholic and that DOS is Protestant. The fact is that the world is divided between users of the MacintoshĬomputer and users of MS-DOS compatible computers. What I originally posted, probably around 1996

Umberto Eco's piece on Mac and DOS, Catholic and Protestant

Windows vs mac essay