[FearNotDaniel]

I heartily recommend Andrew Blum's book Tubes: Behind the Scenes at the Internet for any non-technical folks interested in the physical infrastructure that makes all that internet magic happen. It's more in the travel memoir/popular history genres than actual engineering, but a very atmospheric layman's introduction.

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/23047146-tubes

And of course, if you're ever in SW England, the Museum of Submarine Telegraphy near Penzance is an awesome geek-out experience.

[mbreese]

My favorite Wired article of all time was the 1996 article written by Neal Stephenson all about undersea cables. I can’t believe I was able to find a link, but I may still have the physical copy someplace. That was an amazing example of long form writing and was my introduction to Stephenson.

https://www.wired.com/1996/12/ffglass/

[ujeezy]

Thanks for sharing! I remember enjoying the undersea cable plot in Cryptonomicon.

Inspired by another recent HN post about subsea cables, I'm currently reading The Victorian Internet by Tom Standage which walks through the history of the telegraph. It blows my mind that North America and Europe were connected by undersea cable before the start of the Civil War.

[prepend]

I really miss wired.

I got into the Internet with their 93 article by William Gibson where they sent him to Singapore.

It was a really neat place to have articles by people like Stephenson and Gibson.

[twic]

'Disneyland With The Death Penalty':

https://www.wired.com/1993/04/gibson-2/

Another article which left a mark on me is Bruce Sterling's 'The Future? You don't want to know':

https://www.wired.com/1995/11/wired-scenarios-future-dont-wa...

In the original print edition, this was a tumult of mad typography, as well as an essay, which was a very Wired thing but taken to extremes. Appropriately for a cyberpunk writer, it may not entirely hang together logically, but it delivers a thrilling stream of eyeball kicks. I still remember the conclusion:

Real futurism means staring directly into your own grave and accepting the slow but thorough obliteration of everyone and everything you know and love.

Does this sound like fun? It can be.

Just don't expect it to move a lot of product.

[samstave]

Heh do you recall Mondo 2000

It was what wired was inspired by...

Also since we are on the topic: 2600 was a great phreaking resource back in the day... 2600 may still be going though...

[prepend]

I didn’t read Mondo 2000 in real time and I think found it on its last issue.

2600 is still going last I checked, along with monthly meetups in my mall.

[vidarh]

The moment I saw the subject I thought of the same article. It is one of the all time great articles of 'early modern' era of the net.

[Tepix]

It's also part of his recent collection "Some remarks"

[arbuge]

If you want to go back to where it all began, I recommend "A Thread Across the Ocean" by John Steele Gordon:

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/410958.A_Thread_Across_t...

[AareyBaba]

Andrew Blum's Ted talk https://youtu.be/XE_FPEFpHt4?t=292