Mousetraps

Dear Linux Magazine Reader,

What a time it was, back in the countdown for the new millennium – the days of the dot-com bubble. We were all astronauts then, on some kind of space-bound shining chariot guided by hyperbole and powered with pure nitrous oxide. From my vantage point, as a high-tech writer operating virtually from a not-so-high-tech corner of the world, I mostly watched it all unfold through the miracle of my web browser, but I still have lots of memories.

I sometimes wonder if someday my grandchildren will say, "Can you tell me about the dot-com era, grandpa? Tell me about the dreams. Tell me about the gold-plated schwag. Tell me about the nineteen-year-olds trading their stock options for original Picasso paintings."

[...]