User Friendly

by Illiad

User Friendly tells the story of Columbia Internet, "the friendliest, hardest-working, and most neurotic little Internet Service Provider in the world." Take three techs, two salespeople, a designer, two executives, a couple of administrative staff, mix in a mischievous Artificial Intelligence and a "dust puppy" born from the innards of a mega server, put them all together in a crowded little office, and you have the makings of one of the most off-beat, original, and funny comic strips to come along in years. User Friendly reads like Dilbert for the open-source community. Already in syndication in The National Post , one of Canada's leading national newspapers, and with a massive online following, it provides outsiders a lighthearted look at the world of the hard- core geek, and allows those who make their living dwelling in this world a chance to laugh at themselves.

Genres: Comics, Humor, Comic Strips, Collections, Graphic Novels, Technology, Computers

128 pages, Paperback

First published September 29, 1999

Reviews

[Jessica · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'm not computer savvy enough to truly enjoy this book, but I remember enough of what was going on before Y2K to get a few giggles out of it.

[Ariel · Rating 5 out of 5]

great book, but is really only understandable to people who have some knowledge of different internet companies' history (namely Microsoft) and some various stereotypes and computer terms that might just make it a "head-scratcher" to some people who aren't into that stuff and just want a funny comic that most people would understand (see the "Foxtrot" series of books and possibly Get Fuzzy).

[Sandra · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'm not geeky enough for this comic strip as some of the references are beyond me. That's mostly due to my introverted nature and lack of knowledge regarding popular culture (movies, for instance, and television, which I don't watch).

Developed characters. Witty. Silly. Color would have been cool but probably cost prohibitive.