Re: OT: Hackers
Yup! We were there. Had a great time Otis Wright [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: Let me assure you that there were hackers at MIT in the early '60s, long before there were personal computers or viruses. Hacking was a form of recreation that often encompassed acomplishing things that were technically involved, challenging, and slightly illegal. Think about hacking the phone system or putting a replica of a Police Car with flashing lights and donuts on top of the Great Dome. Regards, Bob S. John Francis writes: D. Glenn Arthur Jr. wrote: Shawn K. wrote: *cough* Don't argue semantics with me!! You know, HACK is a derogatory term and so is hacker in its origin. Too late, I am arguing (though in the interest of neither boring nor annoying the rest of the list, I'll try to drop the parts that will soon become repetetive because each of us refuses to change our usage, and after your next public reply, we can argue more loudly _offlist_ if we both decide we're interested enough in continuing the argument (but my guess is that simply making clear exactly where each of us stands will suffice for now)). The problem is that the noun in question is the name of a subculture (and it _is_ a subculture) that I identify with and hang out with. So I've got a stake in this. In support of this position, the M.I.T. A.I. lab routinely used the term hacker in the positive sense. In fact the introduction to AIM 239 (better known as HAKMEM) says, in part: "Here is some little known data which may be of interest to computer hackers. The items and examples are so sketchy that to decipher them may require more sincerity and curiosity than a non-hacker can muster." I'm sure HAKMEM is available on the web by now, but I'm looking at an original copy I was given (by Mike Beeler) when I visited the lab in the 1970s while I was working for DEC.
Re: OT: Hackers
Fascinating. My "hacker" days came just a bit later. Those of us who built computers when the first skill one had to have was knowing how to solder were the first hobbyist hackers. But that was as much hardware as (and often more than) software. Collin Builder of Netroics Elf II et. al --- 'Tautology is' Sent via the WebMail system at mail.safe-t.net
Re: OT: Hackers
I must admit that my first knowledge of the term Hacker was in a positive, not negative sense too. A. On 21 May 2004, at 21:22, Collin Brendemuehl wrote: Fascinating. My "hacker" days came just a bit later. Those of us who built computers when the first skill one had to have was knowing how to solder were the first hobbyist hackers. But that was as much hardware as (and often more than) software. Collin Builder of Netroics Elf II et. al --- 'Tautology is' Sent via the WebMail system at mail.safe-t.net
Re: OT: Hackers
Bob, you're showing your age... norm [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: Let me assure you that there were hackers at MIT in the early '60s, long before there were personal computers or viruses. Hacking was a form of recreation that often encompassed acomplishing things that were technically involved, challenging, and slightly illegal. Think about hacking the phone system or putting a replica of a Police Car with flashing lights and donuts on top of the Great Dome.
Re: OT: Hackers
Maybe just wearing it well. Otis Wright Norm Baugher wrote: Bob, you're showing your age... norm [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: Let me assure you that there were hackers at MIT in the early '60s, long before there were personal computers or viruses. Hacking was a form of recreation that often encompassed acomplishing things that were technically involved, challenging, and slightly illegal. Think about hacking the phone system or putting a replica of a Police Car with flashing lights and donuts on top of the Great Dome.
