When Hackers Were Heroes

(cacm.acm.org)

87 points | by lamby 1055 days ago

3 comments

  • boomboomsubban 1054 days ago
    This reads like a book report for "Hackers: Heroes of the Computer Revolution," which is a strange thing to publish in a magazine in 2021.
    • leoc 1054 days ago
      It could at least have been a book report on Crypto https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/332850/crypto-by-st... , which is perhaps even better and a lot less well-known.
    • smackeyacky 1054 days ago
      I don't think it hurts to be occasionally reminded of the origins of hacker culture. Its a shame there isn't an equivalent book report style article about the demo scene, or the hard landing of AI and symbolics, or the rise and fall of Parcplace, Digitalk and VisualAge and the falling out of favour on Wall street.

      History won't repeat but it will rhyme and there are plenty of failed business models to study in there, or simply clever bits of software to be discussed, or even just crazy stories to be amused by.

      • privong 1054 days ago
        > the hard landing of AI and symbolics

        This is a topic I find myself periodically doing casual research on, and I agree -- I think it would be an interesting topic for a book. A friend's mother-in-law worked for Symbolics (or maybe Lisp Machines Inc) doing marketing. I've chatted with her a little bit about it, and it sounds like a neat era, worthy of more attention.

  • dmix 1054 days ago
    My account is 13yrs old and I still come here near daily since I found it.

    Weird to think about.

  • xallarap 1054 days ago
    The fbi tactic is to break dissidents with financial parasites. Spread to other enforcement orgs. How they portray hackers nowadays.