Authors: Steven Levy
Date read: 2023-03-31
"Hackers" is the story of computer enthusiasts who revolutionized the world of computing. The book covers significant events in computer history, from the hackers who worked on huge mainframe machines at MIT, to the hardware hackers who brought computers to people's homes, and finally to game hackers who helped create a culture around computers.
Chapter I (True Hackers) is about the MIT hackers who tirelessly hack on mainframe batch-processing and CTSS. This is called the golden era of hackers because the numerous hackers worked on these computers who believed in "Hacker Ethics". Hacker Ethics is a set of rules which these MIT hackers came up with, and in general means that only hacking abilities rule, and gender, sex and age shall play no role on how people are treated. In addition, information shall be free and hackers should be absolutely willing to spread the information to other enthusiasts.
Chapter II (Hardware Hackers) tells the story of how home computers came to be in the 1970s, when processor manufacturers developed CPUs that could be used to create primitive machines like the Altair 8800. The Altair, which was created in 1975, was an interesting machine with just a few switches and LEDs. Users had to input instructions bit by bit into the RAM and then execute them. Although the Altair was far from user-friendly, it sparked a great deal of creativity among hackers. For example, Bill Gates wrote a BASIC interpreter for it to earn some money. Within a few years, machines like the Sol (which had a keyboard and monitor) emerged, and in 1977, the legendary Apple II was born.
Chapter III of "Hackers" takes place in the 1980s, a time when the gaming industry began to take off. With the rise of home computers, many companies emerged to create games for PCs. As more money flowed into these companies and into the hands of hackers, the Hacker Ethics, which once guided the community, began to be forgotten.
There were two things that particularly interested me about the book. Firstly, it answered my question about why Windows dominated the PC industry instead of Unix. This is because Unix and Windows evolved along different paths. Unix was born on big mainframe machines in 1969, but it took many years to move beyond AT&T. Meanwhile, Microsoft tailored DOS (1981) and Windows (1983) specifically for PCs. By the time Unix could be ported to smaller computers, DOS and Windows were already well-established.
Secondly, the book explored how hackers viewed computers. They saw them as intelligent machines that didn't discriminate based on age, sex, or race, and spending time with them could be more enjoyable than spending time with people. Perhaps this has led the hackers to dedicate themselves to the computers to come up with immense creativity and incredible innovations.
Regarding Hacker Ethics, while I am not entirely certain whether selling "free/kostenlos" software is a viable means of making a living, I am certainly drawn to the concept of sharing my knowledge with others. The idea of spreading information and contributing to a wider community is certainly beneficial for our society.
Rating: 4/5