[electronic resource] /, 659 pages
Turkish language
Published April 29, 2010 by ODTÜ Yayıncılık.
Today, technology is cool. Owning the most powerful computer, the latest high-tech gadget, and the whizziest website is a status symbol on a par with having a flashy car or a designer suit. And a media obsessed with the digital explosion has reappropriated the term "computer nerd" so that it's practically synonymous with "entrepreneur." Yet, a mere fifteen years ago, wireheads hooked on tweaking endless lines of code were seen as marginal weirdos, outsiders whose world would never resonate with the mainstream. That was before one pioneering work documented the underground computer revolution that was about to change our world forever.
With groundbreaking profiles of Bill Gates, Steve Wozniak, MIT's Tech Model Railroad Club, and more, Steven Levy's Hackers brilliantly captures a seminal moment when the risk takers and explorers were poised to conquer twentieth-century America's last great frontier. And in the Internet age, "the hacker ethic" -- first espoused …
Today, technology is cool. Owning the most powerful computer, the latest high-tech gadget, and the whizziest website is a status symbol on a par with having a flashy car or a designer suit. And a media obsessed with the digital explosion has reappropriated the term "computer nerd" so that it's practically synonymous with "entrepreneur." Yet, a mere fifteen years ago, wireheads hooked on tweaking endless lines of code were seen as marginal weirdos, outsiders whose world would never resonate with the mainstream. That was before one pioneering work documented the underground computer revolution that was about to change our world forever.
With groundbreaking profiles of Bill Gates, Steve Wozniak, MIT's Tech Model Railroad Club, and more, Steven Levy's Hackers brilliantly captures a seminal moment when the risk takers and explorers were poised to conquer twentieth-century America's last great frontier. And in the Internet age, "the hacker ethic" -- first espoused here -- is alive and well. - Back cover.
I loved this book. It introduced me to hackerism and opensource ethics. I read it years ago, and re-read it this year. It made me want to hack something. It explores the romance of late nights, bathed in the cold glow of monitor, surrounded by the clacking of keyboards.
In the early eighties, Apple II aficionado Steven Levy wrote a history of the early personalities involved in computers. Most of them considered themselves at one time Hackers, that is living by the Hacker Ethic. Roughly speaking, this regards access to computers and information as paramount, judging all by their skills and talents with computers - not their salaries or station in life.
I read this history in the summer after high school, having had a taste of TRS-80 and timeshare computers at school, plus a TI-99 at home. In these pages I found a creed that I could thrive on. This re-read some 30 years later shows me some of the cracks in the foundation - the journalism and editing could have been a smidge better. The lens focuses on Apple, with Commodore, PC and TRS-80 getting only a few mentions. That said, I am still amazed by the …
In the early eighties, Apple II aficionado Steven Levy wrote a history of the early personalities involved in computers. Most of them considered themselves at one time Hackers, that is living by the Hacker Ethic. Roughly speaking, this regards access to computers and information as paramount, judging all by their skills and talents with computers - not their salaries or station in life.
I read this history in the summer after high school, having had a taste of TRS-80 and timeshare computers at school, plus a TI-99 at home. In these pages I found a creed that I could thrive on. This re-read some 30 years later shows me some of the cracks in the foundation - the journalism and editing could have been a smidge better. The lens focuses on Apple, with Commodore, PC and TRS-80 getting only a few mentions. That said, I am still amazed by the breadth of personalities the author picked up on - definitely the majority of the American scene.
This review is of the 25th anniversary edition, and the 2010 end notes do very little for the story. The trade paper format is beautiful and durable, which is good because I am likely to loan this book to friends like I did the first one. A solid 4.5 stars.
