HACKERS:HEROES OF THE COMPUTER

REVOLUTIONBY: STEVEN LEVY

Power Point by: Marc Prenger

Disclaimer / Intro to Hackers

The book Hackers is broken up into four parts. Throughout these parts the “Hacker Ethic” is a main theme. In the following five slides I will discuss the hacker ethic and then continue to touch on each of the four parts of the book. Unfortunately, I will not be revealing the entire book to you. If you are interested in the book, I suggest you go to your local library and ask if they have it!

-Marc Prenger

The Hacker Ethic The hacker ethic is not written down. It is not

stored in a computer somewhere. It is not a law that is used to establish boundaries for hackers. It is simply something that was commonly and silently agreed on. It is an idea that the standard hacker abides by as a code of conduct. The hacker ethic basically agrees with the following:

Access to anything that can reveal something about the world should be total and unlimited. Any information should be free to anyone.

Part One: True Hackers As hackers first emerged, being based in MIT, they, of

course, followed the hacker ethic. Their original attempts started out with making the world know what they were and what they wanted to do. Hackers would attempt to make programs better. They would find an already existing program or machine and make it more efficient or make it run better. In the case of Hubert Dreyfus (an academic), Ricky Greenblatt created a more efficient chess program that beat Dreyfus, who said that no chess program could beat someone over 10-years-old.

In creating more efficient programs and machines, hackers followed hacker ethic saying that anything they do should be done without any profit. What is done should be done so that everyone has free access to it.

Part Two: Hardware Hackers As the hackers became decentralized (no academic

structure supporting any of their activities like the students from MIT) they began to focus less on software and more on the liberation of computers from the massive industry bureaucracies. The Homebrew Computer club was created in order to give hackers a place to meet with each other and trade equipment and software, keeping with the hacker ethic.

Hackers that were considered “Hardware Hackers” had the intent of building computers that used smaller amounts of chips while keeping the same or even better efficiency of the machine. As more and more hackers joined clubs, they began perfecting their hardware systems and would start businesses.

Part Three: Game Hackers As computers became more and more

accessible to people, personal computers were being bought by people who had no intention of programming on them. They wanted to play games. This brought a rise in the amount of hackers who programmed games. Some game hackers, such as Ken and Roberta Williams (founders of Sierra On-Line), ended up making lots of money because of their transition into game programming.

Epilogue:The Last of the True Hackers Richard Stallman is called, by Levy, the “last of the

true hackers.” He is not the last “real” hacker, but rather the last of the original “true hackers” who believed in every type of information being free to everyone. He worked on making programs that were free to everyone, and he believed that the hacker ethic should be followed by everyone. As time passed, more and more people did not agree with the hacker ethic. People did not believe that all information should be accessible to everyone. Despite this belief, Stallman continued to push on with his belief in hacker ethic.