2nd out of 196 books
—
132 voters
Hackers
by
Steven Levy (Goodreads Author)
A mere fifteen years ago, computer nerds 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...more
Paperback, 464 pages
Published
January 1st 2001
by Penguin Books
(first published 1984)
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I loved this book. It is a documentary about various aspects of computing. The first part is utterly excellent. It is about the birth of the "hacker ethic" around the DEC PDP machine in the MIT AI Lab. It is very funny and very inspiring. Some of the people in that section of the book have disappeared into obscurity, so the book is amazing for capturing this lost part of tech history. The second part is about the personal computer revolution. It covers the Altair machine, the Apple I / II and ot...more
Why didn't O'Reilly bother to edit out the unneeded phrases like "known to man" ("the best computer in the world known to man")? A decent editor could have cut 20% out of this book, and made it much better quality in the process.
Additionally, there are enough cases of deep confusion about actual events, or about technical terms that the few times I read an enjoyable story I was not familiar with I had to try to research it to see if there was any truth to the matter.
The writing is terrible, punc...more
Additionally, there are enough cases of deep confusion about actual events, or about technical terms that the few times I read an enjoyable story I was not familiar with I had to try to research it to see if there was any truth to the matter.
The writing is terrible, punc...more
I'm still sort of processing this book a week later. All the status updates I posted are notes I wrote on paper while I was reading, alas I ran out of scraps while sick in bed, somewhere around pg 350. (the goodreads entry says this has more pages than the copy I have, btw.)
Note: this is a really long and somewhat rambling review.
A few themes stick out, notably West coast vs East coast. No, seriously. The first section is all MIT hackers, the other two are west coast focused (hippie hackers and...more
Note: this is a really long and somewhat rambling review.
A few themes stick out, notably West coast vs East coast. No, seriously. The first section is all MIT hackers, the other two are west coast focused (hippie hackers and...more
This book was good at the outset, and the treatment of the freakish hacking pioneers was excellent, but I felt that the book lost its way somewhere beyond half-way through - it ended up being a paean to the good ship Apple Computers, and all who sail in her. Apart from making me suspicious of the writer's motives, this annoyed me because it was blinkered, ignoring so much else that was going on at the time. However, considering the year it was written and the ongoing nature of the subject matter...more
Some books, I just have to want, and other books, I need to sit and think about every 100 pages. These are rarer, but usually I need to do this because of how they brought up something from my own life. Hackers is the second type. In this case, it was about the story behind the BASIC programs I loved to read about and try to write as a kid.
I've noted that other reviewers mentioned that Levy is biased for Apple. This may be true, and unfortunately, I can't do diligence on that. What I can say is...more
I've noted that other reviewers mentioned that Levy is biased for Apple. This may be true, and unfortunately, I can't do diligence on that. What I can say is...more
Hackers : Heroes of the Computer Revolution, est un essai sur l'évolution de la programmation informatique à partir des années 50 et 60.
Contrairement aux mythes qui sont souvent véhiculés, un "hacker" est un programmeur qui veut améliorer des programmes existants, et non un "pirate".
Steven Levy, en débutant récits de vie sur l'impact de l'informatique envers des étudiants à l'université MIT, nous explique le développement de la pensée de ces jeunes programmeurs, ce qui permettra de jeter les ba...more
Contrairement aux mythes qui sont souvent véhiculés, un "hacker" est un programmeur qui veut améliorer des programmes existants, et non un "pirate".
Steven Levy, en débutant récits de vie sur l'impact de l'informatique envers des étudiants à l'université MIT, nous explique le développement de la pensée de ces jeunes programmeurs, ce qui permettra de jeter les ba...more
Though it's divided into sections that are to some extent artificial, and there may be some important material it misses, this is probably the best single-book treatment of the subject. To be clear, the kind of computers it's talking about are essentially minicomputers, such as MIT guys played with in the 1960s, and micromputers or PCs--the things that now appear on what seems like every office desk in the land. To cover mainframes and their antecedents would require looking back to developments...more
Let's get this out of the way up front—the term "hackers" here refers to the original ideology of the word from the earlier days of computing, when hackers blazed the trail of our modern hardware and software systems. These are not the modern day denizen hackers of destructive, malicious infamy. Based on this understanding, this book should be required reading for anyone connected with the computing profession. It serves as a rich history of the genesis of modern day computing, from the earliest...more
This was a really interesting look at the history of computers as a DIY technology, stretching from the 1950s to the 1980s, when the first edition of it was published.
I find a lot of computer users look at the things like they're magic boxes, likely run by black magic and/or hamsters running in wheels; I confess to having moments where I've felt that way myself, but I'm trying to educate myself a bit more on how computers actually think and operate, and this book helped cement that understandin...more
I find a lot of computer users look at the things like they're magic boxes, likely run by black magic and/or hamsters running in wheels; I confess to having moments where I've felt that way myself, but I'm trying to educate myself a bit more on how computers actually think and operate, and this book helped cement that understandin...more
Line 10 PRINT “HELLO”. Line 20 GOTO 10. Why did this kind of program appeal so much to kids like me in the early 80s? Levy is probably right that it’s power: bending a slavish homunculus to your will.
The book traces the hacker mindset through 50s MIT, 70s California, and the 80s game industry. Rather than a “revenge of the nerds” tone, it takes hackers on their own terms, but with humour. One of the MIT bunch wouldn’t drive because it ‘takes too much processing’. I can laugh at that but would fi...more
The book traces the hacker mindset through 50s MIT, 70s California, and the 80s game industry. Rather than a “revenge of the nerds” tone, it takes hackers on their own terms, but with humour. One of the MIT bunch wouldn’t drive because it ‘takes too much processing’. I can laugh at that but would fi...more
Probably the best book I've read by this author.
"Hacker" is, currently, a pejorative term used to describe people who break into other people's systems, frequently for some nefarious purpose. That's not the original meaning of the term.
The book starts out at MIT. We have people who liked to mess with model railroads, largely because they enjoy working with complex, interconnected systems. We see the first computers arrive and people, largely self-taught, start gravitating toward them. As ever-la...more
"Hacker" is, currently, a pejorative term used to describe people who break into other people's systems, frequently for some nefarious purpose. That's not the original meaning of the term.
The book starts out at MIT. We have people who liked to mess with model railroads, largely because they enjoy working with complex, interconnected systems. We see the first computers arrive and people, largely self-taught, start gravitating toward them. As ever-la...more
The first computer programmers, who worked in the 1940s and the early 1950s, used computers for things like calculating the hydrodynamics of thermonuclear explosions and artillery firing tables. By the 1960s, a new generation of nerds realized that computers could actually be fun. They included model railroaders from MIT who liked to build not so much the miniature landscapes their little trains would run through as the electric circuits that controlled, how the trains would turn and go. They mo...more
One of my absolute favorite tech-related books of all time. Read it a half-dozen times, at least.
It's somewhat better-written than most of Levy's books (like the painful "In the Plex"), though it bears the same biases that his other work does. I don't know if it's a long-form journalist tendency, but Levy's books and articles all seem to be written as if they're telling The Whole Story, though they are heavily skewed by the people who were most willing to be interviewed extensively. Any writer h...more
It's somewhat better-written than most of Levy's books (like the painful "In the Plex"), though it bears the same biases that his other work does. I don't know if it's a long-form journalist tendency, but Levy's books and articles all seem to be written as if they're telling The Whole Story, though they are heavily skewed by the people who were most willing to be interviewed extensively. Any writer h...more
Steven Levy writes an anecdotal history of the modern computer age starting not with Blaise Pascal and weaving design cards but rather with model railroads and smart kids with access to the coolest new toy on campus, a time-shared hunk of big iron on which anything was possible. tedious arguments about hacker ethics are thankfully left outside the book for the most part while Levy hits the highlights and strengthens the case for a hacker being someone who wants to know more about the system whet...more
This is a must read for anyone who loves computers. It is well written and full of interesting information.
Looking backwards helps me understand current technology better.
Looking backwards helps me understand current technology better.
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it,
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This book will help the uninitiated understand the connection of the model railroaders, computers and lock picking. It also has a really great chapter on TINY BASIC that those from the early days will enjoy.
It tells the story behind the stories of those that brought computers to the masses. Bill Gates, Steve Wozniak, all of the guys you expect are in there.
If the words "YOU ARE STANDING AT THE END OF A ROAD BEFORE A SMALL BRICK BUILDING. AROUND YOU IS A FOREST. A SMALL STREAM FLOWS OUT OF THE B...more
It tells the story behind the stories of those that brought computers to the masses. Bill Gates, Steve Wozniak, all of the guys you expect are in there.
If the words "YOU ARE STANDING AT THE END OF A ROAD BEFORE A SMALL BRICK BUILDING. AROUND YOU IS A FOREST. A SMALL STREAM FLOWS OUT OF THE B...more
I've been meaning to read this for many years especially after enjoying Crypto but never got around to it. After stumbling upon an updated version amongst mostly German titles in a bookstore I finally have.
While the interviews colour the narrative and make parts seem rather self indulgent, overall it does a good job of conveying the spirit and ideals of the people involved.
It is odd how the minicomputer portion ends right before unix comes about, and instead dives into early personal computers....more
While the interviews colour the narrative and make parts seem rather self indulgent, overall it does a good job of conveying the spirit and ideals of the people involved.
It is odd how the minicomputer portion ends right before unix comes about, and instead dives into early personal computers....more
"Iconic." "Brilliant." "Innovative." "Pioneering." These accolades can be used to describe the "heroes of the computer revolution," but they can also be used to describe this book, the first mainstream book to cover the rise of computing as a household hobby.
I purchased this book so that I could read about the roots of computer gaming--it has a large section talking about the early days of Sierra and Broduderbund; but this book is not just about the beginnings of computer gamings, it chronicles...more
I purchased this book so that I could read about the roots of computer gaming--it has a large section talking about the early days of Sierra and Broduderbund; but this book is not just about the beginnings of computer gamings, it chronicles...more
Wow! This is a masterful book.
Levy reports on three different eras that have shaped modern
computing:
- The group of hackers at MIT in the early sixties who were the
first to use computers for anything else than computing things (the
first computer game, the first chess computer, the first time that
a computer is connected to a robot, etc.) and created a culture,
the hacker ethic, in the process.
- The people around the Home Brew Computer Club in California in
the early seventies who were the first...more
Levy reports on three different eras that have shaped modern
computing:
- The group of hackers at MIT in the early sixties who were the
first to use computers for anything else than computing things (the
first computer game, the first chess computer, the first time that
a computer is connected to a robot, etc.) and created a culture,
the hacker ethic, in the process.
- The people around the Home Brew Computer Club in California in
the early seventies who were the first...more
This is a very entertaining account of the rise of the computer generation. Beginning with the inderground computer clubs at MIT and other technical bases, expanddng to cover the HomeBrew club that was the birthplace of Apple and introducing many unforgetable giants of what would become the most important technilogical breakthrough of the century. The power of the personal computer with access to the rabidly expanding internet. The title comes from the emphasis on the 'hacker' culture and its am...more
While very interesting in terms of history and story, the annoying tendency of author to praise the "Hacker Ethic" and behaviour over all bounds really gets irritating - especially at the points where he dismisses important work of other academic and science groups, not to mention his casual dismissal (or as I understood it - almost praise) of break-ins and other criminal activity. That greatly diminishes the book in my opinion - while I'm very interested in the story the book is trying to conve...more
Part three (about videogames) feels just like watching "Lords Of Dogtown", really enjoyed most of it. The one I read was the latest edition so I thought there would be more about the late 90s and 2000-2010.
It is enjoyable to read a book like this knowing what happened to the tech industry where it is standing right now and who the new and most powerful players are, however I think a revision would speak a bit more about Bill Gates, Steve Jobs, Ellison, the Google Boys, Mark SUCKerberg, and many...more
It is enjoyable to read a book like this knowing what happened to the tech industry where it is standing right now and who the new and most powerful players are, however I think a revision would speak a bit more about Bill Gates, Steve Jobs, Ellison, the Google Boys, Mark SUCKerberg, and many...more
I had an Apple II growing up and remember reading about a lot of the personalities (The Williams,etc) in the magazines. It is striking, the blur of changes in those few years, 1979-83. Getting an inside overview of what was going on, even if it just did highlight a few of the major players, helped give a better picture of what was happening around those times. The stories from the early days, the PDP hackers, were really enlightening.
Although, it seems like it could have been edited better. It w...more
Although, it seems like it could have been edited better. It w...more
A great book about the history of hackers (from PDP hacking at MIT to hardware hackers (Altair..Apple II) to Sierra On-Line).
It was quite a fascinating read - being published in 1984, it covers exactly the period that I've missed. It cleared the picture in my head which was sort of "There were boring ancient times, and then in the 80s the fun started - IMB PCs, games, Internet...". Turns out it's been fun all the way from 1960s.
Maybe I would prefer this book a tiny bit shorter and a bit more tec...more
It was quite a fascinating read - being published in 1984, it covers exactly the period that I've missed. It cleared the picture in my head which was sort of "There were boring ancient times, and then in the 80s the fun started - IMB PCs, games, Internet...". Turns out it's been fun all the way from 1960s.
Maybe I would prefer this book a tiny bit shorter and a bit more tec...more
A wonderful look at the early days of computing when computers were waiting to be used and hackers were the people who would push them to the limits and make them available to all. This is an updated edition that includes an afterword where Levy catches up with some of the original hackers (like Bill Gates and Steve Wozniak) and interviews new hackers like Facebook's Zuckerberg.
The book covers three types of hackers: the hardware hackers who worked with the early mainframe and minicomputers and...more
The book covers three types of hackers: the hardware hackers who worked with the early mainframe and minicomputers and...more
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Steven Levy (born 1951) is an American journalist who has written several books on computers, technology, cryptography, the Internet, cybersecurity, and privacy. Levy is chief technology writer and a senior editor for Newsweek, writing mainly in the "Science & Technology" section. He also writes the column "Random Access" in the monthly feature "Focus On Technology." Levy is also a contributor...more
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Sep 13, 2011 03:39am
Sep 19, 2011 04:03pm