Things Every Hacker Once Knew: 1.4

New version 1.4 at:

http://www.catb.org/esr/faqs/things-every-hacker-once-knew/

New content in this one is an expanded section about outboard modems, their descendants in today’s technology, and the curious survival of the Hayes AT command set.

I had actually received a couple of previous requests to add material on the Hayes AT convention, but rejected them on the grounds that it had no relevance to current tech. This turned out to be not quite true!

Once again I emphasize that this document was not written as a nostalgia trip, but rather to assist retrospective understanding by younger hackers so they can make sense of the fossils and survivals still embedded in current technology.

The response to this document has been remarkable. I’ve received a flood of feedback and gratitude in my mailbox, often from people much more sentimental about the old days than I am.

I invite everyone who values this content to contribute at my Patreon page; this is exactly the kind of thing I couldn’t do if I couldn’t pay my Internet bills or had to get a $DAYJOB, and I’m currently in my sixth month of operating without institutional funding. $5 or $10 a month from enough people could fix that.

Your dollars will also go to fixing critical infrastructure, so please give generously – the civilization you save could be your own.