Reddit Reddit reviews Hackers: Heroes of the Computer Revolution

We found 34 Reddit comments about Hackers: Heroes of the Computer Revolution. Here are the top ones, ranked by their Reddit score.

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34 Reddit comments about Hackers: Heroes of the Computer Revolution:

u/samort7 · 257 pointsr/learnprogramming

Here's my list of the classics:

General Computing

u/Bardworx · 31 pointsr/learnprogramming

This problem is super easy to solve:

  • Read book "Hackers: Heroes of the Computer Revolution" by Stephen Levy ^[[0]]

  • Come to the realization that you are incompetent when compared to CompSci pioneers.

  • Keep doing what you're doing.

    Every cliche has morsels of truth: "Rome wasn't built in a day", comes to mind. Most folk, like you and I, are just not geniuses. However, that doesn't mean we can't work toward being very proficient in a subject and become contributors.

    Your coworkers are light years ahead of you, even if they started a few months ago. The growth of knowledge is exponential and they just spent more time at "The Craft". As time goes on, levels will even out between proficient coworkers.

    Also, please note, there are 18.2 million developers world ^[[1]]. Every time I can't get something or doubt myself, I always ask if I'm dummer then the whole group who already achieved what I'm trying to do. Usually, the answer is "No" and I continue to Google to fill my gaps of knowledge.

    Presiden Abraham Lincoln once said:

    > "If I only had an hour to chop down a tree, I would spend the first 45 minutes sharpening my axe."^[2]

    That means as a programmer, you will spend 75% of your time learning/reading/searching and 25% coding.


    Edit: formating


    [0]: https://www.amazon.com/Hackers-Heroes-Computer-Revolution-Anniversary/dp/1449388396/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1465623565&sr=8-3&keywords=hackers

    [1]: http://www.computerworld.com/article/2483690/it-careers/india-to-overtake-u-s--on-number-of-developers-by-2017.html

u/Caballer0 · 11 pointsr/oculus

Meh.. If you want to know more about Bill Gates and his achievements, you should do some research.

You can start by reading Hackers - Heroes of the computer revolution.

u/badsectoracula · 11 pointsr/Games

If you read Hackers, a book published in 1984 about the people and culture behind the early days of computing, which also contains a large part about the computer game industry of the time and how it was formed up (early history of Sierra, Broderbund, etc) and the people behind it, you'll see that many people (like Ken Williams) were very profit driven from the beginning. Of course there were also people on it doing it because they liked games and computers, just like today.

(also interesting trivia: this book was an inspiration for John Carmack when he was young and probably shaped his desire to share his code and knowledge openly)

u/teduh · 9 pointsr/compsci

I heartily recommend Steven Levy's "Hackers". One of my all-time favorites.

u/rustajb · 5 pointsr/books

Hackers: Heroes of the Computer Revolution. I read this book in the early 90's and it was fascinating. It traces the origins of hacking in an interesting narrative style. It's the most interesting book on the topic I have yet read.

http://www.amazon.com/Hackers-Heroes-Computer-Revolution-Anniversary/dp/1449388396/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1279897212&sr=8-1

u/flaflashr · 5 pointsr/linuxquestions

Try "Hackers: Heroes of the Computer Revolution", by Steven Levy. https://www.amazon.com/Hackers-Heroes-Computer-Revolution-Anniversary/dp/1449388396 . It is not solely focused on Unix, but it tells a lot about the early evolution of computers, and the wizards who made them work. It's been years since I read it, but I recall it being a great read.

u/agentgreasy · 4 pointsr/compsci

If a book will do, "Hackers - Heroes of The Computer Revolution" by Stephen Levy was excellent. It covers the problems from the early stages to modern times, and the innovative open-thinking people that pioneered some crazy solutions, and gives a reasonable view into the early years of computer use.

It's actually very good at demonstrating the real difficulty computer users and enthusiasts had back then, because not only were you vying for time... but you were fighting for correct results.

I like to buy this book for people who have become tech "later" in their lives (i.e. newbies who did not participate in that industry as children and have only taken it on strictly as a profession) who hold that strong misconception of the idea that a hacker is an evil terror nerd.

u/rapjs · 4 pointsr/learnprogramming

Hackers is GREAT

I can't recommend this book enough.

u/mrhorrible · 4 pointsr/movies

I'm a big fan of Pirates of Silicon Valley. I can't find a source, but either Jobs, Gates, or Woz said something like "Yeah, that's pretty much just how it went."

When the movie came out, I was really into the history of computers. I had just read "Hackers" (no relation to the movie "Hackers"), so it was exciting to see things I had read about in a movie. Unlike a lot of movie adaptations, there was practically nothing about it that I found disappointing.

Woz Talks about the accuracy

u/nokeeo · 4 pointsr/cscareerquestions

Non-Fiction: Hacker: The Heroes of the Computer Revolution

Covers the folks who laid the foundation for the personal computer.

u/stuhacking · 4 pointsr/emacs

If you like reading about computer history, I really enjoyed Stephen Levy's Hackers: Heroes of the Computer Revolution. (There's a pdf floating around if you google search it, but I don't think it would be good form to directly link it since the book is still in print.) It's a really fascinating look at the early hacker cultures in MIT and Silicon Valley from the late 1950s through the early 1980s.

u/networklackey · 3 pointsr/videos

The term Hacker comes from the MIT model train club... which amusingly became the computer club... the specific incident where the term was coined is described in detail in this book... it was achieved by jamming a screwdriver between two contacts giving a computer an extra register it was not originally designed with... You want to read a great book about the microcomputer revolution, this is it...

https://www.amazon.com/Hackers-Computer-Revolution-Steven-Levy/dp/1449388396

u/FattyLite · 3 pointsr/compsci

Hackers starts after Turing and other pre-computers (at least what we think of as a computer), but it is a pretty good narrative history beginning with the formation of the Model Train Railroad Club at MIT through to the PDP-7, Apple Mac and beyond.

edit: a letter

u/Ipswitch84 · 3 pointsr/compsci

Hackers: Heros of the Computer Revolution

The Cookoo's Egg

Both non-fiction, both excellent. Both cover a unique period in computing history, the understanding of which is worthwhile.

u/mistral7 · 3 pointsr/beatles

I wasn't part of creating ARPANET. After I was discharged from the USAF in '69, I lived in Boston and was working as a recording engineer. I did several sessions at [Petrucci and Atwell] (http://www.ilk.org/~ppk/Manuals/Ampex_Case_Histories/Ampex%20Boston%20Petrucci%20and%20Atwell%20case%20history.pdf) studios designed by Bolt, Beranek and Newman. It's only in that very modest capacity that I was fortunate to meet some of the folks involved with ARPANET. Believe me, I had no idea what they were actually up to and was more impressed with the superb recording acoustics of the facility.

The reason for the "F" in John F Kennedy... his middle name was 'Fitzgerald' in honor of a well known Boston politician. IMHO, there's been a general lack of respect for the office of the President of the United States somewhat traceable in modern times to using the initials "LBJ" for Lyndon Baines Johnson inasmuch as he was the first president to be loathed by large numbers of 'baby boomers' for his role in escalating the Vietnam War.

As for you not living as much compared to those of us getting on... I'd like to share a personal story for perspective. When the astronauts first landed on the moon, I was watching television with my mother and grandmother. I could tell my nana was quite agitated and I asked why since this was such a great accomplishment. She answered "It's all too much. I grew up in Scotland with horse and buggy and candle light... now people are on the moon."

What has happened with digital is even more of a massive leap forward and we don't have the advantage of really being able to witness the change. On the privacy frontier alone, history will record the current era as a horrifying experience. Humans are data raped by corporations and governments mining each of us for every keystroke we complete. The algorithms aggregating personal information are totally enslaving. One need only look at the alleged leaders of the world to grasp they are clueless to what occurs every second in the surveillance state.

Your point that people can be misconstrued is true in real life as well. Or maybe the more appropriate phrase is we are all being manipulated by media and marketing and most have absolutely know idea what is going on or how it's done. Lest you think I'm wearing a tinfoil hat, there is a radio interview with me done in 2010 where I stated exactly what Snowden and others confirmed in more recently. Repeat: every keystroke you make is captured, analyzed, identified and stored for sale to the highest bidders. And NEVER forget you have no Miranda rights online. Everything you say can and will be used against you.

Unique usernames and passwords are a small step in anonymizing online activity. The hassle: to be effective, passwords must be totally random, use upper and lower case letters, plus numbers and symbols, unique to each account, and changed frequently. It's an inhuman challenge unless you are a savant, or write them down, or use a password manager. Most password managers however are relatively useless as true security tools and those that rely on a master password to protect all others are inherently ridiculous or we'd all have a single key to our house, car, bank, etc. It that sole key is lost, stolen, or hacked... you're toast.

Recent security studies confirm what we've known for years: storing passwords in the cloud simply creates a very convenient target for hackers. When asked why he robbed banks, Willy Sutton is alleged to have said: "Because that's where all the money is." For a hacker, the arrogance and naivete of online password storage is foolish hubris. But then I learned that from my MIT pals back in Boston in 1969. They cracked supposedly secure accounts for laughs. Read all about it here: Hackers.

I'm sorry to have rambled on so much. Blame oncoming senility or an attempt to pass on what little I've learned.

u/bullcitytarheel · 3 pointsr/pcmasterrace

Not sure if it's related to this book, but

Hackers: Heroes of the Computer Revolution https://www.amazon.com/dp/1449388396/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_i_1b.yDbKR0N261

is one of my favorite non-fiction books of all time.

u/p2p_editor · 3 pointsr/explainlikeimfive

Somebody in another comment mentioned Kevin Mitnick.

In addition to Mitnick's book, I'll also recommend:

Steven Levy's Hackers. It's a classic exploration of the birth of the computer age and hacker culture, with a lot of insights into the mindset of computer people, both white-hat and black-hat.

The Cuckoo's Egg by Cliff Stoll, which is an account of him tracking down some serious hackers waaay back in the day. It's kind of vintage now, but I remember it being very well written and engaging. It's more like reading a novel than some dry academic piece.

In similar vein is Takedown, by Tsutomu Shimomura, which is Shimomura's account of pursuing and catching Kevin Mitnick. Also quite good, as it was co-written by John Markoff. There's a whiff of Shimomura tooting his own horn in it, but you definitely get a feel for the chase as it was happening, and learn a lot about the details of what Mitnick (and others in the underground hacking world) were actually doing.

Weird fact: I had no idea at the time, of course, but during some of Mitnick's last days before they nabbed him, he lived in an apartment building in my neighborhood in Seattle, right across from the grocery store where I always shopped. And about a year later, I ended up dating a girl who lived in that same building at that time, though of course she had no idea Mitnick was there either or even who he was. Still, I always wonder if I ever happened to stand next to him in line at the grocery store or something like that.

u/KevMul · 2 pointsr/learnprogramming

TV shows:

u/the_blitzkrieg_bop · 2 pointsr/cscareerquestions

The "hardcore programmer" trope goes back practically to the origins of computing. Take a look at Hackers, a non-fiction book published in 1984 about early "hackers" at MIT in the late 1950s and early 1960s and you will see the same tropes about "hardcore hackers" as you see today (note: the book is not about hackers as in people who break into computers, it's the other kind).

If anything, I would argue that the field has become less intense. The "fun" work environments and relaxed hours are, to my knowledge, largely a product of the last 20 years and largely due to the influence of companies like Google and Facebook. Working at IBM in the 1960s almost certainly didn't look much like we'd imagine a tech company today. In addition, I think the field has become dramatically more accessible, making it possible for people who aren't "hardcore" to enter. How many of the people on this sub would have stayed with programming if our only option was to learn assembly instructions out of manuals, and only when we were able to reserve time on the local mainframe. And even if you did that, it's not like you were doing frontend development; half the fields of CS today didn't exist further back. AI/ML was considered a dead field 20 years ago. Frontend development didn't exist in the way we think of it today until the Web came along.

Lastly, I'd argue that any field that has high career advancement prospects is going to attract some subset of Type A personalities no matter what, which it sounds like is what you're describing Lucy as.

u/rotll · 2 pointsr/gadgets

A little history goes a long way - Hackers by Steven Levy, 1984

u/indyK1ng · 2 pointsr/pcmasterrace

I understand that. There's a definite stigma around the word "hacker" which I try to avoid. When I talk about going to Defcon I call it an "Infosec conference" instead. Given most of the content, that is the focus of the conference so it's pretty close to the truth and gives people a good idea of what is discussed.

That having been said, I definitely wouldn't let a 14 year old go unattended. You may be able to begin an information campaign with your parents to convince them to take you.

First, you'll have to remove the stigma around the word. Hackers: Heroes of the Computer Revolution predates the modern usage of the word "hacker" and is what my dad had me read when I took AP Computer Science in high school. Getting your parents to read this book could be a double edged sword though - a lot of the actions of the people discussed in the book were outright illegal.

Another, possibly more workable option may be to get into the Maker scene. A lot of people there may use the word "hacker" and "hack" because those words also refer to someone who gets a system to operate past its perceived limits or a way of doing so. That may get your parents to think more broadly about the word.

I honestly don't know how well either of those recommendations will work because I never had to deal with this. Both of my parents are tech savvy and early adopters.

u/-eddy · 2 pointsr/sysadmin

If you like computer history - Hackers

u/InCaseOfEmergency · 1 pointr/cscareerquestions

I like The "New" Turing Omnibus for small pieces from a lot of CS areas. Since it covers a bunch of topics, you can read it in any order. It's a good way to see what specific areas you might want to dive into more deeply.

For more general, "fun" books to get excited about CS and its origins, I recommend Dealers of Lightning which is an amazing look at the work done at Xerox PARC in the 70s and Hackers: Heroes of the Computer Revolution which is about many of the people who paved the way for personal computers.

u/iheartrms · 1 pointr/technology


https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/1449388396/ref=mp_s_a_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1472937169&sr=8-1&pi=SY200_QL40&keywords=hackers+levy&dpPl=1&dpID=51Pbo5LEbFL&ref=plSrch

Description
Amazon.com Review
Steven Levy's classic book explains why the misuse of the word "hackers" to describe computer criminals does a terrible disservice to many important shapers of the digital revolution. Levy follows members of an MIT model railroad club--a group of brilliant budding electrical engineers and computer innovators--from the late 1950s to the mid-1980s. These eccentric characters used the term "hack" to describe a clever way of improving the electronic system that ran their massive railroad. And as they started designing clever ways to improve computer systems, "hack" moved over with them. These maverick characters were often fanatics who did not always restrict themselves to the letter of the law and who devoted themselves to what became known as "The Hacker Ethic." The book traces the history of hackers, from finagling access to clunky computer-card-punching machines to uncovering the inner secrets of what would become the Internet. This story of brilliant, eccentric, flawed, and often funny people devoted to their dream of a better world will appeal to a wide audience.
Product Description
This 25th anniversary edition of Steven Levy's classic book traces the exploits of the computer revolution's original hackers -- those brilliant and eccentric nerds from the late 1950s through the early '80s who took risks, bent the rules, and pushed the world in a radical new direction. With updated material from noteworthy hackers such as Bill Gates, Mark Zukerberg, Richard Stallman, and Steve Wozniak, Hackers is a fascinating story that begins in early computer research labs and leads to the first home computers.

Levy profiles the imaginative brainiacs who found clever and unorthodox solutions to computer engineering problems. They had a shared sense of values, known as "the hacker ethic," that still thrives today. Hackers captures a seminal period in recent history when underground activities blazed a trail for today's digital world, from MIT students finagling access to clunky computer-card machines to the DIY culture that spawned the Altair and the Apple II.



Amazon.com Exclusive: The Rant Heard Round the World
By Steven Levy


Author Steven Levy
When I began researching Hackers--so many years ago that it’s scary--I thought I’d largely be chronicling the foibles of a sociologically weird cohort who escaped normal human interaction by retreating to the sterile confines of computers labs. Instead, I discovered a fascinating, funny cohort who wound up transforming human interaction, spreading a culture that affects our views about everything from politics to entertainment to business. The stories of those amazing people and what they did is the backbone of Hackers: Heroes of the Computer Revolution.

But when I revisited the book recently to prepare the 25th Anniversary Edition of my first book, it was clear that I had luckily stumbled on the origin of a computer (and Internet) related controversy that still permeates the digital discussion. Throughout the book I write about something I called The Hacker Ethic, my interpretation of several principles implicitly shared by true hackers, no matter whether they were among the early pioneers from MIT’s Tech Model Railroad Club (the Mesopotamia of hacker culture), the hardware hackers of Silicon Valley’s Homebrew Computer Club (who invented the PC industry), or the slick kid programmers of commercial game software. One of those principles was “Information Should Be Free.” This wasn’t a justification of stealing, but an expression of the yearning to know more so one could hack more. The programs that early MIT hackers wrote for big computers were stored on paper tapes. The hackers would keep the tapes in a drawer by the computer so anyone could run the program, change it, and then cut a new tape for the next person to improve. The idea of ownership was alien.

This idea came under stress with the advent of personal computers. The Homebrew Club was made of fanatic engineers, along with a few social activists who were thrilled at the democratic possibilities of PCs. The first home computer they could get their hands on was 1975’s Altair, which came in a kit that required a fairly hairy assembly process. (Its inventor was Ed Roberts, an underappreciated pioneer who died earlier this year.) No software came with it. So it was a big deal when 19-year-old Harvard undergrad Bill Gates and his partner Paul Allen wrote a BASIC computer language for it. The Homebrew people were delighted with Altair BASIC, but unhappy that Gates and Allen charged real money for it. Some Homebrew people felt that their need for it outweighed their ability to pay. And after one of them got hold of a “borrowed” tape with the program, he showed up at a meeting with a box of copies (because it is so easy to make perfect copies in the digital age), and proceeded to distribute them to anyone who wanted one, gratis.

This didn’t sit well with Bill Gates, who wrote what was to become a famous “Letter to Hobbyists,” basically accusing them of stealing his property. It was the computer-age equivalent to Luther posting the Ninety-Five Theses on the Castle Church. Gate’s complaints would reverberate well into the Internet age, and variations on the controversy persist. Years later, when another undergrad named Shawn Fanning wrote a program called Napster that kicked off massive piracy of song files over the Internet, we saw a bloodier replay of the flap. Today, issues of cost, copying and control still rage--note Viacom’s continuing lawsuit against YouTube and Google. And in my own business—journalism--availability of free news is threatening more traditional, expensive new-gathering. Related issues that also spring from controversies in Hackers are debates over the “walled gardens” of Facebook and Apple’s iPad.

I ended the original Hackers with a portrait of Richard Stallman, an MIT hacker dedicated to the principle of free software. I recently revisited him while gathering new material for the 25th Anniversary Edition of Hackers, he was more hard core than ever. He even eschewed the Open Source movement for being insufficiently noncommercial.

When I spoke to Gates for the update, I asked him about his 1976 letter and the subsequent intellectual property wars. “Don’t call it war,” he said. “Thank God we have an incentive system. Striking the right balance of how this should work, you know, there's going to be tons of exploration.” Then he applied the controversy to my own situation as a journalism. “Things are in a crazy way for music and movies and books,” he said. “Maybe magazine writers will still get paid 20 years from now. Who knows? Maybe you'll have to cut hair during the day and just write articles at night.”

So Amazon.com readers, it’s up to you. Those who have not read Hackers,, have fun and be amazed at the tales of those who changed the world and had a hell of time doing it. Those who have previously read and loved Hackers, replace your beat-up copies, or the ones you loaned out and never got back, with this beautiful 25th Anniversary Edition from O’Reilly with new material about my subsequent visits with Gates, Stallman, and younger hacker figures like Mark Zuckerberg of Facebook. If you don’t I may have to buy a scissors--and the next bad haircut could be yours!
Review
"A remarkable collection of characters . . . courageously exploring mindspace, an inner world where nobody had ever been before." -- The New York Times
About the Author
Levy is a senior writer for Wired. Previously, he was chief technology writer and a senior editor for Newsweek. Levy has written six books and had articles published in Harper's, Macworld, The New York Times Magazine, The New Yorker, Premiere, and Rolling Stone. Steven has won several awards during his 30+ years of writing about technology, including Hackers, which PC Magazine named the best Sci-Tech book written in the last twenty years and, Crypto, which won the grand eBook prize at the 2001 Frankfurt Book festival.
From The Washington Post
"Fascinating . . . A huge job hugely well done."

u/JohnTSchmitz · 1 pointr/DarkNetMarkets

A fine idea, Bruce.

It's nice to know that there is still some interest in books, especially among incarcerated community pillars and narcissistic spectres of Silk Road. The fact that you've cleverly referenced both Herman Melville and J.D. Salinger this evening doesn't at all surprise me, given what I know about you; however, it never ceases to amaze me, just a little bit, to find that there are still people like you in existence--and inside this den of dopers & thieves, of all places.

Have you read the YouTube comments lately?

You never responded to the last message I sent your pen name's account. I can't imagine that I offended you ... unless ... you're not a Frolf-loving LARPer, are you Bruce?

At any rate, I don't think that anyone here would worry about you absconding with the book mobile's coffers. At least I wouldn't. Don't sell yourself short. There's a certain underlying aura of decency about you, Bruce--which is made even more apparent by your long-standing concern for and support of SSBD. I never had the pleasure of knowing him.

I should write him a letter.

Yeah. He can certainly have copies of my books, for whatever that's worth. He might dig them.

Finally, here's a suggestion for a book that I believe he or anyone else in this community would appreciate: Hackers: Heroes of the Computer Revolution by Steven Levy. It's the compelling story of how over the course of several decades, computers were liberated from universities and big businesses and placed into the hands of the people. What's even more interesting is that when the book was published in 1985, the revolution was already concluding and a good number of modern-day DNM enthusiasts hadn't even been born yet.

It's a good book.

Stay groovy, Bruce.

--Ed

u/warisaracket1 · 1 pointr/todayilearned

Hackers by Steven Levy is the best back-in-the-day programming story collection that I ever read. It really changed me. I recommend it highly for a good read.

http://www.amazon.com/Hackers-Computer-Revolution-Anniversary-Edition/dp/1449388396

u/duggieawesome · 1 pointr/learnprogramming

I'd recommend New Turing Omnibus, which briefly covers various topics of CS and Hackers: Heroes of the Computer Revolution, which gives you a pretty nice narrative of the history of the original hackers.

u/Death_Bard · 1 pointr/R4R30Plus

Have you read Hackers?

u/Maxtrt · 1 pointr/AdviceAnimals

If you want to read a great book that explains it you should read Hackers: Heroes of the Computer Revolution. There's a great movie about it also Pirates of Silicon Valley.

u/ryeinn · 1 pointr/AskReddit

This doesn't answer your question, but there was a great book called Hackers about the people at the inception of programming. I highly recommend it. It touched on a whole mess of people who answer your question.

For example, I had always heard Gates was a really good programmer, but I didn't know how highly regarded his coding was when he was younger.

u/0l01o1ol0 · 1 pointr/technology

'Hackers' predates 'Software developers' as a term. Go read Hackers by Steven Levy, it profiles people like Richard Stallman and earlier hackers of the UNIX and minicomputer scenes that called themselves 'hackers' before the security-oriented definition of the term came about.

u/toomanybeersies · 0 pointsr/webdev

The C Programming Language (aka K&R)

Everyone should have a copy of this book on the shelf. Sure there's arguably better books for learning C, and K&R hasn't even been updated in 28 years (the code in the book is not valid c99). But it's like the holy bible of programming books.

Hackers: Heroes of the Computer Revolution is worth a read.

All of Kevin Mitnick's books are good.

I'd honestly not really bother buying any books for learning actual programming from, since most stuff moves so fast, and there's so much material online to learn from.