3 ms·
Many replies here argue that there are plenty of choices today for the hacker-inclined, many more than 40 years ago, which is true, of course. But I think what
by tambourine_man 3y ago
Many replies here argue that there are plenty of choices today for the hacker-inclined, many more than 40 years ago, which is true, of course.
But I think what your post implies is that regular computers back then invited you to hack them. It might have awoken a curiosity that could have otherwise remained latent in many of us.
A anecdote from the other side of the fence: Apple used to ship an app called ResEdit whose sole purpose was for you to hack with your Mac. Change strings, menu shortcuts, images, sounds. I had my own localized and rebranded version of Eudora and many tiny modifications to games. Can you imagine a first party hacking tool like that today from the fruit company?
- tambourine_man 3y agoI just remembered replacing the Netscape “N” comete with my own GIF. How cool was that?
- m4rtink 3y agoI think ots rose tinted glasses to a degree and survivorship bias - the learning curve was very steep, documentation lacking or absent + no one to ask for help. I was glad I could run some games on my C64 and never really got farther with it due to these limitations.
- hnlmorg 3y agoThe old 8bit micros from the c64 era had plenty of documentation. Those computers even shipped the schematics of their hardware, let alone a manual for BASIC. I literally learned to program by reading those manuals
- kminehart 3y agoBut I think the missing ingredient they had back then was there was nothing better to do. Being "bored" isn't as much of a thing anymore for anyone, not just children.