The Amateur

Computerist

October 1 1988 Volume 1 No. 3

Table of Contents

Radio-Electronics Letter. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Page 1

Responding Letters. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Page 2

Election & Computers. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Page 7

Savior in Waiting. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Page 11

Merit Network. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Page 12

Virtual Drives-Batch Files. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Page 14

Try This (IBM & Apple). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Page 16

As I Was Saying. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Page 17

Computers & Free Speech. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Page 19

Letter to Editor. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Page 23

Letter Published in Radio-Electronics

(The following letter appeared in the September, 1988 issue of Radio-

Electronics magazine. Responses from all over the country follow.)

In May 1966, Stephen B. Gray formed the Amateur Computer

Society for people who were interested in building their own computers.

By sharing their experiences and problems, Gray believed that hobbyists

could reduce the frustration and isolation of working on their own to

build a computer. Ned Wadsworth’s Scelbi-8H, Jonathan Titus’ Mark-8,

and Ed Roberts’ Altair 8800 were the practical results of many years of

effort to develop a personal computer.

While personal computers are now readily available, there is an

Webpage: http://www.ais.org/~jrh/acn/

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increasing emphasis on business uses and software appropriate for

businesses. There is a need for support and exchange among non-

business users. To that end, we are announcing the publication of the

first Amateur Computerist newsletter, named in honor of Stephen Gray’s

pioneering interchange.

We want to encourage amateur computer users to write and share

what they are doing with their computers – their successes and achieve-

ments, and their problems. We will try to support and encourage amateur

use of computers, and to facilitate communication between users.

We recognize the important role Radio-Electronics has played in

the history of the personal computer, by publishing Jonathan Titus’

Mark-8 in July 1974. (Editor’s Note: H. Edward Roberts, M.D., author

of the Radio-Electronics “Advanced Control System” series, is the same

Ed Roberts of Altair 8800 fame.) We’re sure that many Radio-Electron-

ics readers will be interested in the Amateur Computerist newsletter, and

we hope they will write to us giving details of how they are using their

computers; what uses they are most proud of, which programs are most

useful, problems they encountered, and programs they’ve created.

Ronda Hauben

RESPONSES FROM AROUND

THE COUNTRY

Please send more info your newsletter per letters column Radio-

Electronics Sept issue.

I was one of original members Gray’s Society and stayed to the end.

Wish I had saved all issues and many of crazy things I put together.

W. E. Young Jr.

Phoenix, AZ

Page 2

Being a Coco owner for several years I have learned the very

limited software and other coverage given to it by magazines (such as

Radio-Electronics, et al.).

On the other hand, the Amateur Computerist letter written in the

September 1988 issue sounds very interesting. It sounds like something

my speed. Therefore, please send details.

Scott McMahan

Asheville, NC

Read your piece in Radio-Electronics and you can count me in as

a member. Please send the details and cost of the newsletter and I will

remit. It is about time something such as this got started. I have a

number of fine ideas, however I do not have the technical know how to

bring them off. Perhaps through this organization I can realize a

completion of same.

For the records I have the following equipment: AT&T 6300, Plus

Development 20 mg hard card, 2 floppy 5.25 drives, AT&T color

monitor, Citoh 8510 printer, Sysdyne modem, 3.1 MS/DOS, 640 KB

RAM. The other equipment is a S-100 bus system: Seattle Computer

8086 with 256 KB static RAM, 22 slot motherboard, 2 Qume 8" drives,

Televideo monitor, and an Anadex printer (this computer I bought

around 1980 and shows how long static RAM has been around).

Very truly yours,

R. S. Nieto

Metairie, LA

I’ve enjoyed the letter you wrote in the August issue of Radio-

Electronics. I found the letter to be informative and inspirational. I’m

writing in regards to submitting information in using the computer as a

control device/engineering tool. I would like to know how I can receive

your newsletter as well as submit information to your newsletter on the

above items mentioned.

If you have any information on article submission, it will be greatly

appreciated.

Thank You

Donald Wilcher

Page 3

Oak Park, MI

(Editor’s comment: We need all the inspiration we can get!)

I was very interested when I saw your letter in the September 1988

issue of Radio-Electronics. I’ve been involved in electronics as a hobby

for the past ten years with computers being one of my two areas of

interest. I started working on a design for a computer, but the project

came to a halt when I was able to buy one. However, recently I regained

interest. And the computer I now own (a CoCo 3) is becoming a bore

since technical information is scarce on it. Plus, it would be much more

enjoyable to use a system I built from the ground up and know inside

and out. My main interest in computers is for scientific use and

experimentation. And when I read the newsletter was for non-business

users, I was excited. At the moment, one main limitation I have is

programming in machine language. I understand it, but putting it to work

is still a challenge.

One area in computers that I would like to explore is parallel

processing or super-computers. I do not have much information in this

area, but it could be a new and exciting frontier. I would especially like

to share information with anyone else interested in this area. Again,

thank you for your attention.

Steve Bouton

Cairo, GA

(Editor’s comment: We would like to invite someone to submit a series

of articles helping readers to use machine language.)

I would be interested in receiving your Amateur Computerist news-

letter as described in Radio-Electronics. I had a home brew computer

running in 1977 on the bare boards sold by Ohio Scientific. That

computer is still operating, but all the people I used to correspond with

have moved to newer machines. I also have a PC clone, but still love the

old 6502 machine since I personally soldered every joint in the beast.

Earl Morris

Midland, MI

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I read your letter in the Sept. ‘88 issue of Radio-Electronics, and I

wonder if you or your readers can help me. You see, I own and operate

a small electronics repair shop, and business is steadily increasing.

That’s good. The paper work is also increasing. That’s Bad.

I’ve been following Peter Stark’s series in Radio-Electronics on

building a computer. I’m seriously considering building it for my busi-

ness and other personal applications. There’s only one little problem. I

know Absolutely Nothing about the use or operation of any computer.

There must be someone, somewhere that can help.

Mr. Stark’s computer is the PT-68K2. The CPU is a Motorola

MC68000. It runs on SK-DOS. Is there a textbook or software that will

run on this system, and teach me how to use this computer? Any help

will be greatly appreciated.

Thank You!

Paul Nowack

Buffalo, Minn

(Editor response: It might be a good idea to try to write to Peter Stark

and ask him for information on using his computer. It’s helpful to begin

using some computer, to begin to see what uses you can make of it. It

has been particularly helpful for some of us to learn a little programming

in a computer language like BASIC. (see series on programming in C

and BASIC in second issue.) to be able to see what kind of use you can

make of a computer. I’ve found that I can make up simple programs to

do mailings, keep records, etc. Also, though word processing programs

are very helpful. It may be you would want to buy a computer like an

IBM compatible to begin to see what uses you may have for one.)

I was very happy to read your letter in the September Radio-

Electronics magazine. As one who is allergic to business and fascinated

by theoretical physics, mathematics, and signal processing/analysis, I

would be delighted to receive a newsletter that doesn’t hide the juicy

tidbits among a deluge of ads and reviews of products that do not

interest me. Unlike, say, Byte magazine which has occasional articles of

interest to me, but is so fat with ads for fancy spreadsheets and laptops

Page 5

for traveling salesmen, blah. I usually tear out the good four or five

pages and throw the rest away.

My interests are varied and wide-ranging, but within computing

include digging into machine code, large-scale calculations (typically of

quantum-mechanical models) and fiddling with educational graphics

programs. I would like to design colorful, fun programs that teach the

main ideas of quantum theory. How about a video game based on

particle-hole excitations of atomic nuclei? But partly out of laziness, and

partly out of being busy with other things, I haven’t really gotten

anywhere with that.

Another project, that I have gotten somewhat further with is an

audio signal analyzer, based on a multi-Z80 system I’m pretending to

design, which would, if only I would get around to it, produce a real-

time spectrum of any audio signal fed into it. Not original, but I find it

educational and exciting to do as a hobby.

I once toyed with the idea of building a stereoscopic 3-D display

from an old oscilloscope and a homemade Z80 system, but that never

got off the ground. I was very, very busy with graduate school at the

time.

Besides these fun hobbies, I also use computers professionally.

Currently I am writing software at the Henry Ford Hospital for display-

ing 3-D CAT scan images. Last year, I was at the Stanford Linear

Accelerator Center helping them calibrate and test their beam position

monitors, so that the U.S. will remain the leader in high energy particle

physics. Not exactly a common hobby!

So, you see, I’ve done and plan to do all sorts of scientific and

mathematical projects with computers, and that includes building my

own homebrew systems. I will have to save for later more detailed

descriptions of my projects and the problems I’m having (mostly a lack

of time or space), but I certainly want to be on your mailing list!

Daren S. Wilson

Union Lake, MI

(Editor’s note: More responses will appear in the next issue. Keep your

letters and articles coming.)

Page 6

Editorial

Upcoming Election & Computers

Elsewhere in this issue is a letter to the editor that was printed in the

September issue of Radio-Electronics and a few of the many letters and

inquiries received in response to it. The stream of letters from all over

the country inquiring about The Amateur Computerist shows that the

amateur technology movement which gave birth to the personal

computer by 1974 is still very much alive in the U.S.

The personal computer represents a tremendous technological leap.

In the next issue we begin serializing a history of computers showing

how the personal computer is the product of at least 400 years of effort

by many people to create a computer. And many feel the computer will

bring a new industrial revolution much more significant than that of the

1800's.

But what is actually happening? The automotive industry utilizes

some of the most advanced technology in a given country. The connec-

tion of computers with machinery on the shop floor represents a

significant necessary technological leap. But that connection seems

stymied in the U.S. at the current moment. Why?

U.S. companies traditionally are reluctant to invest capital in new

technology. But in 1976-9 the UAW won a reduction in the workweek

in their contracts, in the form of paid personal days. This provided the

stimulus for auto companies to invest over $80 billion in new machinery

by the end of 1983*, and was a step forward for U.S. industry. Now

companies have again extended working hours.

Productivity is a word being bandied about a lot these days.

Productivity refers to the efficiency of the productive process, the

quantity of output produced per employee-hour of expended labor. The

highest productivity is achieved when a commodity is produced with the

least labor possible. That requires the most modern machinery, tools,

equipment, etc. If a factory with older machinery requires 40 employee-

hours of labor to assemble an automobile, a modern “state-of-the-art”

Page 7

factory can assemble a car using only 29 hours labor time. This second

factory represents increased productivity.** No matter how efficient the

workers are in the first factory, the productivity of that factory will lag

the productivity of the newer one.

But the auto companies are reluctant to put advanced technology

into their factories because that requires capital investment. Alfred Sloan

Jr., President of GM in the 1930's (workers at GM nicknamed him

‘Papa’ Sloan), gave a speech to the Economic Club of Detroit in 1943.

In that speech he explained that U.S. management must be cautious

about putting stockholder capital into new technology. Instead he

proposed improving the efficiency of management’s ability to get more

labor out of people. To do this he proposed management research into

diverse methods of wage distribution, labor relations and personnel

psychology.

The result is that U.S. industry is now a flood with “partnership,”

“labor-management cooperation,” “training,” “human resource develop-

ment,” etc. Also, instead of wage increases, workers are faced with

“two-tier wage scales,” “profit sharing,” “bonuses,” etc. But all of these

are efforts to lower wages and get workers to do more intense work for

longer hours.

When the same program of bonuses (called “the Scanlon Plan” or

“the My Jobs Contest,” etc.) was attempted after WW II, the economy

was sent into a tailspin. The lower the wages of workers and the longer

the hours they worked, the less incentive there was for a corporation to

part with its “profits” and invest in new technology. Productive capacity

contracted and shortages developed, further constricting capacity.

By 1947, factories in Flint, Detroit, etc. were forced to shut down

for a day at a time because there was a fuel oil shortage. GM had to

restrict production of cars because it couldn’t get enough steel, as steel

capacity had been cut back. Prices of scarce goods were fueling

inflation. The result was that both the U.S. Congress and the Michigan

legislature tried to fashion anti-inflation legislation. Newspaper reporters

tried to figure out the cause of the shortages, etc. Thus, ‘Papa’ Sloan’s

program demonstrated it could only worsen economic conditions.

UAW workers in Flint, however, solved the problem. They went on

the radio, put out a press release, wrote articles in their local trade union

Page 8

newspapers, etc. calling for a Cost of Living Escalator Clause (COLA)

in their upcoming contract. Officials of the UAW International Union

opposed them, accusing the Flint workers of anti-union activity. And

GM management was opposed to the COLA, as well. But the Flint auto

workers prevailed. COLA and the Annual Improvement Factor (an

annual percentage wage increase, e.g. of 3% called the AIF) were

introduced into the GM-UAW contract in May 1948. That meant GM

was required to maintain a level of wages that provided a continual

inducement for it to invest in new technology. And based on that gain,

other labor management rules were established like arbitration proce-

dures, bidding rights, etc. These rules provided GM and auto workers

with a firm foundation for technological development.

Workers, during the 1940's, had access to their trade union

newspapers where they could print their criticism of management and

of ‘apple polishing’ workers. These comments were printed in a section

called “Shop News,” etc. Thus, there was pressure on GM “to clean up

its act,” so to speak, and for management and union leaders to correct

glaring abuses.

What does all this have to do with the personal computer and the

elections? Instead of any debate over technology and the computer, all

we hear from both the Republican and the Democratic Parties is that

management has to have a free hand to “be more competitive,” i.e. to cut

back worker wages and restrict worker rights. This, we are being told,

will provide “Jobs.” We are hearing the program Sloan presented to the

Economic Club of Detroit for “Postwar Jobs” in 1943, as the panacea for

today. But “Jobs” at low wages, with long hours, and under conditions

of psychological manipulation, not only harm workers, but also are a

disincentive for technological investment. Thus, we hear that it’s no

longer a question of productivity, meaning new technology, but of

“individual productivity,” meaning speed-up.

Also, tariff legislation is being promoted to keep prices artificially

high, and to cut back on the supply of needed new technology like

computer chips. And in general, computer education and computer

technology are to be only at the initiative of big corporations; and kept

out of the hands of amateurs and workers.

But this is not a way to develop technology, not a way to solve the

Page 9

problems of using computers on the shop floor. We need a debate over

the current dilemmas facing our society, not censorship and restriction

of the voice of workers or of amateurs and hobbyists. It is not the

“workerless factory” (GM President Roger Smith’s dream) or the

“workerless State” (Michigan Governor James Blanchard’s dream) that

will solve the problems of technological advancement. Computers need

people who can operate them and, more importantly, people who can

program them and thus understand their limitations and strengths, and

debug their mistakes. The development of computer technology cannot

be left in the hands of management alone. It needs to be in the hands of

workers, of amateurs, of hobbyists. That means there needs to be

discussion, debate and education on all issues concerning technology,

and discussion and debate which welcomes the voice of workers, small

business people, farmers, amateur computerists, hobbyists, etc. To this

end the Amateur Computerist is dedicated.

(*See E.E. Wise “New Technology & Labor-Management Relations at

Ford Motor Co.,” Labor Law Journal, Aug. 1985, p. 574.)

(** See Albert Lee, Call Me Roger, N.Y., 1988, p. 239.)

Page 10

SAVIOR IN WAITING

(The Computer – A Human Extension)

by Floyd Hoke-Miller

The Big Machine

The Big Brave Brain

Standing side by side

In stony silence,

Lifeless,

Soulless,

Loveless;

There in a positive

Slave-like stature,

Waiting to be fed

Something they

Can never have,

Nor ever had,

Intuition,

Food,

By the hand of the human

Who created them,

Inspiration

For action!

Waiting the human touch

Of manipulation,

Of programming,

To act upon

That they might

Perform the duty

That becomes

Their presence

Of being.

They are both one,

The extension

Of human capacitation

(from The Searchlight, 6/12/87)

Page 11

How to Use the Merit Network?

by Michael Hauben

(Editor’s note: This article was written to tell Detroit area residents how

to call Ann Arbor BBS’s without having to pay a zone charge. For

computer users outside of the Detroit area, they can use PC Pursuit to

call Detroit to connect to the MERIT network.)

Introduction

Would you like to be able to call Ann Arbor and the surrounding

area, while only being charged for a local call? If so, I have the solution!

If you like to call in and around Ann Arbor then this will save you

money! (There is one catch though. You will only be able to call Ann

Arbor locally if you will be using your computer to connect to another

computer.)

Overview of Steps

To start off you have to load a telecommunications program into

your computer. Next you call a Merit number that is local to you. Once

you are on Merit, you connect to the dial-out modems. Finally you can

dial the number you want by using the AT command set.

Materials Required

A computer, modem, telecommunications software, a phone line,

and a number for dialing a modem local to you for Merit.

Cautions

Sometimes the dial-out modems don’t work! So don’t get frus-

trated!

Definition of Terms

Modem – An acronym for MOdulate-DEModulate. This is a device

which lets computers communicate over phone lines.

Merit – A network of the educational computers in Michigan.

Telecommunications program – A program which runs on your

computer which lets you use the phone lines to connect to another

computer.

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Network – The linking up of computers.

Dial-out modems – These are modems which when you connect to

them, let you use them to dial out of the network.

Step One: Setting UP

A. Boot your computer with your system disk.

B. Turn your modem on and check to see if it’s connected to your

computer and phone line.

C. Run your telecommunications program.

Step Two: Connecting

A. Call your local Merit number, with your telecommunications program

set at 300 or 1200 baud (there are a few 2400 baud numbers), 7 data bits,

even parity, 1 stop bit (7, E, 1) and full duplex.

B. At the “%Terminal=” prompt, either press return or enter your

terminal (emulation) type.

C. At the “Which host?” prompt, type “DIALOUT-AA” to connect to

the dialout modems.

D. Hit return two or more times.

Step Three: Dialing

A. After “Ok,” type “ATSMCSLCC0D9 ###-####”; (###-#### is the

phone number.) If the number is busy, or if it doesn’t answer, then type

“D” or “R” and return to redial until you’re connected!

Step Four: Quitting

A. Send a <BREAK> character.

B. Type “%QUIT.”

C. At the “Which host?” prompt type “Q” to disconnect from Merit.

D. Exit your telecommunications program.

E. Shut your computer and modem off.

Telephone numbers to dial MERIT:

300/1200 (313)593-5059,(313)577-0335 2400 (313)577-0321

Some BBS’s you can call using MERIT:

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M-Net 994-6333

300/1200/2400 baud

Beyond Reality 995-0754

300/1200/2400 baud

Kite-Net 663-6201

300/1200 baud

DMD HQ 420-4624

300/1200/2400 baud

Other services available from MERIT are connections into CompuServe,

The Source, PC-MAGNET (PC Magazine’s new electronic service) and

the NSFSCN (National Science Foundation SuperComputer Network).

VIRTUAL DRIVES & BATCH FILES

Using DOS 3.x

WHAT IS A VIRTUAL DRIVE?

It is a simulated disk drive in RAM. Virtual drives (or VDISKS) are

very fast, but they use up memory, and all the information on the

VDISK is lost on ‘shut-down’ or reboot. It is necessary to move any

files generated and saved on the VDISK to a floppy or hard disk before

‘shut-down’ or reset. VDISKs are especially good for running overlays

or programs that are disk drive interactive. They are also very good for

storing frequently used programs and batch files to be used during a

work session. This article assumes no hard disk is being used.

THE VDISK.SYS COMMAND

(Ed. Note: In DOS 3.3 VDISK.SYS is called RAMDRIVE.SYS. Check

your manual to see the syntax for RAMDRIVE.SYS)

The format for the VDISK command is:

DEVICE=[d:][path] VDISK.SYS [bbb] [sss] [ddd] [/E[:m]]

where d = drive; path = directory path where VDISK.SYS is located;

bbb = the desired storage capacity (in KB) of the virtual disk (default is

Page 14

64); sss = sector size in bytes (default is 128, larger sizes 256 & 512 are

faster but memory is used); ddd = max. no. of directory entries (default

is 64, but can use 2 to 512, one is used for the virtual disk label); /E:m

= for use with extended memory.

HOW TO CREATE A VIRTUAL DRIVE

Create a CONFIG.SYS file like the following:

CONFIG.SYS

device = VDISK.SYS 128 128 16

buffers = 10

files = 20

Line 1 – creates a virtual drive of 128 KB with 128 byte sector size and

a capability to handle 16 files.

Line 2 – the number of buffers at 10 is for a PC XT with no hard drive -

use 20 if a hard drive is part of your system.

Line 3 – 20 files can be opened at once (default is 8).

CREATE A BOOT DISK

Format a blank disk with the /S (to copy system files) and the /V (to

create a volume name) option. Name the disk as you see fit, mine is

VDISK_128_K. Copy the following:

COMMAND.COM

CONFIG.SYS (one created above)

PRINT.COM (an example only)

AUTOEXEC.BAT (see below)

VDISK.SYS (from your DOS disk)

CREATE AN AUTOEXEC.BAT

Make an AUTOEXEC.BAT file that contains the commands that

follow:

AUTOEXEC.BAT

echo off

copy print.com c:

path c:\;a:;b:

prompt $p$_yes, Master $

Page 15

cls

CREDITS

Reference book: The Power of PC/DOS by Seichert & Wood. It works

on my unit with two 360 floppies and PC/DOS 3.1 (no hard drive).

TRY THIS

(BASICA or GW-BASIC program for IBM)

5 CLS: KEY OFF

10 PRINT "This is an example of the equation of a straight

line"

15 PRINT

16 PRINT TAB(15);"Y = .5X - 20"

17 PRINT

20 INPUT "Do you want to see a table of values or a graph

(G/T)";A$

30 IF A$="t" OR A$="T" THEN A=1

40 IF A$="g" OR A$="G" THEN A=2

50 ON A GOTO 100, 200

100 CLS

110 PRINT TAB(5);"X";TAB(10);"Y"

120 FOR X = 1 TO 22

130 PRINT TAB(4);X;TAB(8);.5 * X -20

140 NEXT X

150 INPUT "Do you want to see a graph (Y/N)";B$

160 IF B$<>"y" OR B$<>"Y" THEN END

200 SCREEN 2

210 LINE (0,0) - (0,199)

215 LINE (0,100) - (639,100)

220 FOR X = 0 TO 639

230 Y = .5 * X - 20

240 PSET (X,100-Y)

250 NEXT X

Here is an Apple version:

5 HOME

Page 16

10 PRINT "This is an example of the equation of a straight

line"

15 PRINT

16 PRINT TAB(15);"Y = .5X - 20"

20 PRINT

30 INPUT "Do you want to see a table of values or a graph

(T/G)?";A$

30 IF A$="t" OR A$="T" THEN A=1

40 IF A$="g" OR A$="G" THEN A=2

50 ON A GOTO 100, 200

100 HOME

110 PRINT TAB(5);"X";tab(10);"y"

120 FOR X=1 TO 22

130 PRINT TAB(4);X;TAB(8);.5*X-20

140 NEXT X

150 INPUT "Do you want to see a graph (Y/N)?";B$

160 IF B$<>"y" OR B$<>"Y" THEN END

200 HGR : HCOLOR = 3

210 HPLOT 0,0 TO 0,159

215 HPLOT 0,80 TO 279,80

220 FOR X = 0 TO 279

230 Y = .5 * X - 20

240 HPLOT X,80 - Y

250 NEXT X

AS I WAS SAYING...

by Floyd Hoke-Miller

Quite often today, I hear workers say, “Why computerism? Will the

coming of computers and robots be for us a blessing or a horror?” I can

understand the question. With all the new machinery and modern

technology continually introduced at the work place, we are still

working the same hour-quotient that our grandfathers and great-

grandfathers first established in 1916. That’s when railroad workers won

eight hours as their regular work day. We were not able, as industrial

workers, to wrest that concession (or perhaps it should be said that

rightful grant), until the historical and momentous seizure of ‘Chevy

Plant Four’ by our group of mixed classifications, auto workers all. We

Page 17

were the human element in production and were done being treated as

‘hired, fired, fixed, and foiled factory fixtures.’ Our Sit-Down Strike

success set off a wave of sit-downs that ended our treatment entirely by

whim and eventually established eight hours as the standard work day

for all American labor. Since eight or even ten hours per day is still

standard today, can’t we ask what good has been done for us by all the

advances in machinery and technology since WW II?

The question is well and propitiously posited and should be repeated

more often. The answer must be sought in the remedy of more equal

justice and a wider spread of the ‘good things of life’ that the new ‘Hi-

Tech’ leverage can bring to human kind. It is indeed time and over time

that, to the “gentleman’s agreement” of 1937, a supplement be added

that guarantees to labor it’s share of the gain via a shorter work day and

a “pass the profits please” organized labor-management treaty.

What is computerism? It began in the “Beginning.” We came into

the sphere known as life with the questions of why and how. To make

life successful and better, work had to be done. The more machines and

inventions could do that work the better it could be for all. But not just

machines to do muscle work. Why not machines to do mental work? But

there is still the problem today. After all these years of the Industrial

Revolution, and with us now at the beginning of the Cybernetic

Revolution, we must revert to the cry credited to Pilate, “What is the

Truth?” Will we ever benefit from any progress? That will come but it

will take the solidarity of a ‘one for all and all for one’ type of organized

effort by the working class as a whole.

Whither computerism? That is a quandary that deserves more

attention than it has been getting. Will the direction be governed by

commercialism, understood in the light of the profit motive and

individual advancement; or by amateurism, viewed as a labor of love?

Computerism really should, by all sense of logic, be in the same realm

that such basics as Truth, Love and Justice should be. They all belong

intrinsically to the Public Domain.

So far the “big machine” has often meant, for workers, big trouble.

Now the “big brain,” what will it mean for Us? To quote Isaiah, an

ancient Jewish sage, “come let us reason together” so that the cybernetic

future will not be our enemy. We must take steps now. In other words,

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let us use our heads in addition to our hands, working and studying one

with another, such that a suitable answer can be found in a democratic

fashion.

We must remember that, by itself, advancement in our present

society has a concentrating effect on the minority of humanity. That is

our challenge, for us to share in the future, or even to shape the future

for ourselves. It is a blessing, ‘Hi-Tech’ progress, but we will only

benefit from it if we shorten the hours required daily of our labor. The

boss is not our buddy. We must force this from him. To work, then, my

friends. Let us fan the frail, flickering flame into a forest fire for the

future.

COMPUTERS AND FREE SPEECH

by Michael Hauben

Should there be unlimited freedom of speech? Should the Supreme

Court or any other federal court have the right to censor? Does EVERY-

BODY have freedom of speech? These are some of the questions based

on freedom of speech. When Hitler came to power in Germany, he

limited freedom of speech by ending constitutional law. When the

Chairman of the opposing party made a passionate plea, Hitler said,

“Late you come, but still you come...during the time we were in the

opposition...in those days our press was forbidden and forbidden and

again forbidden, our meetings were forbidden and we were forbidden to

speak, and I was forbidden to speak, for years on end. And now you say:

criticism is salutary!”

For our society, freedom of speech is part of the Bill of Rights of

our Constitution. Many of the states that ratified the Constitution did so

with an understanding that a Bill of Rights restricting the power of the

federal government would be adopted. Patrick Henry was one of the

many to demand the Bill of Rights. He argued successfully for the Bill.

The different freedoms, including freedom of speech, protected by the

Bill of Rights have been and still will be defined through various cases

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brought up in federal courts.

The concept of freedom of speech has a long history. It expanded

to speech on paper in the 15

Century when Johannes Gutenberg

invented moveable type in Europe. Books that were cheap and common

replaced the valuable, rare manuscripts immediately after the press was

introduced. Information could now be delivered to all who could read,

instead of only to those within earshot of a speaker. In England, the

governing body thought the power of the printing press dangerous

enough to assign a censor. That censorship was shut down by Parliament

and then reinstalled after a flood of licentious and seditious literature

came out of the mighty presses. Many of these new uncensored books

were politically or theologically based.

John Milton, a 36 year old poet and a classical scholar of known

reputation, published on his own and without a license in the 17

Century, an answer to the Parliament’s censoring of printed materials.

He called it Areopagitica. In it he says “First, the decision of a censor

cannot be trusted unless the censor is infallible and beyond corruption.

No mortal possesses such grace; therefore no mortal is qualified to be a

censor. Second, since anything may tend to evil if misused, an effective

system of censorship will end up suppressing everything even music,

dancing, windows, balconies, eating, drinking, clothes and ‘the mix

conversation of our youth, male and female together.’ Third, if a scheme

for issuing licenses be instituted, what does one do with books already

printed and in circulation? Fourth, the job of censor is so dull and

unsatisfactory that no able person will want it.”

In the five parts of Milton’s text, he talks about the types of people

for whom he is writing this book. The main type, the humanist, is

devoted to the debate and the discussion of things like freedom of

speech. He was the man of learning that Milton had in mind. Milton

knew that the person who talks about freedom of speech requires

freedom of speech.

Freedom of speech has been a topic widely debated around the

world on university campuses. For example, in 1964 on the Berkeley

Campus of the University of California, there developed the Free Speech

Movement which was a forerunner of the student-based civil rights and

anti-war movements that were active for the next ten years. From

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Berkeley came several leaders for the up and coming computer Home-

brew movement which was the beginning of all personal computers we

know today. In the last two years, there have been student revolts against

the political system in China and France.

Freedom of speech is still freedom of speech even for bad causes.

In North Carolina, and several other states, one can pay $5.00 for an

“open sesame” password onto the Aryan National Liberty Net, an

electronic Bulletin Board. It contains the latest in neo-Nazi thought

offering sections entitled “Know your Enemies,” “ZOG Informers” and

“Patriotic Groups.” One of the main concerns is that of kids who like to

hack into closed computer bulletin boards. They are the most vulnerable

to this type of hate propaganda.

An important vehicle in the fight for free speech is the personal

computer. The personal computer can be a facilitator of free speech

because it is an information machine. It grew out of the supporters of the

anti-war movement who wanted a personal computer for the masses. At

the time, the computers available were the mainframes made by IBM

and other big manufacturers, affordable to only huge companies and the

government, and the mini-computers manufactured by DEC (Digital

Equipment Corporation) and others. The minicomputers were more of

a people computer because universities could afford them and make

them available to students.

Many clubs formed that had people interested in a people’s

computer. California’s Homebrew Club was one of the famous ones.

Many important founders of the personal computer blossomed in the

Homebrew Club. The first couple of real personal computers were made

exclusive, because the manufacturers wanted to make profit from them.

The hackers soon defeated the exclusive rights that these manufacturers

wanted. They figured out and standardized different aspects of the

machines to fit the hacker ethic, which stated everything should be in

public domain so that people could learn something from, be able to

benefit from, and finally be able to enhance it. As a result of these

pioneers, IBM was forced, when it entered the personal computer

market, to conform to the pioneers and to make an open, public machine.

IBM of all companies! IBM was the Godfather of the Mainframes.

These pioneers achieved a victory for free speech!

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In 1987, on the campus of the University of Michigan (Ann Arbor),

free speech was again brought into question. On an electronic bulletin

board available to the University community, a file of ethnic, racial and

other jokes offensive to specific groups was made available by certain

students. The file kindled the fire of debate on freedom of speech and

computer propriety. After the student who started the file, was pressured

to close it, more debate flourished. Some students started files with

page-long essays on the evils of bigotry, while others started new joke

files. So some students answered the discontinued joke file, while others

restarted it. Now that’s definitely freedom of speech!

Even more debates have been started about whether to limit what

people can say by computer, whether bad jokes should be allowed as a

category. “Some schools such as Dartmouth and Carnegie-Mellon have

imposed a code of ethics for students using their computers, with

violators facing removal from the system. Dartmouth specifically

prohibits offensive material in a code that warns: ‘Obscenities should

not be sent by computer nor stored where they could offend other

users’.”

Supporters of the joke file say that no one was forced to read

the file and that they had to go out of their way to read it. Isn’t there

always a temptation though? Robert Parnes, programmer of the software

used for the electronic bulletin board, said that he thought that the

students would try to test the bounds of decency.

Our world would have to be made better to have unlimited freedom

of speech. Most people in the world who have a type of Bill of Rights

have some protection of their freedom of speech. As Barbara Amiel

writes in her article “Censoring One, Censoring All,” “You either have

free speech for everybody or you do not have free speech,”

you have to

have unlimited freedom of speech or you are discriminating against a

viewpoint. The result of unlimited freedom of speech is that if someone

exercises their freedom and expresses their viewpoint on a matter, a

person of an opposing viewpoint would be able to answer the first

person’s work. This way everyone could hear all sides on that matter and

make up their own minds on what they agree with.

Notes

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1. Barbara Amiel, Censoring One, Censoring All, MacLean’s, April 15, 1985, p 11.

2. Irving Younger, “What Good Is Freedom of Speech?,” Commentary, vol 79, Jan.

‘85, pp. 45 - 46.

3. Isabel Wilkerson, “Ethnic Jokes in Campus Prompt Debate,” New York Times, April

18, 1987, Sec 7, p. 6.

4. Barbara Amiel.

Letter To The Editor

July, 1988

Dear Editor,

It is rare indeed that a publication prints clear statements of

opposing points of view. Your first issue dedicates you to making

computers and computer knowledge available to all people, especially

the workers who will use computers in their work. You wrote, “...to deal

with the problem of automation, it is necessary for people to be familiar

with computers, to use them and to know their capabilities and limita-

tions.” In your second issue, however, you print a letter from a friend

who argues the opposite position. He writes, “I do believe that comput-

ers are not a mass media.” I would like to enter this debate.

Your letter writer suggests since big companies are motivated by

profit, these companies will develop computers. But what kind of

computers? The history of computers shows that IBM, DEC, etc. were

motivated to make profits. In the ‘50's and ‘60's, they saw it in their

interest to make large expensive computers, the sale of only a few,

bringing them large profits. Those engineers working for these

companies, like David Ahl, who had visions of smaller school and home

computers, had to organize and work outside of the big companies in

order to give any hope to their dreams. And this trend is constant.

Inexpensive computers, affordable by many people, are always

disappearing. Witness, for example, the Timex 2068 or Commodore 64.

Instead, all corporate innovation is going into top of the line 80386 and

68020 and soon 80486 and 68030 machines. When was the last time a

new computer was introduced to sell for around $200? Surely the

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technology and market exist for such a machine but not the capital to

mass produce it. But also, education in computer programming is

already being cut back. In the Detroit area public schools, programming

classes are rarely given any more. Spreadsheet and wordprocessor

training is all that is now offered for the majority of the people. Hourly

workers especially see detailed knowledge of computers as a must for

the work world of the near future. But the Wall Street Journal (8/11/88,

p. 1) reports that, “Five years ago, ...Michigan decided that its economic

salvation lie in manufacturing, not in turning its factory workers into

computer programmers....” That says to me the employers are afraid

workers will, as your letter writer wrote, “create chaos” with such know-

ledge. But armed with programming knowledge, wouldn’t workers make

possible the successful introduction of computer controlled processes

onto the shop floor? Such workers would then be able to catch and

correct the inevitable errors that management and engineers distant from

the shop floor will make. Remember, computers are very fast at what

they do. Without quick intervention, a computer error can produce a lot

of garbage in a short time. That’s what General Motors found out when

it made the mistake of thinking robots will make possible a “workerless

factory.”

Hasn’t this same debate run throughout history? Those who hold the

power always argue there are special reasons why only they should have

knowledge, while those without power strive to gain more knowledge.

I believe it is fortunate for progress that there are hackers and hobbyists

who go on innovating and experimenting and there are workers, like

your staff, who are learning and spreading computer knowledge.

Let me ask your letter writer, where would radio be if it weren’t for

the amateur and ham radio operators in the first quarter of this century?

I think history shows it will be the same with the marriage of personal

computers and robots in the modern factories. This is a development our

society is pregnant with. It could greatly cut down the number of hours

necessary for each worker to work. But it is being opposed by the

corporate planners who see profit increases from stretching hours and

lowering wages. So again it will have to be science fair entrants,

hackers, hobbyists, tinkers and ‘amateur thinkers’ who will force the

necessary breakthroughs onto the corporations. That’s why I welcome

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the Amateur Computerist and hope your pages stay open for this crucial

debate.

J. Hauben

(Editors’ note: Last issue we promised that we would answer the

“Letter To The Editor” in the next issue. Since a reader submitted the

above, we decided to put off our response again until the following

issue. But we welcome other readers to enter the debate.)

EDITORIAL STAFF

Ronda Hauben

William Rohler

Norman O. Thompson

Technical Editor

Michael Hauben

The Amateur Computerist invites contribution of articles, programs, etc.

Send submissions to: R. Hauben, P.O. Box 4344, Dearborn, Mi. 48126.

Articles can be submitted on paper or disk in ASCII format, (IBM or

Commodore.)

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EDITORIAL STAFF

Ronda Hauben

William Rohler

Norman O. Thompson

Michael Hauben (1973-2001)

Jay Hauben

The Amateur Computerist invites submissions.

Articles can be submitted via e-mail:

[email protected]

Permission is given to reprint articles from this issue in a

non profit publication provided credit is given, with name

of author and source of article cited.

The opinions expressed in articles are those of their

authors and not necessarily the opinions of the

Amateur Computerist newsletter. We welcome sub-

missions from a spectrum of viewpoints.

ELECTRONIC EDITION

ACN Webpage:

http://www.ais.org/~jrh/acn/

All issues of the Amateur Computerist are on-line.

Back issues of the Amateur Computerist are available at:

http://www.ais.org/~jrh/acn/Back_Issues/

All issues can be accessed from the Index at:

http://www.ais.org/~jrh/acn/NewIndex.pdf

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