The Amateur
Computerist
Winter 1991 Volume 3 No. 4
Table OF Contents
Hats Off To Patriot. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Page 1
Amateurs Needed More Than Ever. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Page 2
CoCo Corner.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Page 4
Bringing Automation Home. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Page 6
BBS Discussion On The War. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Page 9
Computers for the People. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Page 21
Opposing Views On The War
And Technology
Hats Off to Patriot
To the editor,
Regardless of your position on the conflict in the Persian Gulf, I
believe it is important to note the effectiveness of the Patriot Missile
Defense System. This remarkable piece of American technology has
saved numerous lives in Saudi Arabia and Israel by its ability to destroy
Iraqi SCUD missiles before they reach their targets. Perhaps more
significant, the Patriot system has possible saved countless other lives
by averting retaliation on Iraq from Israel. I believe this is a vivid
example of the role that engineering has in our society.
As an engineer and former auto worker, I have been sensitive to the
many claims that American engineering is “second rate” and the source
Webpage: http://www.ais.org/~jrh/acn/
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of inferior technology. The Patriot system is an example that should
counter those claims.
Moreover, the success of the Patriot is a reason to reconsider our
nation’s Strategic Defense Initiative (“Star Wars”). We should take a
close look at developing advanced technology and cultivation people
with advanced skills to counter threats like the ones we are seeing today.
Hats off to the men and women of Raytheon, developers of the
Patriot, for a job well done.
Dr. Paul J. Eagle
Assistant Professor
College of Engineering
(Reprinted from Varsity News, Jan. 30, 1991, page 6, University of
Detroit.)
Amateurs Are Needed
More Than Ever
Dear Editor,
The war against Iraq calls into question the purpose of the Amateur
Computerist newsletter. The war has been proclaimed as the war of
“smart” weapons. “Smart” meaning computer controlled and guided.
Because of complete control of access to information about the use and
success of these weapons, a great victory has been claimed for them.
These weapons have been developed by professionals. Their
proclaimed overwhelming success would suggest that amateur comput-
ing is no longer needed. It seems like professional computing can
accomplish with near 100% efficiency any task set for it. Also, since this
success was achieved via secrecy, the principle of open access and
public domain would appear to be obsolete. Therefore, if you believe
what is being said about the “smart” weapons and in general about the
great victory they have won, you should agree the Amateur Computerist
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is no longer needed or wanted.
But...should you believe what is being said about the “smart”
weapons? Those who developed and produced these weapons also
developed and deployed the shuttle Challenger and the Hubble tele-
scope. With the first introduction of a new computer product there are
always bugs to get out, unexpected results, and many trips back to the
dealer until the product can produce the desired result. In fact, isn’t this
war partially a beta-testing of these new “smart” weapons and establish-
ing them as battle tested so they can sell better?
Secrecy and single source of information has never conveyed a
picture that has held up when other sources of information become
available. National Public Radio, while whole-heartedly conveying the
censored news given it by the military and participating in its own self
censorship about anti-war demonstrations, nevertheless suggested that
the near 100% efficiency claimed for smart weapons used against Iraq
is probably more like 60%. The British press reported a 50% success
rate. It is also being acknowledged that some Patriot missiles misfired
and one out of every three U.S. anti-tank launchers misfired at least
occasionally.
The first premise of the Amateur Computerist is that amateurs have
been and remain essential to the development of computers and
computing. The personal computer grew out of and could only have
grown out of the activity of amateurs. The big computer companies saw
the sale of monster mainframes to Fortune 500 companies and major
universities as the only possible profitable market. It took the anti-
Vietnam war spirit and the activities of groups like the San Francisco
Homebrew Club to develop computers for the people. It was only
because of this grassroots pressure and under the democratic rules of
open and non-proprietary architecture that IBM and other corporations
could come into the personal computer field.
The second premise of the Amateur Computerist is that technologi-
cal development requires free and uncensored flow of information and
ideas. It is the sharing of innovations, the acknowledged building of each
others’ advances that distinguishes the amateurs from the professionals.
Public domain, open access, no copy protection, and hacking are the
methods of the amateurs that stimulate development and innovation. The
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professionals, corporations and governments seek secrecy, patents, copy
protection, etc.
When the purposeful confusion is pierced, it will turn out that the
Amateur Computerist and journals like it are needed even more that
ever. The truth about the war and about the problems with the latest
technology can only be uncovered and examined by an uncensored
press. And to prevent computers from being hated around the world by
most people who will see them only as machines of more precise
murder, the true value and development of computers and computing
must be vigorously defended by the computer’s true friends, the amateur
computerists.
Stop the war against Iraq now, support the Amateur Computerist,
computers for life not for death.
Jay Hauben
Coco Corner
by Scot McMahan
Several issues ago, I hinted at the possibility of PEEKing into the
memory to “see” what is on the screen, and possible changing it by
POKEing around. Why would anyone want to do that? The TRS-80
Color Computer 2, while having a printer, does not have any command
which allows you to print a hard copy of the screen. You can’t “print
screen” like you can on other computers. Plus, messing around in the
memory is fun (ever try POKE 113,0?).
Before we get in too deep, a little background: The TRS-80 has
65535 locations in its memory. In these locations are stored numbers.
The computer does all that it does by moving those numbers around.
BASIC was invented so that you would not have to understand how the
moving numbers worked, and to give you a language to program in
which is more like English. But there are still some things that can be
done by manipulating the numbers in memory that you can’t do in
BASIC. The two BASIC words you need are PEEK and POKE. PEEK
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lets you look into a memory location. You need to treat PEEK as a
variable, since it returns a number that must either be printed on the
screen, assigned to a variable, or used in a numeric expression. Here are
some examples of PEEK in use:
10 PRINT PEEK (3455)
20 A = PEEK (3455)
30 PRINT (CHR$(PEEK(3455)))
POKE is a command. When you say POKE 113,0, you are telling
the computer to put the numbered line of a program, or with PRINT, but
POKE can be used directly.
With that out of the way, let’s turn our attention to the memory area
between 1024 and 1535, inclusive. If you prefer hexadecimal, and you
really have no reason to, it’s &H400 to &H5FF. This area is your screen.
The PEEK numbers you get for any of these memory locations are the
Character Strings (ASCII numbers) for each character that is on the
screen (and remember a blank space is # 32).
You can POKE in any number between 0 and 255 to this area and
a character will appear on the screen. This technique could be used in a
variety of programs, including special text effects like words travelling
from on side of the screen to the other. One additional feature this
POKEing around can get you is the ability to print the screen’s contents
on the printer. Observe the following subroutine:
1000 REM PRINTSCREEN
1010 FOR P = 1024 TO 1535
1020 C = PEEK (P)
1030 PRINT # -2, CHR$ ©);
1040 NEXT P
This subroutine can be called any time you need to make a hard
copy.
Next time, I am going to present a program that uses the low
resolution graphics characters to allow you to draw on the screen and
then print out a copy.
While you’re at it, remember that COMPUTERS ARE ONLY AS
GOOD AS WHAT YOU PUT INTO THEM!
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Bringing Automation Home
by M. A. White
The Office revolution has finally come to us all. Computers, which
were once seen as complicated machines that only a person with a PhD
could understand, have moved out of those back rooms and air-condi-
tioned closets. As they became smaller and easier to use, they became
a common sight in offices. And people who had become used to the
convenience of word processors and spreadsheets were reluctant to go
home and use typewriters or simple calculators. And so, personal
computers began returning home.
But in migrating into the office area, computers also became more
complex. Features such as super graphics boards, scanners, and mice
were added on. Terminals went from flat black and green screens to high
resolution color displays with a staggering number of colors. And, with
people clamoring for desktop-sized computers, more companies jumped
into the profitable PC market. Instead of three or four major brands, the
first time buyer is now faced with a bewildering lineup of names and
numbers and letters.
People who work with a variety of computers and programs in their
offices usually have no trouble deciding what they want to buy for home
use. However, this isn't necessarily helpful to the neophyte. Ask six
computer experts which machines to buy, and you're very likely to get
six different answers.
So who’s got the right advice for you? The answer is that you do.
Other people bought their systems for reasons that may be very different
from your own reasons for having a computer and the system that works
best for a graphics expert may be an expensive waste of money for
someone who wants to do music.
So the first thing that the new computer buyer has to answer is:
"What do you want your computer to do for you?”
Many first-time buyers want a computer to run games and educa-
tional software for children. Others intend to run home management
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software such as budgets, recipes, schedules, and address books whiles
turning out occasional letters. But an increasing number of people are
buying computers to work on office projects at home.
If you are buying a computer for games or educational software,
then the job of deciding which one to buy is simple a matter of deciding
which one offers the most features for the money you can afford to
spent. A trip to stores in your area that sell computers and programs will
quickly give you the answer. Look at the programs that are available for
each type of computer, decide which computer has the biggest selection
of programs that you like, and buy the system that runs that sort of
software.
To decide which options you need, look on the software boxes. This
will tell you whether you need to buy a computer with one or two floppy
drives, how much memory your new computer will need, and what
special equipment you might also need to buy – such as a mouse or a
graphics tablet. You should also ask if you could load and run some of
the programs you want to buy. This is particularly important if you’re
buying programs that involve music or graphics. What sounds good on
a box may be very dificult to learn; hands-on experience will tell you
which one of these programs is the best buy for your purposes.
If you are buying a computer for personal home management, your
best strategy is to take a close look at the software first. This is particu-
larly true if you are planning on buying financial software. The printouts
produced by these packages are not standard. Some reports will be right
for investment portfolios but useless for budget management while
others may balance a checkbook and write checks for your bills but not
be able to keep track of your tax deductions.
You should also ask for a hands-on demonstration of the programs
to make sure that they are easy to use and easy to understand. While a
business may be able to buy software and discard it if it’s not right, the
average person can’t afford to take that sort of costly chance. Trying out
software is the only way to tell if it works for you. Remember that what
one person thinks is an easy program to use may be difficult for another
to understand. Choose the software that works best for you – not the one
that your cousin likes best.
Once you pick the right programs for you, read the boxes to find out
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what features to buy with your computer. Pay attention to the brand of
printers and mice that your software recommends and buy one of those.
Don’t be drawn into buying a “printer/mouse that emulates a so-and-so
printer/mouse.” Not all “emulations” work well, and dealing with an
incompatible piece of hardware can be the biggest nightmare of all.
Unless you’ve got a qualified computer service technician in your
immediate family, use the adage “Better safe than sorry” as a guideline.
It may be a bit more expensive, but it will be less of a headache in the
long run.
If you’re one of the thousands of people who wants to bring your
office work home, you’ll find that there are very few cheap options
available. For most people, the best move is to buy a system nearly
identical to the one you’ve got at the office. There are a few places
where you can cut corners to save dollars. For instance, you can save a
lot of money by buying a less expensive clone or compatible machine –
but first insist on seeing if your office programs run on that machine.
There are slight differences in the internal commands in each different
brand of computer. If the software you are buying is written for one
particular machine, it may have hidden traps in it so that it can’t be run
on another brand of computer.
If you are not doing CAD. or artwork at home, you can cut the price
of your system by several hundred dollars by buying a less expensive
monitor and monitor card. You can also cut the cost of your system by
buying a smaller hard drive. Although many offices need hard drives of
60 Megabytes or larger, you may find a 30 or 40 Megabyte drive is more
than sufficient for you. You can also consider buying a slower machine
than you would need for the office. Most programs can also make use of
cheaper mice and cheaper printers, but check the package that you are
buying first. The first-time buyer is better off buying only the products
listed on the package itself.
Once you’ve bought your computer and programs, the next step is
to get it set up at home. If you’ve never set up a machine by yourself,
talk to people at your local computer club and people at work who have
similar machines and ask their advice. Most of them will be glad to
show you how to set up a machine, load the programs, and start them
running.
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Bringing home a first computer is an exciting experience but with
a little care and a little pre-planning, it will be a happy experience for
you.
Computer BBS Discussion
On The War
(Editor’s note: there was a difference of opinion on the staff regarding
censorship of the following article. Some of the staff felt censorship is
offensive. Others felt certain words in the article were offensive. We
need input from our readers on where they stand on this censorship.)
During the recent war, most of the U.S. press agreed to accept
government censorship and to refrain from publishing anti-war articles,
reports of anti-war demonstrations, etc. The March on Washington
against the War on January 26, 1991 involving over 250,000 people
went unreported in major newspapers like the Detroit News and Detroit
Free Press; there was scant mention of it in the New York Times, etc.
During the recent war, it became clear that the American people need an
alternative form of media if they are to maintain any semblance of free
speech or free press during the times the U.S. government goes rushing
off to make war abroad or at home.
During the recent war, computer bulletin boards provided a place
for those with differing views on the war to discuss and debate those
views. A recent article reprinted in the magazine Utne Reader, no. 44,
March/April 1991 describes the important role that discussion and
debate have played historically in bringing about needed social change.
(See “Salons through history,” by John Berendt, originally from Esquire,
November, 1990.) Other articles in this issue of Utne Review describe
how computer bulletin boards play a role akin to that of the Salons in
France or Russia before the revolutions there.
The following is an excerpt from a discussions about the war on a
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limited access bulletin board in Michigan.
Item 13 01:43 Jan15/91 John L.
Crisis in the Gulf
How do people feel about the Gulf crisis, the draft, the prospect of
lots of innocent people dying. I realize that that was fairly nebulous. I
just thought it would be good to have a space for people to talk about
their feelings on this issue.
73 Responses
Jan15/91 01:53 13:1) John L.
I’m scared. I don’t want my friends in the service to die, the people
of the countries involved to die, and I don’t want to die. I can compre-
hend the arguments about oil, sovereignty, etc., they just seem kind of
hollow in the face of war. I guess that I thought that maybe by this point
in the time line, we could do away with “real politic” and “hard ball.”
Kind of naive, but it is a thought. (sorry for the misspells)
Jan15/91 20:48 13:2) Andy M.
One thing first...I’m not a pacifist. I do believe that there are indeed
times when military force is necessary. However, the present situation
doesn’t make the grade. We should sit still and wait for another six
months or so to really give the economic sanctions a chance to work.
War now is unnecessary and wrong. Bush screwed us all by putting us
into a classical dilemma: if we don’t act tonight, we’re a bunch of soft
Western turkeys. If we do act tonight, we’re just stupid. This deadline
stuff is a bunch of nonsense.
Jan18/91 00:45 13:3) Jesse W.
War is mass murder. Conscription is slavery. The national interest
of the U.S. is not served in the Gulf.
Jan18/91 13:31 13:4) Elizabeth S.
I am saddened by the recent actions in the Gulf. It’s very depressing
to know we are at war and people are dying. I hope Israel doesn’t get
dragged into this, even though they’ve already been bombed, because it
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will complicate matters and possibly make things 10 times worse. Sigh.
I haven’t gone to classes in two days – I am exhausted and drained.
Jan18/91 16:48 13:5) Alissa P.
I think that this war should be called “The Prime Time War.” What
do all of you think? It makes sense, doesn’t it?
Jan18/91 19:48 13:6) John F.
Absolutely. I find the wave of post-bombing protests extremely
frustrating. Where were all of these peace loving citizens back in
October when some noise might’ve affected policy-making? The U.S.
pushed this resolution through the UN and committed a huge, offensive
force to the region, thus painting itself into a corner. Once a deadline
was set, turning back was close to impossible. Still very little dissent
was heard from Americans. Only when destruction and killing began did
it hit people that this was all “for real.” Of course those opposed to war
should let the administration know how they feel, but I’m sad to say no
amount of love-bead rattling will now alter the course of events.
Jan19/91 00:08 13:7) Jesse W.
Well, I for one was demonstrating way back in August.
Jan19/91 13:00 13:8) Andy M.
What about us DISGUSTED by the protests here? I went briefly to
the vigil held at 11:30 pm a couple of days ago at the Onion. You
know...the one where it was raining cats and dogs? Well, I listened to
some of the speakers, and I listened to the a****** standing next to me,
and I almost decided that it was good that we were at war.
Unfortunately, protests attract not only peace-minded people, but
specific interest groups with their own independent agendas. Then they
force their stupid agendas on all of us. At the vigil, I heard a large
number of anti-Semitic people screaming out for the eradication of
Isreal. Likewise, I heard people advocating the nuclear destruction of
Iraq.
The rallies, protests, and the whole dumb war are all stunning
examples of reasons not to be religious: religion is an artificial device to
divide humanity. A diest might suggest that Satan created the institution.
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In any case, I stay away from demonstrations so I don’t get counted
with anti-Semites from the BSU or Wild-Eyed Zionist crazies from
some other campus group.
Jan19/91 15:33 13:9) Jesse W.
Well, I’m all for anti-Zionism, of course, but there was a lot of crap
in those speeches.
Jan20/91 21:49 13:10) Eric F.
This whole situation has had a devastating effect upon me. I am
dead set against having used and currently using force in the Gulf. I
want to make my opposition to the killing known. I however am also
frustrated to no end by the anti-war movement on this campus and
around the country. It in my eyes is a political anti-war movement.
While I happen to agree to various extent with some of the points made
by the movement, this is neither the time nor place to politicize it. I
would prefer (and consider myself to be) a Peace Activist based on
morals, spirituality, religion, emotion (whatever one may call it) rather
than an political anti-war activist. I give credit for the vows of non-
violence taken. But Peace to me is infinitely more than non-violence.
Peace is love, compassion, respect for your opposition. Self-suffering to
instill change in the hearts of others, rather than intimidation of others.
My beliefs are largely Gandhian in nature. Peace
Jan20/91 23:22 13:11) Larry K.
In a broad sense, any “anti-war” (or “pro-war”) activity will be
“political.” The problem with a lot of the current “anti-war” effort is that
it carries with it a lot of “political” baggage that gets in the way more
than it helps. It is quite prepared to re-protest the Vietnam war, and it is
well prepared to make sure America keeps its hands off Nicaragua, but
I don’t think it knows how to deal with the particulars of the Gulf War.
Eric, maybe you could organize an NFLO movement. (NFLO = non far
left opposition.) Actually, I don’t care too much what the “anti-war”
crowd does, since I believe President Bush made the right decision,
although it is a genuinely grim situation. But the left wing crazies give
us all a little comic relief, with all their talk of building takeovers, etc.,
etc. (There is also a LOT of intelligent opposition to the war, and that’s
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a good thing, even though I don’t personally agree with it.)
Jan21/91 16:37 13:12) Andy M.
Jesse, MTS garbled your last response. Could you please paraphrase
it?
Jan21/91 22:15 13:13) John F.
The point about special-interest groups (maybe that’s not the right
word, here) using whatever cause or the current outrage to pursue their
own agenda is nothing new and should be expected. Many feel just that
way about most of the protest activity on this campus. It ‘s important to
try to see past that to those who are truly concerned about the issue and
are not out to exploit the occasion. What are those people saying? My
point was that even the most genuine, well meaning protesters mainly
are “too little, too late.” It’s disheartening, I find.
Jan22/91 17:00 13:14) Andy M.
I agree John. In addition, though, I was wondering what was the
point of rallies “for Israel” or “Anti-war” or “In Support of our
Soldiers.” I mean, I was one of the first to jump on the bandwagon for
the SRC protests. I seriously considered “going in” with the people who
took the administrative offices. However, what can possibly be the point
of protesting the war? I’m not being cynical or sarcastic. I usually show
up at most of the protests anyway if only because I think they’ve got the
right idea. The time to protest is when Bush comes up for re-election,
and when it comes time to evaluate our congresspersons who “decided
not to decide” about war.
Anyone else read “The Anarchist’s Cookbook”? As silly as it is, I
think Powell was kind of accurate when he said that Political protests are
for people who want moral freedom from national wrongdoing, and are
liberated from blame by police harassment, crowd violence, and other
little tidbits indicating martyrdom.
Jan23/91 01:25 13:19) Manuel O.
The protests are worthless and disheartening to our troops. I have
talked to various people with relatives there, or else on their way to the
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Gulf. They all said that they are p***** off and worried about the
protests. Anti-war demonstrators harassing ROTC’s didn’t help at all
either. At this point they are just plain Anti-American statements,
although there are folks who are well intentioned. Their results will just
be to freak our troops out, they think they will be spit at. This is such
b*******.
Jan23/91 11:31 13:20) Melissa L.
The protests are not anti-American... that is the same b******* that
protestors heard in the 60's and 70's. I could not believe the mentality of
the counter-demonstrators when they started shouting things like, “You
pinko commies! Go back to where you came from if you don’t like it!”
My God, don’t the counter-protestors – and the American public ever
listen to what’s being said? I spent the majority of my time chanting
“Support the troops by bringing them home” The majority of protestors
do not hate our troops for being there... we hate Bush for putting them
there. I don’t want these people dead – I want them to come home, alive,
NOW. I think it is more “anti-American” to support them being there –
and dying – then to want them to come home.
Jan23/91 20:06 13:21) Manuel O.
During the Vietnam war (by 1968) the anti-war movement was in
the hand of groups like the SDS who supported the enemy. In many
documentaries you could see protestors with the Vietcong flag, that is
treason in my view. Read the accounts of the troops, who returned home
to cries of “baby-killing m***********.” All these people were doing
was performing their duty, and fighting a vicious Communist enemy.
Looking back I can’t believe morons like Jane Fonda were supporting
the NVA, especially after seeing how those b******* tortured our
pilots, (like Saddam is doing) and killed their own people. The people
who say “bring the troops home,” are just being unrealistic. In Vietnam
eight year of protests just caused a lengthening of our presence there,
and ultimately a dishonorable withdrawal. Remember that when we left
South Vietnam, we also stopped supporting that government. The power
vacuum caused the collapse of the South Vietnamese government, the
more than one million boat-people, and the Khmer Rouge in Cambodia.
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At this point we cannot just take our troops home. We are engaged and
we have to prevail. Screwing up our troops morale, will just cause
casualties.
Jan23/91 21:01 13:22) Andy M.
Manuel, if our troops had not been in Vietnam, they would not have
been called baby-killing m************. If our troops had not been in
Vietnam, they would not have been killed and tortured.
If our troops were not in Iraq right now, we could avoid the killing,
the name-calling, and the anti-patriotism. We could be proud to be
American. Bring the troops home now...before it’s too late. Peace.
Jan23/91 23:56 13:23) Bob C.
Manuel, I don’t see any factual evidence backing up your claim that
the protests during the Viet Nam war caused a lengthening of the
conflict, and a “dishonorable withdrawal.” If you can prove it to me, I
will be glad to listen. From what I understand, the war was prolonged by
generals like Westmoreland who saw the Vietnamese as unintelligent
and disorganized. He was notorious for underestimating the enemy. We
were in a war with no clear reason for existence, facing a culture we
didn’t understand, and an arrogance that the mighty West would prevail
in the end. Sound familiar? It is for these reasons that we would be
walking into another Viet Nam, not because of protesters. I have a
cousin with the USS America Carrier Group in the Red Sea. He says that
the general attitude among the troops is that the protesters are just
exercising their freedoms. He agrees with me when I say that nowhere
in the First Amendment does it say that the right to peaceably assemble
shall be suspended in wartime. That is what so many of the “patriotic
Americans” are asking us to do by trying to squelch protests. I feel that
this country was founded by women and men who questioned the status
quo. It is that questioning, and continual struggle for change and
betterment that I see as patriotism.
Jan24/91 13:44 13:24) Elizabeth S.
I think it is patriotic to protest, organize and burn flags. It shows
that you care about America and you believe in the rights guaranteed by
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the Constitution and Bill of Rights. One can be against U.S. involvement
in the mid-east and still support the troops. We all want them home
alive.
Jan24/91 16:03 13:25) Andy M.
Unpatriotic are the couch potatoes who sit at home and don’t do
anything, just like the majority of our population who refuse to vote.
Jan24/91 16:43 13:26) Dave D.
Yes, we all do want the troops home alive, and hopefully not to
affected by the atrocious paradoxes of war.
Jan24/91 18:01 13:27) Larry K.
I’d like to see the troops home alive and victorious. Elizabeth: It
may be patriotic to defend the “right” of people to burn flags if they
want to (especially Iraqi flags!), but actually BURNING an American
flag is NOT patriotic at all (unless, of course, one’s “patriotic” impulses
are attached to a country hostile to the U.S.A.)
Jan24/91 19:29 13:28) Melissa L.
Larry, the fact that we can burn the flag is a tribute to America.
Jan24/91 20:19 13:29) Sara S.
Can we please leave the flag issue out of the Gulf debate and
continue it elsewhere? What about the extraordinary number of single
parents, particularly mothers, who have been called up to active duty
from the reserves? The ones who joined the reserves for extra tuition $$,
health care benefits and retirement security? Who will take care of their
children/families for the *2* years they are in the desert sands? And
what about the de-stabilizing effects this war will have on the entire Gulf
region and the world order henceforth? Try going an entire day without
meeting a person who does not know or is related to someone serving
over there at present.
Jan26/91 00:44 13:30) Jesse W.
Andy: the garbled word is “anti-Zionism.”
Page 16
Manuel: this is odd to hear you say, since you yourself, presumably out
of patriotism, supported a not-always-humane (by your own admission)
rebellion aimed at overthrowing the government of your native land.
Where’s your consistency?
Jan26/91 13:29 13:31) Andy M.
I think I missed something very large and important here. Manuel,
will you fill me in on what Jesse mentions in 13:30? Thanx.
Jan26/91 14:52 13:32) Eric F.
Andy re: 4: While I think voting is an absolute necessity, I also feel
that political action must be taken beyond merely showing up at the
polls. I think we should make known to our elected representatives when
they are failing to represent us. We need to call, write, etc... But we need
to go farther. Issue education of our self and others is vital to prepare us
to vote “correctly” (and to encourage candidates to support these issues).
And I believe is these fail, in going farther. I do believe that the student
movement of the sixties helped end the Viet Nam Hell. I also think that
when our soldiers are fighting in the name of America, they are in some
sense fighting in my name as an American. I don’t support this, and thus
wish to make it very clear to the rest of us Americans, that this killing
in our collective name does not include my name. For the same reason
I am bothered by certain actions of the Anti-war movement. One Anti-
war friend recently told me that it didn’t matter that ROTC tires were
slashed because whoever did it was not representative of the Anti-war
movement. I disagree. I argue that in that it was done in our collective
name of the Anti-war movement, that it very much concerns us.
Jan26/91 15:00 13:33) Eric F.
Another point: the anti-war movement keeps claiming support of
the troops, but hate for the administration. While I agree with showing
respect for the troops, I also believe that in expressing conflict with the
administration or others, we not physically threaten, verbally threaten
etc... We must show respect for all people, we must show compassion
for all people. While we should confront them when we feel wronged,
we should do so peacefully, if Peace is in fact what we are striving for.
Page 17
This allows for Civil Disobedience along the lines of Pledge of
Resistance or Gandhi, etc...
Jan27/91 00:01 13:34) Melissa L.
Eric, beautiful words. I don’t agree with attacking ROTC people. I
think that is wrong. Especially considering the stance that the anti-war
movement is taking. They (We?) are stating that this is a racist war
because of the high number of minorities in Saudi. Many of these people
join the military to pay for college because they have no other means. I,
therefore, think it is hypocritical to attack those in ROTC...these are the
people we’re supposedly fighting for.
Jan27/91 17:40 13:35) Manuel O
Vietnam was drawn out to the extent that the anti-war movement
affected key decisions by congress, by its sheer influence. Thus the
bombing of Cambodia, a military action that was defendable in terms of
eliminating the enemies supply lines and personnel, was seen as some
sort of genocide. And it p***** a lot of congressional people off. The
lowest moment for the anti-war movement was after the war (for us) had
ended. They lobbied very hard, in a congress where some activists had
already been elected, to stop aid to the hard pressed South Vietnamese.
This meant not giving those poor people ammunition to fight the
Communist b******* who took over. Even more hypocritical was their
stance not to condemn that nasty regime.
Jan27/91 18:59 13:36) Jesse W.
Joan Baez condemned that nasty regime.
Feb03/91 21:26 13:37) Manuel O.
Yeah, and she got in a lot of s*** for it too, from the hard-left.
Feb04/91 00:48 13:38) Andy M.
Manuel, could you include subject-references in your responses? I
tend to lose track of who you mean by “she,” “he,” “it,” “them,” etc.
Feb06/91 04:11 13:39) Jesse W.
Page 18
She got in s*** from the Hayden/Fonda crowd that was pro-
Vietnam-government (and also from David Dellinger, who is anti-
communist but doesn’t really act very consistently all the time), but was
defended by other leftists, too, Manuel.
Feb06/91 15:44 13:40) Andy M.
Jesse, you too! When you open your response with “She” (resp 39),
tell us who “She” is!
Feb06/91 22:27 13:41) Jesse W.
Joan Baez, as I said in :36.
Feb07/91 01:05 13:42) Eric F.
Thanks for reminding us Jesse. I only got responses 39 and on, and
considering that I don’t know how to use this confer properly, I would
have been stuck for trying to look back just a few responses to find the
subject. Thanks.
Feb07/91 01:37 13:43) Jesse W.
Gosh. You’re welcome. Are we all happy now?
Feb07/91 15:31 13:44) Andy M.
Ecstatic, thanks Jesse!
Feb07/91 18:25 13:45) Eric F.
:>
Feb08/91 01:03 13:46) Rodney W.
Yeah!
Feb08/91 15:16 13:47) Andrew L.
I have serious doubts as to how closely this situation really
resembles Viet Nam. Global politics have changed vastly since that war,
it is being fought in a differ
Feb08/91 15:22 13:48) Andrew L.
Page 19
I’m sorry about that last garbled attempt at a response. Now let’s
see if I can work with the computer in a more well-cooperative manner.
I think that the situation now is very different than it was at any time
during the Vietnam war. I’m not saying that in support of the current
policy however. Despite opposition to the war, though, I have serious
doubts about the feasability or desirability of the sort of withdrawal the
protests seem to demand. How do people envision ending the war? What
kind of post-war situation can we realistically hope for?
Feb09/91 13:33 13:49) Eric F.
Well, we’ve worked ourselves into a nasty one haven’t we. I feel
that we cannot continue doing “the wrong thing” just because we are
afraid of losing face in the light of admitting our mistake. I would urge
an immediate cease-fire, but a continuation of the blockade. Immediate
negotiations for Iraqi withdraw and the reconstruction of both Kuwait
and Iraq. Also general regional negotiations for a Palestinian solution,
freshwater supply solution, and human rights issues. Obviously this
won’t all come at once, but we can at least try. We have told Iraq that it
has erred and that it must withdraw regardless of “losing face.” I would
argue the same for us. We have erred in escalating hostilities, we must
end our wrong, admit our wrong regardless of “losing face.”
Feb09/91 15:55 13:50) Andy M.
Bravo Eric.
Feb09/91 17:32 13:51) Ranjan B.
It would be wonderful if it were to happen, but it just won’t. We’ve
been committed to this game of “chicken” since at least November when
we tripled the number of troops in Saudi Arabia. When’s the last time
we as a nation backed down from _anything_? Withdrawal from
Vietnam is the most recent, and it was politically costly. Before that?
Hell, JFK almost got us into WW3 over the Cuban Missile Crisis.
Kruschev was the one who backed down. Unfortunately, the resolution
of this thing is going to be dependent on how long the Iraqis continue to
fight. Hopefully it will be soon.
Page 20
Computers for the People:
A History
or
How The Hackers Gave Birth
To The Personal Computer
by Ronda Hauben
In 1976, a speaker by the name of Ted Nelson was invited to speak
before the National Conference of county and local government officials
on the topic of Computer Lib. His talk was scheduled to begin at 8 am.
At the set time, Ted Nelson appeared dressed in Harvard school tie
and prep-school blazer. He began his talk by turning up the volume of
a tape recorder, so that the theme from “2001: A Space Odyssey” blasted
through the room. He turned on his slide projector showing the sun
rising over a big rock. The second slide, showed an Altair 8800
microcomputer sitting on a rock. The next slide showed Ted Nelson
standing on the rock and holding the computer triumphantly over his
head.
“Ted Nelson shouted that for too long computers had been the sole
possession of superior-acting professionals in air-conditioned computer
centers.” But now computers like the Altair were becoming easily
available, selling in computer chain stores that were springing up around
the country. He ended his talk with the “2001 theme” again, played at
rock concert volume, yelling “DEMYSTIFY COMPUTERS, COMPUT-
ERS BELONG TO ALL MANKIND” and other revolutionary phrases
about giving computer power to the people.
The response to his talk was that the audience stood up and
applauded for five minutes.
(Taken from Silicon Valley Fever, Rogers and Larsen, NY, p. 3-4)
Ted Nelson was the spokesperson for a movement of hobbyists and
computer enthusiasts who were determined to get computers into the
hands of people. As another computer pioneer, Robert Marsh, explains:
Page 21
“We didn’t have many things you take for granted today, but we did
have a feeling of excitement and pioneers in a new era in which small
computers would free everyone from much of the drudgery of everyday
life. A feeling that we were secretly taking control of information and
power jealously guarded by the Fortune 500 owners of multi-million
dollar IBM mainframes. A feeling that the world never be the same once
‘hobby computers’ really caught on.” (“1975: Ancient History,”
Creative Computing, Nov. 1984, p. 110)
These computer pioneers feared that computers would be used for
harm if their use was restricted to the rich and powerful. And con-
versely, they felt that the world would be a better place if the computer
could be put into the hands of the “masses.” But to do this, there needed
to be a computer that was priced in a range that people could afford.
A writer in Byte magazine in 1978, in an article called “The First
Ten Years of Amateur Computing” wrote, “Most people I meet are
under the mistaken notion that personal computing started only two or
three years ago, with the introduction of the Altair 8800 by MITS.
Nothing could be further from the truth. In fact, the amateur computing
hobby was then almost ten years old....”
(By Sol Libes, July 1978, pp. 64-71)
The writer goes on to explain:
“If one could find a specific date for the birth of personal comput-
ing, it would be May 5, 1966. For it was on that date that Steven B. Gray
founded the Amateur Computer Society and began publishing a
quarterly called the ACS Newsletter”
Gray, who was the computer editor of the magazine Electronics
published by McGraw Hill, felt that he would learn a lot if he could
build a computer. But he found it was really hard to get started. After
years of trying to work on his own, he realized that there must be other
hobbyists also working on their own. He felt it would be helpful to share
the information he had with others and get help from them with the
problems he was encountering. So on May 5, 1966, Stephen B. Gray,
sent out a letter to ten hobbyist or electronics magazines. In the letter he
wrote:
“This is an invitation to those readers who are building their own
computers to join the Amateur Computer Society, a nonprofit group
Page 22
open to anyone interested in building and operating a digital computer
that will at least perform automatic multiplication and division, on is of
a comparable complexity.
“The society publishes a bimonthly newsletter containing problems
and answers, information about where to get parts and schematics and
cheap ICs, and articles on subjects such as Teletype equipment and
checking out magnetic cores.
“Will interested readers please write to me, giving details on their
proposed or in-the-works computers, such as word length, number of
instructions, sources of parts and schematics, clever solutions to
previous problems, etc.?”
(From “The Early Days” by Stephen B. Gray, Creative Computing, Nov.
1984, p. 6)
Gray reports that he received responses from 160 men from five
countries and 27 states and 110 eventually became members. For $3
they got a year’s issues of the ACS Newsletter (Amateur Computer
Society). In 1976, the newsletter was discontinued. Gray wrote in the
final issue:
“Times have changed, and now that kits are so prevalent, there are
other publications that serve the readers’ purpose better than the ACS
Newsletter. Also the ACS Newsletter always depended heavily upon
reader input, and this input has dwindled.... Thank you for your support
over the last 10 ½ years. It was fun while it lasted.”
In 1966-67 Gray tried to get financial backing for a full time
Amateur Computer Society. He wrote several foundations and large
computer manufacturers, but received no support. He tried again to find
some kind of financial support several years later when he tried to write
a book about the beginnings of the personal computer. Again, he got no
response.
A similar story is told by David Ahl, who later became editor of the
magazine Creative Computing. Ahl worked at Digital Equipment
Corporation and began to see a need for a computer that would be
available in public schools, elementary, secondary, and colleges. Also
he felt there needed to be discussion of the social aspect of the computer,
of its effect on jobs, medical care, privacy, etc. He conceived of a
magazine that he would call Creative Computing. He thought that the
Page 23
National Science Foundation ought to be willing to provide some
funding. He’d found lots of encouragement for his ideas. However,
when he actually tried to get some financial support, he found himself
being passed from door to door. He decided to convert the extensive
proposal he had created for the National Science Foundation into a more
general proposal and he submitted it to 36 foundations. Again he found
no financial support. Then he sent his proposal around to 106 compa-
nies. Only seven even bothered to reply to all, and with the exception of
three offers of some advertising help, all of the other responses were
negative. (“David Tells Ahl”, ibid., p. 67)
Thus he realized that if he was going to put out Creative Computing,
he would have to pay for it himself. He then sent out a mailing to 11,000
people. He received 850 subscriptions. On Oct 7, 1974 the first issue
came off the presses – it was 8,000 copies. Creative Computing was
launched, but not with any help from the business world.
During the period as David Ahl was trying to get Creative Comput-
ing started, there were other important events that helped to set the stage
for the personal computer revolution.
In May, 1974, the Washington Post and Dell Publishers published
transcripts of the Watergate period in American history was being
exposed and made public. The hidden attacks on political opposition
were unveiled. The war waged by the FBI and CIA against the anti-war
movement had been revealed and documented. The American people
had helped pull their government out of the Vietnam War and had
removed a President from office who had condoned illegal activities and
the suppression of the right to free speech and dissent.
In July, 1974, Radio Electronics, a hobbyist magazine ran a story
“Build the Mark-8, Your Personal Minicomputer.” The article was only
four pages long, it was fairly technical and it didn’t provide the
information one would need to build a machine. But it advertised a 48
page instruction manual available for $5.50. 10,000 people wrote and
bought the instruction book and one fourth that many wrote for the
circuit boards advertised for those who wanted to build their own.
(Continued in next issue)
Page 24
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:
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
Page 25
