A brilliant poster has pointed me towards this little gem. This ought to be interesting indeed!
Well, check it out, and oh, Mr. Ballmer… Please…
Sue me first!
A brilliant poster has pointed me towards this little gem. This ought to be interesting indeed!
Well, check it out, and oh, Mr. Ballmer… Please…
Sue me first!
I figured I would take this time out to help inform others what this ethic is. An error correction from the previous entry though: Information being free is important, but not the very first part of the Hacker Ethic. Let’s take a look at it:
Access to computers and anything which might teach you something about the way the world works should be unlimited and total. Always yield to the Hands-on Imperative!
I forgot about that part, and it is the first and one of the most important parts of this code of ethics that I have found to be quite fascinating. The Hands-on Imperative, as coined into popular culture by Steven Levy and defined by others is really quite simple: hands-on. What use is analyzing something all day long if nothing is done with it. If something can be improved, do it! If something can be tweaked, go for it! This part of the hacker ethic works hand in hand with the next part.
All information should be free.
Information is power, thus no one authority should wield control over it (think about the disaster that would create). That means that every man, woman, and child (and penguin) should be allowed to read this information, examine it, and through the Hands-on Imperative, tweak and improve the information by adding to it or correcting any errors. In programming at MIT back in the 1950’s, 60’s, and even 70’s, one of the most common problems involved in computer technology was the fact that RAM (Random Access Memory) was rather limited, so the less code a program had, the better. Through the Hands-on Imperative and the idea that all information should be free, code bumming was born: the act of causing a program to complete the same task using less lines of code than the last programmer. It was a competition throughout the ninth floor of Tech Square. The next part of the hacker ethic is a big one, and one that causes a lot stomachs to churn. I’ll explain in a moment.
Mistrust authority promote decentralization.
Take a look at companies like Microsoft. The organization is quite complex, which is one of their problems to begin with. When a group or a company becomes too complex in size and scope, it becomes more difficult to get things done. This is why the proliferation of Free and Open Source Software is becoming more popular as well. When there is essentially no central authority saying what can be pursued and what can not and must not be pursued, then it becomes a simple task of choosing a task, working on that task and completing that task. One example would be the individual who wrote drivers for 235 USB webcams for Linux (GNU/Linux in some circles… prepare for a future entry explaining why some people refer to it as such). Sure, there are the main kernel developers who can refuse to cooperate with you, but that doesn’t stop individuals from compiling their own custom kernel.
Hackers should be judged by their hacking, not bogus criteria such as degrees, age, race, or position.
A gender neutral statement if I ever saw one. It was once commented that I was 24 in this blog by another poster. Problem is, under this part of the Hacker Ethic, I was judged by bogus criteria. Age, race (there is only one as far as I’m concerned: human!), and others… Everything can look pretty on a piece of paper, and it’s easy to puff yourself up to look like a great person who would more than qualify as this or that. However, to demonstrate that you have actually done something creative computer-wise is of more value to the Hacker Community as a whole than to simply claim you can with a shiny new degree (that says, “Please hire me! I’m employable!”), your own looks, and position on the social totem pole.
You can create art and beauty on a computer.
In the past, coding was considered an art, and to a very great extent is still considered today to be as such as opposed to an exact science. This is what caused the good ole’ Ninth Floor Tech Square MIT hackers to disdain authority: not being allowed to touch a computer themselves. They saw themselves changing the world through coding software, and some of the feats were astounding. Playing sound through a computer was proven to be quite possible back then. Today, art and beauty on a computer has taken on a different meaning of sorts, but the fact that people out there can in fact create marvelous things on a computer only encourages others to do themselves. This brings us to the final part of the Hacker Ethic.
Computers can change your life for the better.
Very true. As an example, I bring your attention to what has happened in my life. It’s been one constant theme: I’m useless, no matter what I do. That’s how I felt throughout my whole life. I was made fun of throughout grade school. I tried fitting in, and I was trying too hard… However, once I began to actually understand how to use a computer, I began to feel liberated. Once I learned how to use Free and Open Source Software, I started to truly feel free, and was thus inspired to start this online magazine. For once, I felt like I was of some use to the people of this world. There are people diagnosed (misdiagnosed?) with ADHD, yet stick ’em in front of a computer instead of doping them up on medication, and look at what they can accomplish. It’s truly magnificent. I know somebody who is now troubleshooting/repairing computers who had problems with high school. They’ve come a long way, and are probably about to go into a lucrative career after finishing secondary education. Without computers, he would have either wound up in an institution or dead from a drug reaction, suicide, whatever…
To conclude this post, I know there may be people wondering, why I am linking to a person who doesn’t appear to care for me at all? Simple: I am giving them credit where it is due. I did look at their portfolio and they do seem to have quite a bit of talent with graphics. Also, I know there are others out there who would rather see Pete do some more tutorials and helping people improve their computer skills. I know I would. He does have talent. That much is clear. I only hope he keeps utilizing it for great things and not letting it go to waste.
In the mail recently, I got my copies of KateOS 3.2, Ark Linux, and Vector Linux SOHO (Small Office/Home Office). I’m still waiting on PCLinuxOS 2007 and Wolvix, so we’ll see!
I’m trying to decide which one to take a look at next. Let me know what you think everyone. 🙂
P.S. : It’s okay to post comments now. I’ve been checking for them every day, and I apologize about the ones not added earlier. It took me a while (too long) to realize that the comments had to be approved (thanks for letting me know that 1and1…. lol).
A person was hurt trying to qualify for the Indy500, and what happens? Other people are blamed instead. It sickens me to death to read what an intellectual coward, who hides behind their blog, has written. Just go to Penguin Pete’s blog posts and read them for yourself. Allow me to address Pete here and now:
Did it ever occur to you that a person became injured? Do you even care?! Were it not for the fact that I am as mature as I am today, I would have broken down and cried, because an honest, decent, human-being WAS HURT!
Do you always hide behind a computer screen? Do you ever deal with the real world?! ANSWER ME! I DON’T HIDE BEHIND MY OWN BLOG! I LEAVE AN E-MAIL ADDRESS ON MY SITE IN MANY INSTANCES!
Here it is!
I’m serious son! I really want to know what’s going on inside your head. Are you so detached from the world that instead of understanding that person was injured and barely escaped death itself, you want to blame people who want to market? You’re pointing fingers at the wrong people. I’ve seen that altered photo of Dick Cheney. I’m assuming you’re against the War in Iraq, right? If so, is it because our men and women are dying? If that’s the case, why can’t you show the same compassion for an individual who almost died? Why must you continue to point fingers and lay the blame on other people?
I really do want to talk to you, and if you hate e-mail…
Yahoo IM: th2techdude
AIM: arakned2000
(I run GAIM, now known as pidgon)
Hey bud! I’d even (privately) give you my #, and we could hash it out over the phone.
I’m not hiding. I’m right here.
Come over here and argue your case. I won’t delete your comments. I’ll allow you to look me in the eye so to speak.
So bring it on my man, or are you scared? I’ll understand if you are….
An individual named Penguin Pete has apparently posted in his blog about potential violations of the Linux trademark. He has said the following pertaining to anybody commenting:
“Once again, may we have the objective, non-biased opinions of those who would know more about the legal ins and outs of this? Meaning, not hear from another troll with his/her hand in the Tux500 till trying to obfuscate the conversation with more lies?”
All I have to say is stay tuned….
Dear Firefox,
Do you remember sending me this?
“The support of your website and you in particular is important to us. Please do what you can to aid us in our efforts…”
You sent me that back in 2004. What was it all about? Well, it seems that the folks at firefox had a great idea. They would solicit funds from computer users themselves in order to take out an ad in the New York Times. In fact, it seems you did very well by doing so. Here is something that was said along those lines:
“The ad appears to have become a temporary victim of its own success. The Mozilla Foundation’s novel fund-raising campaign to run a full-page ad listing financial contributors rocketed past expectations, attracting so many donors that Mozilla is still struggling to fit their 10,000 names on the advertisement.”
Full Story Here.
Congratulations. For all purposes, your efforts seemed to pay off and we now enjoy mainstream acceptance of Firefox. It was truly an astounding media coup. You deserve to take a bow.
But, I am wondering at something in particular. It seems that a couple of Linux gurus want to follow in your footsteps. The model worked once, why not again. In fact, I contacted one of them in order to suggest that they contact you to gain your reciprocal support. The idea of putting a car in the Indy 500 is not only novel, it is brilliant.
I am speaking of the Tux500.com project.
According to Ken Starks, or “helios” as his fans know him; you were indeed contacted. You simply did not have the courtesy to reply. Ken’s reply was nice enough. He said nothing bad about you. He has just shrugged your rejection off and moved on to other prospects.
So, having personally raised in excess of three thousand dollars for your efforts, I am wondering why Firefox/Mozilla can not or will not support this effort. Is it the “scam” controversy that infected this program early on? If so, I do believe that myth has been busted, and busted wide open. The only thing that particular muck-raker did was discredit himself in the process. Today, even the Indianapolis Star has given this effort the attention it deserves. Positive attention I might add. That is not to mention the two prominent Linux Community Members that are personally auditing the books for Tux500. Linux Community coverage of this project has been complete. I have trouble believing you haven’t heard of it.
So Firefox, please tell me. Just what is it that is holding you back from joining this noble effort to spread the word of Linux?
Might it be that the majority of donations you received were from Windows users? I would hate to think so.
Jan Dykstra
Detroit Michigan