Levy_S-Hackers-Heroes-Computer-Revolution

BASIC, which hackers considered a "fascist" language because its limited structure did notencourage maximum access to the machine and decreased a programmer's power. It would not takemany hours before the hackers slipped away to the clattering terminals, leaving the activistsengaged in heated conversation about this development or that. And always, there would be BobAlbrecht. Glowing in the rapid progress of the great computer dream, he would be at the back of theroom, moving with the climactic iterations of Greek folk dance, whether there was music orwhether there was not.In that charged atmosphere of messianic purpose, the Community Memory people unreservedlythrew themselves into bringing their project on-line. Efrem Lipkin revised a large program thatwould be the basic interface with the users, and Lee set about fixing a Model 33 teletype donated bythe Tymshare Company. It had seen thousands of hours of use and been given to CM as junk.Because of its fragility, someone would have to tend to it constantly; it would often jam up, or thedamper would get gummy, or it wouldn't hit a carriage return before printing the next line. Later inthe experiment, CM would get a Hazeltine 1500 terminal with a CRT which was a little morereliable, but someone from the collective still had to be there in case of a problem. The idea was forLee to eventually develop a new kind of terminal to keep the project going, and he was alreadybeginning to hatch ideas for that hardware project.But that was for later. First they had to get CM on the streets. After weeks of activity, Efrem andLee and the others set up the Model 33 and its cardboard box shell protecting against coffee spillsand marijuana ashes at Leopold's Records. They'd drawn up posters instructing people how to usethe system, bright-colored posters with psychedelic rabbits and wavy lines. They envisioned peoplemaking hard connections, for things like jobs, places to live, rides, and barter. It was simple enoughso that anyone could use it just use the commands ADD or FIND. The system was an affectionatevariation of the hacker dream, and they found compatible sentiment in a poem which inspired themto bestow a special name on Community Memory's parent company: "Loving Grace Cybernetics."The poem was by Richard Brautigan:ALL WATCHED OVER BY MACHINES OF LOVING GRACEI like to think (andthe sooner the better!)of a cybernetic meadowwhere mammals and computerslive together in mutuallyprogramming harmonylike pure watertouching clear skyI like to think(right now, please!)of a cybernetic forestfilled with pines and electronicswhere deer stroll peacefullypast computers as if they were flowerswith spinning blossoms.