Levy_S-Hackers-Heroes-Computer-Revolution

that the action was switching to trade-only shows. Ken thought that Jerry Jewell'spush to mass-market cartridges was a good one. "He'll be richer than all of us," hepredicted.Doug smiled. "I don't care if everybody else gets rich ... as long as I do.""I don't care if anybody gets rich," said Ken, "as long as I get richer."Ken tried to throw himself into the spirit of the show, and took Roberta, lookingchic in designer jeans, high boots, and a black beret, on a quick tour of thedisplays. Ken was a natural schmoozer, and at almost every booth he wasrecognized and greeted warmly. He asked about half a dozen young programmersto come up to Oakhurst and get rich hacking for On-Line.Though they took pains to avoid the Softalk booth, the Williamses did run intoMargot Tommervik. After an awkward greeting, she asked Ken if he'd seen the"Dark Crystal" cover."All I saw was the Frogger review," he said. Pause. "I thought it was kinda nasty."Margot hugged him to show no hard feelings. "Oh Ken, the game was crummy,"she said. "We did it because we love you. Because your stuff is so much betterthan that. We expect more of you.""Well," said Ken, smiling through his teeth, "didn't you think it went beyond thegame? It said all kinds of things about our company."Margot would not hear about it. The Williamses, though, did not consider thatmatter closed. To them, it was one more case of how people changed when thingsgot big.That night On-Line hosted a dinner at an Italian restaurant at North Beach. Kenhad been talking for weeks about the potential for a good, old-fashioned night ofOn-Line rowdiness, but though everybody was in a celebratory mood, the affairnever took off. Maybe because only two programmers were invited RichardGarriott and Chuck Bueche and the rest of the people were older, many of themmired in the mind-frame of sales, accounting, and marketing. There were the usualrepeated toasts, and of course there was the Steel peppermint schnapps large swigsof it from a bottle with a metal drink-pourer attached. Many of the toasts weredirected to the guest of honor, Steve Wozniak. Ken had run into him thatafternoon, and to Ken's delight the legendary hacker had accepted the belatedinvitation to dinner. Ken Williams made a point of telling Woz about his prize