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Not a traditional history narrative but: Computer Lib/Dream Machines by Ted Nelson - a fabulous exploration of the optimism of the early computing era. I imagi

Not a traditional history narrative but: Computer Lib/Dream Machines by Ted Nelson - a fabulous exploration of the optimism of the early computing era. I imagine it's long out of print but apparently available from internet archive. Read it! Not a book, not non-fiction, but can you go past the 1995 movie Hackers. In some ways crap, but in others a great look at the period - the end of phreaking and the beginning of remote access, back when computers were real computers, and men were real men, etc, etc.

Stratoscope 3y ago
Ted still sells print copies, both reprints and rare originals: https://computerlibbook.com/ https://computerlibbook.com/ There is really something to the print copy: one side is Computer Lib, and you flip it upside down and the other side is Dream Machines. Computer Lib has a section about Three Computer Languages For You, all of which are dear to my heart. • Your First Computer Language: Dartmouth's BASIC. Which was indeed my first computer language. • The Sleeping Giant: TRAC Language (#POW! It's Superlanguage). TRAC inspired me so much that I invented my own language called Tamale (Text and Macro Language). This of course never went anywhere. • Stark & Clever APL. Including A Weird Example, to Help With the Notation. And here it is on the Internet Archive: https://archive.org/details/computer-lib-dream-machines/ https://archive.org/details/computer-lib-dream-machines/
- drpixie 3y ago
  Yeah - I've still got my copy from way back when ... makes me one of the old guys:) It was inspiring - partly for what could be (which was the vibe of the times) and partly for what it was. I still miss the old, big, machines.
- themadturk 3y ago
  I remember passing up a copy of Computer Lib/Dream Machines at a Waldenbooks in Seattle sometime in the mid-80s, and kicking myself ever since. However, I did score a copy of the Microsoft Press edition some years later. The binding was never that good, but I still have all the pages and covers together in one place.

Stratoscope 3y ago

Ted still sells print copies, both reprints and rare originals: https://computerlibbook.com/ https://computerlibbook.com/ There is really something to the print copy: one side is Computer Lib, and you flip it upside down and the other side is Dream Machines. Computer Lib has a section about Three Computer Languages For You, all of which are dear to my heart. • Your First Computer Language: Dartmouth's BASIC. Which was indeed my first computer language. • The Sleeping Giant: TRAC Language (#POW! It's Superlanguage). TRAC inspired me so much that I invented my own language called Tamale (Text and Macro Language). This of course never went anywhere. • Stark & Clever APL. Including A Weird Example, to Help With the Notation. And here it is on the Internet Archive: https://archive.org/details/computer-lib-dream-machines/ https://archive.org/details/computer-lib-dream-machines/

drpixie 3y ago
Yeah - I've still got my copy from way back when ... makes me one of the old guys:) It was inspiring - partly for what could be (which was the vibe of the times) and partly for what it was. I still miss the old, big, machines.
themadturk 3y ago
I remember passing up a copy of Computer Lib/Dream Machines at a Waldenbooks in Seattle sometime in the mid-80s, and kicking myself ever since. However, I did score a copy of the Microsoft Press edition some years later. The binding was never that good, but I still have all the pages and covers together in one place.