jpm@bnl.UUCP (John McNamee) (11/18/84)
This is not in reply to any one particular message, but just some general thoughts I have on the subject. Let me start by saying I dont think there is any excuse for not providing some form of open computer access. I know machines can get very tied up just handling assigned classwork, but such tieups are not 24 hour a day, 365 day a year problems. A priority system could be set up so that people doing real work (as opposed to hacking) would get machine time when things got busy. Everybody loses when the hackers arent allowed to get machine time. The hacker doesnt get to advance their own skills and the computer system doesnt get wiz-bang software written for it. The computer system also wont get a core of experts available to answer questions and solve problems. My experience has been that I am not allowed on the computers where I go to school because I'm not in any CS classes. When you get in a class you are given an account that lasts as long as your class. Luckily for me, this site (not at all related to my school) was kind enough to grant me an account. Just recently I was able to do something in return by rewriting the network mail software giving it about a 4X speedup over the original code. This sort of thing happens everywhere when hackers are allowed machine access. On last point I'd like to make is that hacking on a PC is just not the same as doing it on a big machine. I started out hacking on micros (way back in the S-100 days when you had to be a hacker to use a micro) and have only been working on big system during the last three years. I find it much more fun to work on the big system. Aside from the extra power that you get, hacking a mini or mainframe also involves interaction with other hackers and users. Whether it be working together on a project, or just showing off your latest change to the operating system, there is social interaction you get when hacking a big system that you dont get working on a PC. I think this interaction is a very important part of the total hacker experience, and knowing that others will use and view your software tends to increase the quality. Nobody wants their name attached to garbage. -- John McNamee ..!decvax!philabs!sbcs!bnl!jpm jpm@Bnl.Arpa