Quote:
Originally Posted by Logseman
I'm too young to have seen anything of the geekiest moments of computers,.
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However, Pocketbook does something for me: it listens to me. If I really want something software-wise, I don't have to bugger myself: I can tweak it. I wanted a Spanish translation, e.g, and when it started shipping, I saw it and it was poor, so I wanted to improve it. I did so, and now Pocketbook has adopted it as their standard issue. That's something I value, because they've allowed me to help people...
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See if you can track down a copy of FIRE IN THE VALLEY: it's a fairly accurate of the history of personal computers. (Accurate as in; no, Apple *didn't* invent computing. They just like to pretend they did. ;-) )
http://www.amazon.com/Fire-Valley-Ma.../dp/0071358927
Here's a sample:
http://www.computinghistorymuseum.or...nfo/Micro1.pdf
If you can get it, you'll find that the people who invented PCs and spearheaded the first generation were driven by the desire to do exactly what you experienced. They were counterculture techies of the 60's who were painfully aware of the power of information technologies and wanted to see that technology in everybody's hands, not in the grip of big money-grubbing corporations or all-seeing governnments.
It should provide good context to contrast against the current state of the industry, with its rush back to glass house centralized "cloud" computing and privacy-less "free" Internet services.
As for the Mac, if you're interested in who its real creators are and how much blood sweat and tears went into making it:
http://www.cs.ucla.edu/~klinger/mac.html
Underneath all the hardware and software, ultimately, the real heart of computers lies in the *people* who envision them and make them work. The best computers are labors of love, not marketting capaigns wrapped in metal and plastic.