Hackers - Wizards of the Electronic Age

Product Details

Hackers is not about malicious code-crackers. It is about a "hacker ethic" that led to major breakthroughs in technology, and forever changed our world. From the first MIT hackers to popular Silicon Valley inventors, this program covers this fascinating cultural phenomenon through interviews with twelve of its early pioneers.

This half-hour program features conversations with: Steve Wozniak, designer of the Apple II; Andy Hertzfeld and Bill Atkinson, designers of the Macintosh; Homebrew Computer Club leader Lee Felsenstein; MIT hackers Richard Stallman and Richard Greenblatt; and many more.

Hackers was produced over a decade before the advent of the Internet. All interviews were shot over a long week-end in 1984, at the first Hackers Conference, hosted by Whole Earth Catalog editors Stewart Brand and Kevin Kelley, in Sausalito, California. This event was inspired by Steven Levys classic book Hackers  Heroes of the Computer Revolution.

Running time: 26 minutes

Product Reviews

(5 stars) - Very Informative program!
This is a must for anyone who is curious about the hacker attitude and software movement.. I loved it!

(4 stars) - A little piece of 1985
As someone else mentioned, the highlight of this video getting to see a very young, fresh-faced Richard Stallman. For many years my only image of him was the long haired, bearded, venerable father philosopher of the Free Software movement. Pretty cool to see him as young kid (but with a big ol' bushy beard even back then!) When I purchased this, I winced that I was only getting 26 minutes. But when I sat down to watch it, somehow it didn't feel particularly short.

The description says that this documentary was shot at a Hackers Conference in 1984. For the record, it was actually in March 1985. You can see this when one of the interviewees is demonstrating his email and bbs (which were apparently still quite novel at the time...)

(3 stars) - Historical Interviews with Hi Tech Pioneers
Interesting historical interviews with figures important to the high tech industry but the DVD is very brief at 26 minutes.

(3 stars) - Modern history .....
Modern history ..... Amusement , but not to special . It is a "B" documentary .

(3 stars) - Mildly interesting
Mildly interesting video. I had expected a bit more, but this is 30 minutes of a couple of people talking about how cool computers were - in 1980. Nice to see a very young Richard Stallman, and other notorious hackers (Steve Wozniak, Andy Hertzfeld), but all in all a low value video...

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