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Cyhist Dec 4, 1998 D
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========================================================================= Date: Fri, 4 Dec 1998 10:48:16 PST
Reply-To: "CYHIST Community Memory: Discussion list on the History of
Cyberspace" <CYHIST@MAELSTROM.STJOHNS.EDU> Sender: "CYHIST Community Memory: Discussion list on the History of
Cyberspace" <CYHIST@MAELSTROM.STJOHNS.EDU> From: "Laurence I. Press" <lpress@ISI.EDU>
Subject: Free software
In-Reply-To: Your message of Fri, 4 Dec 1998 00:30:52 -0400
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Community Memory: Discussion List on the History of Cyberspace ______________________________________________________________________
>The notion that "software should be free," was a given among the first, self-named "hackers" at MIT in the late 1950s. Thereafter I would expect
In those days user groups like SHARE also distributed software for free and IBM bundled it in with their machines. IBM distinguished between supported and not-supported (actually I think there were 3 levels -- IBM top-level, IBM lower level, and user contributed??), but it came with your machine. The top level stuff was like operating systems and compilers but lower status program libraries were also maintained in IBM branch offices. There was a lot of software in them -- scientific subroutines, report generators, sorts, applications, etc. etc. Lots of file cabinets with decks of cards.
Lar
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Reply-To: "CYHIST Community Memory: Discussion list on the History of
Cyberspace" <CYHIST@MAELSTROM.STJOHNS.EDU> Sender: "CYHIST Community Memory: Discussion list on the History of
Cyberspace" <CYHIST@MAELSTROM.STJOHNS.EDU> From: "Laurence I. Press" <lpress@ISI.EDU>
Subject: Free software
In-Reply-To: Your message of Fri, 4 Dec 1998 00:30:52 -0400
______________________________________________________________________
Community Memory: Discussion List on the History of Cyberspace ______________________________________________________________________
>The notion that "software should be free," was a given among the first, self-named "hackers" at MIT in the late 1950s. Thereafter I would expect
In those days user groups like SHARE also distributed software for free and IBM bundled it in with their machines. IBM distinguished between supported and not-supported (actually I think there were 3 levels -- IBM top-level, IBM lower level, and user contributed??), but it came with your machine. The top level stuff was like operating systems and compilers but lower status program libraries were also maintained in IBM branch offices. There was a lot of software in them -- scientific subroutines, report generators, sorts, applications, etc. etc. Lots of file cabinets with decks of cards.
Lar
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