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	Home arrow   Required Reading 
Required Reading
This is it, the must read list. Articles that define me, move me, or predict the future. My fathers generation remember when they saw their first TV, mine remember when we saw our first web browser, and became part of the computer revolution, fighting on the side of science, and freedom.

Advise to Young Men from an Old Man Print
Friday, 16 March 2007
30 points of advise on craigs list.
 
Great Hackers Print
Tuesday, 10 May 2005

This discussion of hackers starts off with a seriously flawed argument that differences in wealth distribution becoming greater and greater are due to more productive workers on computers. I almost put the essay down at that point.. That the wealthy mostly get there by merit is completely untrue. And how many great hackers in life do we hear about dieing poor.. seems like everyone except Edison.

Never the less, Paul Grahm goes on to provide a glimpse of what it is to be a really good hacker

Note: this article is NOT about computer crime.

 
Interface Zen Print
Saturday, 21 February 2004
"You're in the groove; you've got all the right moves down so pat you don't even think about doing them. The world [...] fades away. There is the computer. There is you. There is nothing else. And this is good."
 
How to ask smart questions Print
Thursday, 19 February 2004
A guide to asking smart questions when getting help from opensource projects.
 
Inside the Soul of the Web Print
Monday, 08 September 2003
A very interesting view of humanity, technology and google. Michael Malone spends 24 hours watching the web through a little terminal at google headquarters.
 
MP3s are Not the Devil Print
Monday, 08 September 2003
A well written opinion piece by Orson Scott Card (author of Enders Game) about copyright.
"...the people complaining about all the internet 'thieves' are, by any reasonable measure, rapacious profiteers who have been parasitically sucking the blood out of copyrights on other people's work."
Good stuff.
 
Sharecropper Programming Print
Saturday, 12 July 2003
As a software developer, I prefer to write code that runs on opensource platforms and in languages which are themselves open (eg, linux, php, perl, c, etc) and I can't help but feel taken advantage of when coding in microsoft languages like VB. This article by Tim Bray does a good job of explaining why.
 
Breeding Computer Code Print
Wednesday, 07 May 2003
I've seen similar articles before, and always found it interesting; Using computer programs to simulate evolution. Its a great way to prove the idea is feasible and figure out some general characteristics about it without having to wait a million years to see what happens. In this case, its possible to witness how complex things can arise out of simple parts, and how sometimes a "lesser" gene is better for the long run evolution.
 
In the Beginning was the Command Line Print
Wednesday, 30 October 2002
This is an unbelievably cool short story about Life and Operating Systems bye Neal Stephenson (Author of Cryptonomicon)
 
The Memory Hole Print
Tuesday, 06 August 2002
Rescuing Knowledge, freeing information - This site hosts documents that some would prefer got lost...
 
In The Public Interest Print
Tuesday, 25 June 2002
Ralph Nader, what ever else you think of him, has a lot of good ideas about improving the democratic process in our government. Unfortunately, those who profit from unfair rules tend to try and ignore them. From asking polititians to disclose their voting records to suggesting the FCC not sell out the public right to the airwaves, theres plenty of reason here to write your representatives.
 
Why Software Should Not Have Owners Print
Sunday, 23 June 2002
The GNU Foundation explains why free software (free as in speech, not as in beer) is a good idea.
 
Anti-Creationism FAQ Print
Sunday, 23 June 2002
James Meritt explains the flaws with various creationist explanations of supposed "proof" of god.
 
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