Sunday, March 6, 2016

Hacking and the MicroComputer Revolution


  Once again I had fallen victim to the great “Blog Lag”. I was planning to upload at least a post a month but certain err... circumstances had kept me once again from doing so.  For those of you who are still not familiar with the CS1.6PH Gaming Community and my Pinoy Tactical Blog, you can check them out on the following pages:  

CounterStrike Pinoy Mod and Tactical Map Development

These two have been both mainly responsible for stealing my time for this blog. My apologies once again and yes you can blame them. Now back to … where was I?



Way back during the 1980’s or the so called “Micro-Computer Revolution”, people didn’t look at computers the same way we do today. Though popular as they were, having your very own set-up or your watyamacallit trash compactor was not a common thing. You just didn't go to the computer shop for a Mac or PC and although ARPANET was active and in place, it wasn't like you could just connect publicly like the Internet today.  

The closest thing to being online was by connecting to a mainframe or a bulletin board system (BBS). Compatibility was not an issue simply because it almost didn't exist. When the micros came out they were treated as super miniaturized mainframe computers, meaning they were specifically custom made by the manufacturer as a company standard. Apples were for Apples, TRS-80’s for TRS and so forth. After all, a Univac Mainframe wasn't built to be compatible with a DEC PDP-11.  

This resulted in so many of them to choose from. Brands like Victor, Altair, IMSAI, Atari and Fujitsu were what you saw inside computer shops. They had their own software, operating systems and sometimes even their own programming languages. It was a complete jumbled mess of computing technology but it was Fun! 

This was also the time that the term “Hacking” evolved from what was then known as breaking into secure systems by taking advantage of certain loopholes to something more positive and creative as coming up with quickly created or patched up solutions to technical problems (like compatibility) that occurred with the use of this machines. Not all hackers were so called Black Hats. Many created hacks that led to the development of what computers and the Internet are today. These developments leveled the playing field that by 1986 here were 3 leading brands that controlled the microcomputer market.

 They were Apple, Commodore and the IBM PC. I was then fortunate enough to experience working on all 3 brands. It was awesome as I applied the technical know how gained as a basis for writing Project Pawai.  Though each of these brands had developed their own specific market niche, (IBM for corporate and business use, Apple for home, small business and electronics development and Commodore for home and graphics applications) they all had one thing in common, games! Yes, an entire horde of glorious games where the Commodore led and the IBM PC lagged hehe… However, when it came time to tinker, the Apple reigned supreme. 

The C64 and advanced versions that followed were based on a closed box design. Though many where used for interface projects, they just didn’t have the kind of popularity the Apple2 series had. The IBM PC though it implemented the same open slot design architecture introduced by the Apple2,had a big and clunky boxlike case that at that time was difficult to open up (not to mention it took a lot of space). It was perfect for offices as it really looked and felt like a shrunk mainframe and had the computing power to boot. The Apple2 on the other hand was easy to use and easy to open. Just remove the lid and you will see the motherboard with all the open card slots waiting for a standard peripheral add on card or a science experiment interface card that you built. 

Access to the operating system was easy and you could work with it on startup as it had both a mnemonic and basic interpreter hardwired on the machine. The IBM still needed to load a basic interpreter or other language compiler to work decently (just like a mini or mainframe). So with the Apple, you simply plugged in your self assembled experimental card and access it via the on-board interpreter or load the code you made for it. Personally, I had a lot of fun tinkering during those days. 

One was the MAIEM (Micro Apple Interface Environmental Monitor) project where my best friend and I assembled an interface card connected to environmental electronic sensors (like light, moisture, sound etc.).  I then wrote the code that accessed the card and printed the results on screen. Another was my first AI code, the Apple Marvin project which was
featured prominently in my novel. I wrote Marvin using AppleSoft Basic and as an AI that accessed a software application that produced phonetic speech using the Apple’s little speaker. I had to create a database of phonetic sounds and the equivalent text responses which my AI accessed and forwarded to the sound app and the Apple’s display. This all depended on the user’s text input when chatting with the AI. Today I still have the 5.25 “disk with no working Apple2 to run it on (a pity since my 2e sits in a corner, a paperweight, a memorabilia of a wondrous past).  


So what was it like to hack with computers way back in the 1980’s? The era of Wargames, the WhizKids and Angus MacGyver. The young people of today may never know and might never care, but to those of you who where around during those times and experienced it, you would probably agree with me when I say: It was awesome !!!

Thanks again until next time. 


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