Hacker Ethic and the Spirit of the Information Age

A century ago, Max Weber articulated the animating spirit of the industrial age, the Protestant ethic. This book articulates how hackers (enthusiastic computer programmers who share with others; not computer criminals) represent a new, opposing ethos for the info. age. Underlying hackers tech. creations --such as the Internet & the personal computer -- are the hacker values that produced them. These values promote passionate & freely rhythmed work; the belief that individuals can create great things by joining forces in imaginative ways; & the need to maintain our existing ethical ideals (privacy & equality) in our increasingly technologized society. Takes us on a journey through fundamental questions about life in the info. age.