{"id":260,"date":"2024-08-22T16:32:28","date_gmt":"2024-08-22T14:32:28","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/hacking.museum\/?p=260"},"modified":"2024-08-23T19:31:05","modified_gmt":"2024-08-23T17:31:05","slug":"atari-modems-and-the-accidental-hacker-a-journey-back-to-1985","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/hacking.museum\/index.php\/2024\/08\/22\/atari-modems-and-the-accidental-hacker-a-journey-back-to-1985\/","title":{"rendered":"Atari, Modems, and the \u201cAccidental\u201d Hacker: A Journey Back to 1985"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

TL;DR<\/strong>: Atari User’s 1985 issue dives into early hacking culture, from modem-based BBS systems to the first steps into more complex networks like Prestel and Telecom Gold. Though the speeds were painfully slow (300 baud!), the excitement of connecting, downloading free software, and exploring early networks fueled a generation of hackers-to-be. Find the issue on Internet<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Do you remember the day you got your first Atari?<\/strong> For many of us, it felt like the beginning of a grand romance. But if you flipped through Atari User<\/em> magazine in 1985, you\u2019d notice something else brewing beneath the surface: hacking\u2014whether intentional or not.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In Atari User<\/em>, Volume 1, Issue 2 (June 1985), Peter Atkinson confesses his \u201caccidental\u201d initiation into what he calls the “hacking fraternity.” What starts off as a playful obsession with bulletin board systems (BBS) quickly spirals into full-blown modem addiction. Think of it as the original geek drug\u2014no needles required, just a phone line and a stubborn Atari.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Hacking Before it Was Cool<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Atkinson\u2019s slippery slope into the world of hacking begins innocently enough. A friend lends him a modem (the \u201cgateway drug\u201d of early hackers), which allows him to connect his Atari to the phone line. And voil\u00e0\u2014he\u2019s suddenly part of the comms<\/em> world, swapping messages on bulletin board systems<\/em>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For those of you too young to remember, BBS<\/em> wasn\u2019t some secret society of cyber masterminds\u2014at least not yet. It was essentially a digital message board where people could leave text for others to find. But in the hands of a 1980s hacker-in-training? It was dangerously fun<\/em>. People exchanged programming tips, vented about politics, or traded second-hand gadgets (and occasionally spouses, apparently). And Atkinson? He was all in.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Free Software? Sign Me Up!<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

One of the most humorous parts of the article is Atkinson\u2019s glee at the free software he could download. “It\u2019s free! Even if I\u2019ve no need for it, I can\u2019t resist having it,” he confesses. If you\u2019re wondering where this free stuff was coming from, well, so were a lot of people. Many early hackers exchanged software (let\u2019s call it what it is\u2014pirated software) via BBS. And if that wasn\u2019t enough, those BBSs also conveniently listed the phone numbers of other BBSs. So the cycle of obsession continued, like an endless scavenger hunt for more digital treasure.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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The Hacker Spirit Takes Over<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

But of course, like any good addiction, the amateur tinkerer eventually graduates to harder stuff. For Atkinson, it wasn\u2019t long before he outgrew basic BBS systems and dove into Prestel\u2014an early nationwide commercial network\u2014and then the almighty Telecom Gold<\/em>, a sophisticated electronic mail system. He wasn\u2019t just downloading free software anymore; he was hooked on the idea of connecting, exploring, and bending technology to his will. And with systems like Telecom Gold<\/em>, things got fancy: personal electronic mailboxes, real-time chat, and message boards that made early Atari users feel like tech wizards.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Let\u2019s not forget that by 1985 standards, these early hackers were technically advanced<\/em>. Configuring RS232<\/em> connections and making sure modems were set to the right baud rate (300 baud for BBS, 1200\/75 baud for Prestel) were skills that made you the digital equivalent of a sorcerer. And for Atkinson, all this technical tinkering was simply fuel for the fire. Once he got a taste of that online world, there was no going back.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

From Hobbyist to Hardcore Hacker<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The tone of the article shifts from hobbyist fascination to what could only be described as “hacker mania.” Atkinson jokingly laments his transformation from a casual Atari user into a \u201cdemented, crazed\u201d<\/em> comms addict. Gone was the cool, collected tech enthusiast\u2014replaced by someone who couldn\u2019t resist logging in every chance he got, dialing in to check if new messages or software were available.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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And that\u2019s where it hits home: this early journey into the world of bulletin boards, modems, and message sharing was hacking in its purest, most innocent form. It wasn\u2019t about breaking into government systems (yet); it was about pushing the boundaries of what technology could do, all while staying glued to a CRT monitor, waiting for those satisfying beeps and clicks of a successful connection.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Gold Nugget Found in a Mud Puddle: Who Knew?<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Believe it or not, I managed to stumble upon a hidden gem in this article \u2014 a rare moment of clarity in a sea of questionable insights. Who would\u2019ve thought? And to think, our DevOps heroes of 2024 still find reasons to complain!<\/p>\n\n\n

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A Note on Speed\u2014And a Hilarious Streaming Problem<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Now, for those of you reading this with fiber-optic internet and the luxury of streaming your movies in 4K, consider this: back in the 1980s, Atkinson and his fellow hackers were working with 300 baud<\/em> modems for BBS and 1200\/75 baud<\/em> for Prestel. To put this in perspective, if you wanted to download a simple HD movie file (say, around 4.5GB), it would take roughly 34,952 hours<\/strong> (or about 4 years<\/strong>) at 300 baud. Even the faster 1200 baud connection would take a whopping 8,738 hours<\/strong> (about 1 year<\/strong>)!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Now, imagine trying to stream a movie with those speeds. You hit play, wait two days, and finally get to watch the first frame<\/em>. You get up to make a cup of coffee, and by the time the second frame loads, you’ve aged a year. Now that\u2019s what I call delayed gratification<\/em>! Talk about turning \u201cbinge-watching\u201d into \u201ctime-traveling.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Some Things Never Change<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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Atkinson jokes that every modem should have come with a health warning, much like cigarette packs today. He wasn\u2019t far off. Once you stepped into the world of early hacking, whether through BBS or commercial networks like Prestel, it was hard to step away. And while today\u2019s hacking looks a lot different\u2014with Wi-Fi, high-speed internet, and cloud-based everything\u2014the spirit is still the same: curiosity, ingenuity, and a little bit of rebellion.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

For those wanting to dive into the good ol’ days, you can find vintage issues of Atari User<\/em> on Internet <\/em><\/a>Archive<\/a><\/em>. It\u2019s a nostalgic look at when hacking wasn\u2019t just a profession or subculture\u2014it was a new frontier.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

TL;DR: Atari User’s 1985 issue dives into early hacking culture, from modem-based BBS systems to the first steps into more complex networks like Prestel and Telecom Gold. Though the speeds…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[12,10],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-260","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-atari","category-hackers-retro-bookshelf-magazine-club"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/hacking.museum\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/260","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/hacking.museum\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/hacking.museum\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hacking.museum\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hacking.museum\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=260"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"https:\/\/hacking.museum\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/260\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":359,"href":"https:\/\/hacking.museum\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/260\/revisions\/359"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/hacking.museum\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=260"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hacking.museum\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=260"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hacking.museum\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=260"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}