While everyone else in college had a 16 or 32-bit PC to do work on, or a Mac, I had an 8-bit computer. I was resourceful. I used a word processor on it and got A papers using it. I found free terminal software so I could hook up to the school’s mainframe and Unix systems via. modem. I had to learn how to do this stuff myself. I had no one to help me. I discovered this early on at freshman orientation. There was a section of it devoted to aspiring CS majors. I asked a question about computer tech support, and I said what kind of computer I had. Our advisor made a dismissive comment as if I should know better and the other freshmen laughed at me. I was on my own.

I was actually proud of the fact that I was able to get a low-power machine to do what the more powerful machines could do, though I did catch crap from my fellow computer-using dorm mates from time to time about it. They’d say derisively, “Come on. Use a REAL computer.” They were status symbols. It affected social comradery among fellow CS students a little, but surprisingly not too much. I think we appreciated each other more for our brains. I went to a state college. Maybe that had something to do with it. If anything I was socially ostracized generally on campus more for my socio-economic background than for what technology I used.

I learned to be self-sufficient and derive joy from what I did on my own, rather than appreciation from others. I ultimately got my Bachelor’s degree in CS.

I guess what I’m saying is if you’re the “odd bird” in the crowd you can still get through it, but you need to have determination and a strong sense of self.

I do wish things were different for women in technology. It’s a little depressing that just about everyone I run into in this field is male. I sometimes wonder what it’s like in other fields where there’s more of a balance between men and women. Frankly I think this is one reason why as a profession we tend to be misunderstood, seen as strange and anti-social, and are thereby not appreciated very much for the important work we do in innovating and “keeping the trains running”.

It’s not just a social equity issue. The field has wild financial gyrations in it that make you feel like you’re in the head of someone who is bi-polar. IMO the very idea that the field is a road to riches is a myth. Sometimes I wouldn’t wish it on anybody for what it puts people through. No, the reason I say this is the computer revolution needs to be shared by everybody.

One time I was puzzled with something I wanted to do on Unix. So I went to a Unix newsgroup and asked a newbie question. I got one polite, helpful response, and about 3 “flame” messages, yelling at me about how stupid my question was, providing no help at all. I explained that I even tried following the “netiquette” of reading messages on the group for a bit, and looking through the group’s FAQ. I didn’t find the answer to my question, so I asked. It didn’t matter.

I’ve also gotten yelled at online by Linux folks who didn’t like something I said about it. Maybe it was just an opinion, or maybe it was factually inaccurate. In either case they tend “jump” me, rather than help me understand where I might be mistaken.

There are friendly OSS communities though. One that I’ve encouraged people to check out if they’re at all interested is Squeak and Squeakland. They’re two different distributions of the Squeak system, with different emphases. Squeak is based on the old Smalltalk system from Xerox PARC. I have run into people who disagree with something I’ve said, but generally they’ve been reasonable, which is refreshing.

I’d love to see the article.