People's Computer Company
Encyclopedia
People's Computer Company (PCC) was an organization, a newsletter (the "People's Computer Company Newsletter") and, later, a quasiperiodical called the "dragonsmoke." PCC was founded and produced by Bob Albrecht & George Firedrake in Menlo Park, California
in the early 1970s.
The first newsletter announced itself with the following introduction:
PCC was one of the first organizations to recognize the potential of Tiny BASIC
in the nascent field of personal computing when it published that language's design specification in their newsletter. This ultimately led to the design of an interpreter that was published in a publication, which they named Dr. Dobb's Journal
of Tiny BASIC Calisthenics and Orthodonti, dedicated to Tiny BASIC. The newsletter's title was changed to Dr. Dobb's Journal of Computer Calisthenics & Orthodontia for the second issue; the popular reaction to it eventually led to the long-running computer magazine Dr. Dobb's Journal which continued publication until 2009.
The history of PCC and its role in the evolution of the personal computer was described in Steven Levy
's book, Hackers: Heroes of the Computer Revolution
. In Levy's book, some of the values and ethics of PCC's founders are examined, particularly the ethics common among members of the hacker community.
Menlo Park, California
Menlo Park, California is a city at the eastern edge of San Mateo County, in the San Francisco Bay Area of California, in the United States. It is bordered by San Francisco Bay on the north and east; East Palo Alto, Palo Alto, and Stanford to the south; Atherton, North Fair Oaks, and Redwood City...
in the early 1970s.
The first newsletter announced itself with the following introduction:
"Computers are mostly used against people instead of for people; used to control people instead of to free them; Time to change all that - we need a... Peoples Computer Company."
PCC was one of the first organizations to recognize the potential of Tiny BASIC
Tiny BASIC
Tiny BASIC is a dialect of the BASIC programming language that can fit into as little as 2 or 3 KB of memory. This small size made it invaluable in the early days of microcomputers , when typical memory size was only 4–8 KB.- History :...
in the nascent field of personal computing when it published that language's design specification in their newsletter. This ultimately led to the design of an interpreter that was published in a publication, which they named Dr. Dobb's Journal
Dr. Dobb's Journal
Dr. Dobb's Journal was a monthly journal published in the United States by CMP Technology. It covered topics aimed at computer programmers. DDJ was the first regular periodical focused on microcomputer software, rather than hardware. It later became a monthly section within the periodical...
of Tiny BASIC Calisthenics and Orthodonti, dedicated to Tiny BASIC. The newsletter's title was changed to Dr. Dobb's Journal of Computer Calisthenics & Orthodontia for the second issue; the popular reaction to it eventually led to the long-running computer magazine Dr. Dobb's Journal which continued publication until 2009.
The history of PCC and its role in the evolution of the personal computer was described in Steven Levy
Steven Levy
Steven Levy is an American journalist who has written several books on computers, technology, cryptography, the Internet, cybersecurity, and privacy.-Career:...
's book, Hackers: Heroes of the Computer Revolution
Hackers: Heroes of the Computer Revolution
Hackers: Heroes of the Computer Revolution is a book by Steven Levy about hacker culture. It was published in 1984 in Garden City, New York by Anchor Press/Doubleday...
. In Levy's book, some of the values and ethics of PCC's founders are examined, particularly the ethics common among members of the hacker community.
See also
- What to Do After You Hit Return, or P.C.C.'s First Book of Computer GamesWhat to Do After You Hit Return or P.C.C.'s First Book of Computer GamesWhat to Do After You Hit Return or P.C.C.'s First Book of Computer Games is the first computer game book written by Bob Albrecht at People's Computer Company in 1975...
- Hacker EthicHacker ethicHacker ethic is the generic phrase which describes the moral values and philosophy that are standard in the hacker community. The early hacker culture and resulting philosophy originated at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in the 1950s and 1960s...
- Community MemoryCommunity MemoryCommunity Memory was the first public computerized bulletin board system. Established in 1973 in Berkeley, California, it used an SDS 940 timesharing system in San Francisco connected via a 110 baud link to a teleprinter at a record store in Berkeley to let users enter and retrieve messages...
- Microcomputer revolutionMicrocomputer revolutionThe microcomputer revolution is a phrase used to describe the rapid advances of microprocessor-based computers from esoteric hobby projects to a commonplace fixture of homes in industrial societies...