Couldn’t governments have mandated that computer magazines include a disk with every program so readers wouldn’t have to type them in?
by elmerfud on 4/21/25, 8:07 PM
That's a strange issue to have a government mandate. No one was compelled to type those programs in if they didn't want to. I came from the time of seeing those in magazines, and most I never bothered to type in because it wasn't that interested in what they did. Some I did type in because it's a good learning experience especially when you have to go back and debug where you mistype something.
If governments try and restrict this, which is effectively a manual instruction method for achieving an outcome how many other manual instruction methods for achieving an outcome would also get inadvertently restricted? I am quite curious at the basis for the question around the legality of it because that strikes me as very odd, and I'd really like to know the thought process.
by aaronbaugher on 4/21/25, 8:12 PM
We didn't
have to type them in; we
got to type them in. We
paid for those magazines because we wanted those programs (along with the rest of the content). It was just a way to distribute them, especially when many computer owners didn't own a disk drive and there were different incompatible sizes.
Should magazines also have to send someone to read the magazine to you if you have poor eyesight or don't know the language? What an odd question.
by mikerg87 on 4/21/25, 9:27 PM
It was a sort of way to learn code. What does this asm opcode do or this basic function do. As you typed it in. In a way it was like long form watching gif images stream in during the early internet.
Modems we expensive and compuserve or the source charged an hourly rate. If you lived in a city with a node it wasn’t horrible but with long distance it was obscene.
I remember when analog computing came up with a checksum program to check the listing. Game changer. You could be assured your work wasn’t in vein. Pretty soon all the magazines had one and typing in the code was a way to get a cheap game compared to $30-40 for a rom game or disk. All it cost was some time at night playing with your computer. Typing in code to see your machine do something you’d never seen before. A technique or trick. A magical time.
by iwanttocomment on 4/21/25, 7:43 PM
Why are cookbooks legal? Shouldn't they just include the food so that you don't have to cook it?
by JohnFen on 4/21/25, 8:25 PM
Well, first, there's no way that such a mandate could work. In that day, there were no standardized forms of media storage for the consumer. Disks themselves were very, very rare (and expensive) and most disk systems couldn't read disks written by a different one. Most consumer software was distributed on cassette tape or in the form of printed listings.
Second, why would this sort of mandate even be desirable?
by bell-cot on 4/21/25, 7:45 PM
Why would any '80's government have bothered paying attention to this issue?
How many problems would there be disks that got damaged or lost in the mail?
How often were those type-in programs available for download (on a BBS, or similar system) for those who cared about this issue?
by billybuckwheat on 4/21/25, 10:21 PM
Governments didn't care about that in those days (just as they don't care now). Anyway, the cost for doing that would have bumped up the price of the magazines. Would readers have paid that? Some, maybe.
As for including a disk with the magazines, not every computer in those days had a disk drive and not everyone owned an external drive. The people I knew with computers used a cassette tape deck to load and store programs or they'd buy plug-in cartridges.
by icedchai on 4/21/25, 8:12 PM
It was a very different time. Some people bought early computers without disk drives, or even tape drives. You are now mandating people buy extra equipment they may not be able to afford.
by jethronethro on 4/21/25, 10:23 PM
Why even ask this question? The 1980s were a long time ago. Something like this isn't a problem these days.
by devonnull on 4/21/25, 11:23 PM
The OP has a history of posting nonsensical and illogical questions like this on Hacker News. Wondering if they're doing this just to try to bump up their karma or if they're actually spending their time thinking about this sort of silliness.