Word: hacker
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...Happy Hacker was not happy, but he brought it on himself. All the Hacker's papers are written on word-processors, literary Cuisinarts which would just as soon make mashed potatoes as they would make julienne french fries. Word processors are to the '80s what drugs were to the '60s--artificial stimulants that can often do more harm than good...
Actually, if you're giving to a real computerphile, give non-computer gifts. (People like the Happy Hacker already spend too much time in front of the computer screen.) Buy them something social--a gift certificate to Steve's or tickets to a show...
...expensive (at least $100) and should only be given to people who have expressed a specific need. Computer users tend to prefer one software package over another, and it's best to ask before buying. While it is possible to buy someone any brand of surge suppressor, the Happy Hacker does not recommend giving just any spelling checker or database program without first checking on the user's needs and preferences...
...sophisticated and artistically minded users would probably love a copy of the witty and philosophical Zen and the Art of the Macintosh (16.95). Perhaps a how-to guide to Lotus 1-2-3 or Database III would be appropriate for a senior doing a quantitative thesis. For those addictive hackers who eat, sleep and read computers, Hackers ($4.50) by Steven Levy is a fun account of famous and infamous computer heros. The Soul of a New Machine ($3.95) by Tracy Kidder is also enjoyable reading, even for the computer neophyte. If someone is looking to buy a computer, John Bear...
...Happy Hacker's holiday wish list, I'd just as soon get a singing telegram, two pound bag of caramel popcorn, or a candy cane. Of course, a laserprinter under the Christmas tree wouldn't be so bad either...