这是一台IBM机器,现在是古老的,但那时却艳丽了。该大学实际上拥有它,它躺在一个房间内,除了机器的专业护理人员可以在白天进入。但是Alsing发现,一个学生可以在晚上走进那个房间并与计算机一起玩。 Alsing喝太多,他从未服用任何其他毒品。 “我是午夜程序员,”他承认。
(It was an IBM machine, archaic now but gaudy then. The university owned it, in effect, and it lay inside a room that none but the machine's professional caretakers could enter during the day. But Alsing found out that a student could just walk into that room at night and play with the computer. Alsing didn't drink much and he never took any other drugs. "I was a midnight programmer," he confessed.)
在“新机器的灵魂”中,特雷西·基德(Tracy Kidder)描述了一个时代,当时计算机仍然相对较新,并且经常由大学等机构拥有。一台这样的计算机是一台IBM机器,按照当今的标准被认为是过时的,它一直受到严格的访问控制。只允许训练有素的专业人员在白天进入指定的房间,强调当时的计算技术的照顾和崇敬。
但是,Alsing发现学生可以在晚上访问机器,这使他拥抱了在那些时间内探索节目的机会。他被认为是“午夜程序员”,展示了他对技术和创新的热情,即使他戒酒不含酒精和毒品,优先考虑他与计算机的创造性互动。