How An Apple II Changed Kevin Kelly’s Life

Kevin Kelly, editor of the Whole Earth Catalog and founding editor of Wired, on his first Apple II computer:

To my immense surprise, I found that these high-tech computer networks were not deadening the souls of early users like me; they were filling our souls. There was something unexpectedly organic about these ecosystems of people and wires. Out of complete nothingness, we were barn raising a virtual commonwealth. When the internet finally came along a few years later, it seemed almost Amish to me.

That was 30 years ago. Guess who else used to read the Whole Earth Catalog back then.