Computer ‘Hacker’ Awarded MacArthur Grant

“Genius grant” recipient Richard Stallman is noted as much for his eccentricities as he is for his prodigious talent as a computer programmer.

He can be found in his cluttered office, his hair long and matted, his bare feet cradling an open box of crackers on the cot where he sleeps.

Stallman, 37, last week was among 36 recipients of MacArthur Foundation grants.

Stallman, who will receive $240,000 during the next five years, is more than a gifted nerd.

In an era when his genius could earn him millions, Stallman eschews material possessions and leads a crusade for “free” computer software.

“Clearly, I could have gone to some company and made a lot of money,” said Stallman, sitting cross-legged on a couch outside his office.

“But I’m more interested in a certain quality of life. When a program is free, a community of enthusiasts develops,” he said.

The term “free software” does not refer to cost, but to the idea of being able to openly share information about computer techniques and applications, in contrast to commercial software applications, which are restricted and sometimes patented. With free software, people can trade programs and information freely, not unlike the idea of one person buying a cassette tape or a CD and allowing others to copy them.

Without free software, Stallman argues, computer enthusiasts are unable to improve existing programs because their knowledge is restricted. The brave new world pioneered by freewheeling computer “hackers” in the 1970s led to a static commercial ethic that threatens future progress, he said.

“It’s not in the public interest, everything has turned into a commercial trade secret,” he said.

Stallman is one of the founders of the League for Programming Freedom, which has 135 members.

The group is planning a protest march Aug. 2 at the Cambridge headquarters of Lotus Development Corp. A federal judge recently sided with the company, ruling it illegal to develop a program that uses the same commands and menus as an existing program.

Stallman sees himself as a true hacker.

A Harvard graduate, he began working on the computer system at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 1971. In the highly charged atmosphere of MIT’s artificial intelligence community, he was a legendary hacker, usually at his keyboard 10 hours a day, seven days a week for years.

Eighteen months ago, he developed tendinitis in his hands and now must employ a typist to carry out his commands.

“I’m determined not to let it stop me,” he said in an interview.

He earns what can be considered little more than stipend money by working occasionally as a consultant, but only on what he considers free software. He has no grand plans for the no-strings-attached grant, apart from a trip to the Soviet Union, where he was invited to meet with programmers.

He recalls the early days in the mid-1970s as near-Utopia in the hacker community. But around 1980, when many hackers cashed in on their talents and went corporate, Stallman found himself a maverick.

“All software was originally free,” said Stallman. “There was a real communal feeling. Then, in the ‘80s, it all changed.”

But Stallman stuck to his ideals. He left MIT in 1983 to begin working on the development of his own system of free software. His products are priced far less than comparable systems, he said. He has a staff of 15 people.

“What I set out to do was to make a complete free system,” Stallman said. “I want to use nothing but free software.”

In the rare hours when he leaves the computer pulsing in his tiny cubicle, Stallman socializes with other hackers. He has had a girlfriend for the past year, unusual for him, he said.

His farewell is always the same: “Happy hacking!”