I think that’s broadly true, but just because you work somewhere as oppressive as IBM doesn’t mean you don’t long to breathe the free air. I like to imagine some of the contributors to the IBM songbook felt trapped in their day job and grabbed at that as the only available creative outlet, and they had their own magnum opus that they were going to publish just as soon as they felt safe enough to take the leap. I can’t find any credits for the songs so maybe they did.
IBM in 1979 was the polar opposite of hippie or liberal. You’re thinking of later, younger outfits, Pirates of Silicon Valley types. IBM was white shirt, black tie, solidly stuck in their ways.
Ah, from back when people still had critical thinking faculties in good working order.
Back when tech is still dominated by hippies and not fascists.
I have bad news about IBM’s past as regards fascists.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/IBM_and_the_Holocaust
At the time the computers were kinda newfangled and they tolerated some hippies over there in research.
The business part, well, yeah.
This is as good an excuse as any to break out the ol’ IBM corporate songbook
Tech has always been suits at the top, hippies at best an annoying necessity because they know how to actually operate the machine.
“Back in the day”, IBM was all suits the entire way up and down the ladder. They were considered the company for 1960/70s button down dress code.
The hippie types were at MIT hacking on DEC machines.
I think that’s broadly true, but just because you work somewhere as oppressive as IBM doesn’t mean you don’t long to breathe the free air. I like to imagine some of the contributors to the IBM songbook felt trapped in their day job and grabbed at that as the only available creative outlet, and they had their own magnum opus that they were going to publish just as soon as they felt safe enough to take the leap. I can’t find any credits for the songs so maybe they did.
That’s not how you would describe IBM at any point in its existence.
IBM in 1979 was the polar opposite of hippie or liberal. You’re thinking of later, younger outfits, Pirates of Silicon Valley types. IBM was white shirt, black tie, solidly stuck in their ways.
Who universally became assholes.