But Whoa on that 'Whoa'.  There's a huge difference: the PC came with vendor and third-party technical reference and programming manuals, BIOS references, etc.  It was a world that encouraged that kind of curiosity and creativity.<p>Now, a kid who does that is a "jailbreaker", and can be sued by Apple for DMCA violations, etc.<p>My own personal Apple experience: Age 17, Apple II.  Open the covers, look at the circuitry, look at sample programs....a career began.   New technologists need as many legal reference books as they do technical reference books.  (Listen to the old guy refer to 'books')  :-)