Wau Holland facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Wau Holland
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Wau Holland, around 2000
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Herwart Holland-Moritz
December 20, 1951 |
| Died | July 29, 2001 (aged 49) |
| Known for | Cofounder of the Chaos Computer Club |
Herwart Holland-Moritz, known as Wau Holland, was a German computer expert and journalist. He was born on December 20, 1951, and passed away on July 29, 2001. In 1981, he helped start the Chaos Computer Club (CCC). This club is one of the oldest groups in the world for people who are very good with computers.
Contents
Wau Holland's Career
From 1979, Holland helped a film historian named Hans-Michael Bock. They worked on a big database about German-language films. In 1981, Wau Holland helped create the Chaos Computer Club (CCC).
Reporting on Computer News
Starting in 1983, he wrote articles for a newspaper called Die Tageszeitung. He often wrote about early online communities and the computer world. In the same year, he also helped prepare one of the first books made entirely on a computer.
Starting a Hacker Magazine
In 1984, Holland also helped start the CCC's magazine, Datenschleuder. This magazine talked about how amazing global computer networks could be. It also showed how to build cheap modems. At that time, Germany's main phone company, Deutsche Bundespost, made modems very expensive. Wau Holland famously said that connecting a homemade modem was a very serious offense. Later, this phone company became Deutsche Telekom.
Fighting for Open Information
Wau Holland was a very important part of the Chaos Computer Club. He gave talks about who controls information, whether it was governments or private companies. Holland believed that information should be free and open to everyone. He was against rules that stopped people from copying software. He also spoke out against any kind of censorship. He thought that stopping people from sharing information was like what happened in the Middle Ages. He also saw copy protection as a problem with the product itself. In his later years, he spent time teaching kids about computers and how to use them responsibly.
Wau Holland's Personal Life
Holland was born in Kassel and grew up in Marburg, Germany. He went to high school there and then to the University of Marburg. He did not finish his university studies.
Holland also enjoyed using special radios as a hobby. He had a special code name for his radio, which was DB4FA.
After a big change in Germany, Holland lived in Ilmenau. He taught about computer ethics at the Technical University of Ilmenau. He was good friends with Bernd Fix and Wolfgang Rudolph. He also became a strong supporter of encrypted messaging, which means sending secret messages online.
Wau Holland passed away in Bielefeld on July 29, 2001. He had a serious health problem in May that led to complications.
See also
- Phreaking
- Wau Holland Foundation
Images for kids
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Wau Holland in 1984
