For me I got into computers in the around 1980 in high school...

So starting out pirated programs, and type-in stuff from magazines. Many programs were in BASIC so a lot of peeking and poking about in the code and memory to see what you could do with the computer and programs. Lot of reading and hand-written/mind work between times with hands-on access to school computers.

Once I got my own computer VIC-20, i got lots of mags and books (especially the programmers reference guide) more time to experiment and try out hand-converted assembly routines in my programs.

Commodore 64, man the pirated disks were everywhere... also was the beginning of copy protected disks - and then to push back the protected software copier and cracked programs... lots more books and magazines to learn (the magazines were getting more technical then like the Transactor magazine, a true Commodore programming mag... ahhh), as well as copied text files from BBSs becoming more prevalent (see textfiles.com for a sample of independent information people exchanged)

Once I got my modem I called around a lot, got some files but the discussion forums were also an attraction, though the audience was limited to usually folks within the general area of the BBS. Soon I became a sysop and worked on my board as well as called others. Lots of hacking on the boards to personalize them, add modifications, do new functions like inter-BBS message networks, etc.

BBSs came in different varieties, besides operating system/computer (mine were on the Commodore 64) there were boards with lots of on-bbs games, some with pirated software, others did message boards (mine was more a message board), some tried to do porn and stuff for profit, never got into that so don't know much of that aspect. Hackers at that era besides cracking started doing demos and intros for cracked games, its surprising how much of a show you can put on with a few K of ram on a 1 mghz computer.

Internet creeped into neighborhoods and BBS callership dried up - except for the more dedicated sysops and their boards (mine lasted till around 2004, mainly due to Hard disk failure without a backup. :-/

I think it was better in a way for development as absence or less accessibility makes the heart grow fonder and gave us time to plan things out between whatever computer opportunity you were deprived of. Also a lot of the technologies we use now were in their infancy in the day, so some of us old geezer grock why computers/software do this or that because we saw it when it originally came on the scene.

Today you have such more higher level languages, and supercomputers compared to the old times, the complex is pretty much a cakewalk to the general programming public now. So much accessibility and inter-connetedness too.

Back then it was mainly a nerds only club, your mom wouldn't even get into the same room with the computer. Now the general public is here, which means you got lots of noobs and wannabes all over the place.

Now also has a lot more distractions, not just games and facebook, but also the avalanche of hardware/ programming/ etc. technologies that are being pushed out at us every day. I guess the big challenge for folks today is where to get started and what paths to choose.