4 ms·
His example is a poor one. The phone system was far from open and the hacking that Woz was doing against it was very much illegal. Instead, the availability of
by hammerdr 17y ago
His example is a poor one. The phone system was far from open and the hacking that Woz was doing against it was very much illegal.
Instead, the availability of these types of devices (iPhone, Smartphones) has increased the level of technical knowledge in every day society. For example, there are more people that know how to jailbreak an iPhone than there are hackers. For some non-technical people, this very technical process has become something commonplace.
The reports from DARPA and the US Air Force are suspect in their relevance to this discussion. There are several factors that could weigh upon their low projections: military recruitment rate is down in the US and there is general displeasure with the government.
Also, computer science has become ubiquitous in several fields. For example, all of the majors at my engineering university are required to take some form of computer science. Creating tools and solving problems with software has become an everyday part of any engineers' tool belt. Perhaps the hackers are migrating to domain specific areas?
And, finally, that doesn't mean we should be complacent. It is still (and always will be) our charge to engage younger generations in the fulfillment and excitement that comes from solving tough problems.
- heresy 17y agoA fair number of programmers I respect have broken the law. Sometimes the law is an ass, and needs to be broken. And sometimes you're just so damn curious you have to figure out how it works, and you break it for the rush of both solving the problem and sticking it to the man. Most people outgrow the latter, but I would think twice about the credentials of any programmer that did not do things of questionable legality growing up. Curiosity is to be encouraged.
- dantheman 17y agoA lot of the early hacking was before there were laws against it.
- scott_s 17y agoI did nothing illegal related to computers growing up because my family didn't even own one until I was 15 (which was 1997). I didn't know enough to cause any damage until after my freshman year of college, at which point I was legally an adult. I am, of course, one anecdote. But I think that your test is a poor one.