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Apple wouldn't even exist if not for this type of hacking. One of Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak's first projects was selling blue boxes[1] to play around on AT&T
by SaberTail 3y ago
Apple wouldn't even exist if not for this type of hacking. One of Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak's first projects was selling blue boxes[1] to play around on AT&T's telephone system.
[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blue_box https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blue_box
- JumpCrisscross 3y ago> One of Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak's first projects was selling blue boxes Which didn’t scale because it doesn’t scale because the blue box stopped working. Sort of like Beeper.
- lofaszvanitt 3y agoBeeper's true purpose was to show people that it's possible without an iPhone. What you don't know how many other clients like this worked and for how long...
- latexr 3y ago> Beeper's true purpose was to show people that it's possible without an iPhone. What’s your basis for saying that? Honestly asking. Seems like Beeper’s true purpose could just as well have been to make money. Of course this is possible without an iPhone. Apple could build it anytime they want, they just don’t. Which I disagree with, but that’s a different argument.
- epistasis 3y agoAnd the penalty for getting caught wasn't merely having your connection turned off, it was a trial. Selling a device that transgressed the boundaries doesn't mean they thought that no boundaries should exist, it just means they knew it was possible to do something technically interesting and would allow them to make money. If Jobs and Woz thought there should be now penalties for using blue boxes, my guess is that they thought the telco should merely implement a better system, not that everybody should get free access to it.
- zer0zzz 3y agoThis should be the top comment