4 ms·

The book is brilliant. Also worth mentioning is the rather dramatic PBS Nova episode from 1990, The KGB, the Computer, and Me -- starring, of course, Cliff Sto

by ssl-3 2mo ago

The book is brilliant. Also worth mentioning is the rather dramatic PBS Nova episode from 1990, The KGB, the Computer, and Me -- starring, of course, Cliff Stoll. It's an entertaining take of the same topic. I couldn't find a way to pay for a copy of it[], but this one on YouTube is pretty clean compared to the state of many other old NTSC things on our modern interweb: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vW8YBrH4Q6o https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vW8YBrH4Q6o []: Of course, a person is free to toss PBS a few dollars and/or buy an Acme Klein Bottle. :)

JKCalhoun 2mo ago
Already got my Klein bottle last year! (I recommend everyone do it—the personal notes from Cliff are priceless.)
- taneq 2mo ago
  I bought one for my sister a few years ago. Can confirm, the email chain alone is worth it. :D
- el_benhameen 2mo ago
  I bought one for my dad a long time ago. I was late in ordering (if memory serves) and asked if I could pick it up in person. Not only did Cliff say yes, but he gave me a tour of his shop and let me watch as he retrieved the bottle from his crawl space storage with a robot he’d built. Incredible customer service!
- great_tankard 1mo ago
  Bought my wife a pair of Klein bottle earrings. They arrived with pictures Cliff had taken of them in his garden. Lovely man.
tonyedgecombe 2mo ago
There was a British program as well. Sadly my copy got mangled by our VCR and I haven’t found it anywhere online.
- ssl-3 2mo ago
  Do you know what was it called, and when/where it aired? It is possible that some here have different methods for finding things.
  - tonyedgecombe 2mo ago
    I think it was called Spycatcher. It was on a commercial channel, possibly Yorkshire TV.
    - CliffStoll 2mo ago
      I remember making that video - we went up to Calistoga and spent time in a mud-bath. If you find the video, I'd enjoy seeing it! Thanx, -Cliff
      - ssl-3 1mo ago
        Cliff, I haven't quite given up on this, but I am running out of leads. I'm dropping this here mostly to benefit others by leaving some information all in one place. It seems that it was first episode of the first season [S01E01] of a Yorkshire Television series named Science Fiction (oh, how I wished they'd picked a less-ambiguous name). This episode was named Spycatcher. It's listed on IMDB[0] with an air date of Feb 15, 1990, but that date may be wrong. It was discussed twice[1] in TV-section articles in the Hull Daily Mail (Feb 10th and 13th, 1990), and some freely-visible blurbs from those suggest that it aired on a Tuesday at 7:30PM. That more-strongly ties the date down at February 13, 1990 than the IMDB's entry of Feb 15th. Except: The verdict in Germany didn't come until Feb 15th[2]. I wonder of the Yorkshire Television Science Fiction episode had the same conclusion as the PBS Nova episode did, or if it left things more open-ended. That would help to pin down the date. :) Some of the clues along the way include an old copy[3] of your own web pages at Berkeley, and one comment[4] on HN from a couple of years ago (they gave up on finding it). I don't know enough about British television norms (much less the history) to really understand how any of this stuff flows, but I'm gaining the impression that the remains of Yorkshire Television might be owned by ITV, and that archives are likely to still exist. I've seen reports that people have had success purchasing personal-use copies of old programs by sending an email to viewers.requests@itv.com if anyone wants to go that route. [0]: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1385328/ https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1385328/ [1]: https://www.britishnewspaperarchive.com/search-newspapers/results?keywords=stoll%20science%20fiction&newspaper=hull%20daily%20mail&country=england&startdate=1990-02-01&enddate=1990-02-28&sid=107 https://www.britishnewspaperarchive.com/search-newspapers/re... [2]: You're mentioned in a world record by Guinness! :) https://www.guinnessworldrecords.com/world-records/612868-first-incident-of-cyber-espionage https://www.guinnessworldrecords.com/world-records/612868-fi... [3]: https://web.archive.org/web/20090415204255/http://www.ocf.berkeley.edu/~stoll/nova_show.html https://web.archive.org/web/20090415204255/http://www.ocf.be... [4]: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=39154781 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=39154781

by ssl-3 2mo ago

JKCalhoun 2mo ago

Already got my Klein bottle last year! (I recommend everyone do it—the personal notes from Cliff are priceless.)

taneq 2mo ago
I bought one for my sister a few years ago. Can confirm, the email chain alone is worth it. :D
el_benhameen 2mo ago
I bought one for my dad a long time ago. I was late in ordering (if memory serves) and asked if I could pick it up in person. Not only did Cliff say yes, but he gave me a tour of his shop and let me watch as he retrieved the bottle from his crawl space storage with a robot he’d built. Incredible customer service!
great_tankard 1mo ago
Bought my wife a pair of Klein bottle earrings. They arrived with pictures Cliff had taken of them in his garden. Lovely man.

tonyedgecombe 2mo ago

There was a British program as well. Sadly my copy got mangled by our VCR and I haven’t found it anywhere online.

ssl-3 2mo ago
Do you know what was it called, and when/where it aired? It is possible that some here have different methods for finding things.
- tonyedgecombe 2mo ago
  I think it was called Spycatcher. It was on a commercial channel, possibly Yorkshire TV.
  - CliffStoll 2mo ago
    I remember making that video - we went up to Calistoga and spent time in a mud-bath. If you find the video, I'd enjoy seeing it! Thanx, -Cliff
    - ssl-3 1mo ago
      Cliff, I haven't quite given up on this, but I am running out of leads. I'm dropping this here mostly to benefit others by leaving some information all in one place. It seems that it was first episode of the first season [S01E01] of a Yorkshire Television series named Science Fiction (oh, how I wished they'd picked a less-ambiguous name). This episode was named Spycatcher. It's listed on IMDB[0] with an air date of Feb 15, 1990, but that date may be wrong. It was discussed twice[1] in TV-section articles in the Hull Daily Mail (Feb 10th and 13th, 1990), and some freely-visible blurbs from those suggest that it aired on a Tuesday at 7:30PM. That more-strongly ties the date down at February 13, 1990 than the IMDB's entry of Feb 15th. Except: The verdict in Germany didn't come until Feb 15th[2]. I wonder of the Yorkshire Television Science Fiction episode had the same conclusion as the PBS Nova episode did, or if it left things more open-ended. That would help to pin down the date. :) Some of the clues along the way include an old copy[3] of your own web pages at Berkeley, and one comment[4] on HN from a couple of years ago (they gave up on finding it). I don't know enough about British television norms (much less the history) to really understand how any of this stuff flows, but I'm gaining the impression that the remains of Yorkshire Television might be owned by ITV, and that archives are likely to still exist. I've seen reports that people have had success purchasing personal-use copies of old programs by sending an email to viewers.requests@itv.com if anyone wants to go that route. [0]: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1385328/ https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1385328/ [1]: https://www.britishnewspaperarchive.com/search-newspapers/results?keywords=stoll%20science%20fiction&newspaper=hull%20daily%20mail&country=england&startdate=1990-02-01&enddate=1990-02-28&sid=107 https://www.britishnewspaperarchive.com/search-newspapers/re... [2]: You're mentioned in a world record by Guinness! :) https://www.guinnessworldrecords.com/world-records/612868-first-incident-of-cyber-espionage https://www.guinnessworldrecords.com/world-records/612868-fi... [3]: https://web.archive.org/web/20090415204255/http://www.ocf.berkeley.edu/~stoll/nova_show.html https://web.archive.org/web/20090415204255/http://www.ocf.be... [4]: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=39154781 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=39154781