Week 6

<BODY bgcolor="#FFFFFF"> <H2>Week 6 - Feb 23/25 </H2> <H3><A HREF="lecture.html">The Myth of the Hacker</A> </H3> Internet culture has grown out of a world of hackers who play with words, symbols, and explore the architecture of our modern communications infrastructure. A hacker originally referred to somebody who programs for the fun of it and is good at it. The word has taken on a negative connotation in recent years. Society fears the changes that computer communication introduces into our existing social structures. Our aim is explore how and why the myth of the hacker has emerged in computer communications. <P><B>Read</B>: <UL> <LI> <A HREF="http://www.eff.org/pub/Publications/John_Perry_Barlow/HTML/ crime_and_puzzlement_1.html" target="_top"> Crime and Puzzlement</A> by John Perry Barlow, 1990. Located at http://www.eff.org/pub/Publications/John_Perry_Barlow/HTML/ crime_and_puzzlement_1.html <LI>"Hackers: Loving the Machine for Itself" in <I><B>The Second Self: Computers and the Human Spirit</B></I> by Sherry Turkle, 1984. </UL> <P><B>Recommended:</B> <UL> <LI>"Concerning Hackers Who Break into Computer Systems; Postscript, June 11, 1995" by Dorothy E. Denning, in <B><I>High Noon on the Electronic Frontier</I></B> edited by Peter Ludlow, 1996. <LI>"Introduction" to the <A HREF="http://www.ccil.org/jargon/jargon_toc.html" target="_top"> The New Hacker's Dictionary</A> by Eric Raymond and Guy Steele at http://www.ccil.org/jargon/jargon_toc.html. <LI>"The Baudy World of the Byte Bandit: a Postmodernist Interpretation of the Computer Underground" by Gordon Meyer and Jim Thomas, 1990 <LI><I><B>Cyberpunk: Outlaws and Hackers on the Computer Frontier</B></I> by Katie Hafner and John Markoff, 1991 <LI><B><I>The Cuckoo's Egg</I></B> by Cliff Stoll, 1990 <LI><B><I>Neuromancer</I></B> by <A HREF="http://www.algonet.se/~danj/gibson1.html" target="_top">William Gibson</a>, 1984</UL>. See more links at <A HREF="http://www-user.cibola.net/~michaela/gibson/" target="_top"> http://www-user.cibola.net/~michaela/gibson/</A> <HR> <P><B>Browse</B>: <UL> <LI><A HREF="http://www.eff.org" target="_top">The Electronic Frontier Foundation</A> at http://www.eff.org <LI><A HREF="http://sun.soci.niu.edu/~cudigest/" target="_top">CUD (the Computer Underground Digest)</A> at http://sun.soci.niu.edu. <LI> <A HREF="http://www.fc.net/phrack/" target="_top">Phrack Magazine</A> at http://www.fc.net/phrack (explore their links). <LI> <A HREF="http://www.2600.com/" target="_top">2600: The Hacker Quarterly</A> at http://www.2600.com </UL> <HR> <P><B>Assignment</B>: <UL> <LI><B>Optional:</B> pick up a copy of the magazine <B>2600</B> at Barnes & Noble. <P> <LI><B>Required:</B> Listen to Emmanuel Goldstein's radio show "Off the Hook" on WBAI, 99.5 FM, Tuesday evening 8 pm. You can also listen to it off their website -- <A HREF="http://www.2600.com/offthehook/" target="_top"> http://www.2600.com/offthehook</A> <P> <LI>Write a small review to the class discussion list about the program. What was the topic of discussion and what did you think of it? Search on the web for some more information about the topic of discussion and share with us what you found. <P> <LI><b>Due:</B> Monday, March 2. </UL> <HR> <A HREF="http://lrw.net/impacts" target="_top">Top Page</A> </BODY>