Re: c.d.theory lexicon overview

From: Laconic2 <laconic2_at_comcast.net>
Date: Fri, 7 May 2004 14:47:40 -0400
Message-ID: <saqdnSM-1-8QRAbd4p2dnA@comcast.com>

> What does the word "hacker" mean? To computer people, it means an
> experienced and knowledgeable programmer. But to the world in general,
> journalism has twisted its meaning to "someone who breaks into
> computers" - usually an ignorant script kiddie to boot :-(
>

I was familiar with the word "hacker" back when it was a term of high praise. (MIT c. 1965-1975). There's a connection between that and today's meaning. Basically, a hacker uses a system to accomplish what the system designer would have declared impossible. With regard to security systems, the application is obvious.

I'll refer you to "Hackers: Heroes of the Computer Revolution" by Steven Levy. Received on Fri May 07 2004 - 13:47:40 CDT