/* Crosstalk */
Dear Hackermind,
This is a gripe about people protesting the War on Iraq. I am sick of
hearing about people saying we shouldn't go to war, because most people that
are protesting have no idea what they are talking about. This isn't directed
at you Screamer, or an attack on your mention of the War on Iraq. I'm just
saying that all these people are protesting the war based on facts they get
from their friends, celebrities, or members of the media. In case you all
forgot, those vultures will report on anything they think will get ratings,
that's why they won't stop talking about Iraq. That's why they have actors
and people not involved in politics come on their shows. Protestors talk
about facts, but in reality most of them are nonpolitical and are only
protesting to be rebels. The reason I don't support or protest the war is
that I do not have all the facts. Face it: the people that know the most
about the situation are the ones in charge, not you or your potsmoking
friends. So people need to stop pretending like they know what they are
talking about. Yeah I hate alot of things about "the system" but it isn't
going to change because you and your friends sat around smoking weed all
day. [Cold Sunn]
I’ve often said that admitting you don’t know enough about something to make an informed decision is the best way to go. Yet you seem to attack only those who are against the war, without mentioning those who blindly insist we bomb a country because the President says it’s the only thing to do. Clearly you’re annoyed by the protestors, but people on both sides of the fence behave this way. You may say they’re protesting to be rebels, but there are even more Americans who will go along with anything their government tells them, with no more facts than the ones against it. For example, someone else could have easily written in and said that people who are pro-war only listen to what CNN tells them, or what the protestor-bashing editorials in the newspaper say about it. Fact is, there are people on both sides who use the internet, shortwave radio, and other ways of obtaining information from around the world. This helps paint a clearer picture of what’s going on, and can aid in making a more informed decision.
Frequency,
A few weeks back I sent an issue of Freq to my sister at school,
and only a day later she wrote back saying she loved it. Keep in mind this
is a girl studying criminal justice, with no interest in computer hacking whatsoever,
but she loved the independent feel of the mag. She even said it was a refreshing
change to hear the so called “criminals” of the world speaking out for themselves.
She saw that hackers were not the evil cyberthieves everyone makes them out to be,
and even began appreciating their way of life. Thanks for the great mag, you’re changing
a lot of opinions out there. [random chaos]
If there’s one thing we try to be, it’s independent. Ironically, stations such as FOX News make such bold statements as “We’re fiercely independent!” …listen, if you have FOX in your name, you’re not independent.
Dear Frequency,
Hope this makes it in by Freq30. I’ve been reading your publication since
issue 1, and gotta tell you I love what I’ve seen. I haven’t always agreed with everything,
hell there have been times when I swore I wouldn’t finish an issue because of how much it
angered me, but through and through you’ve allowed people to speak their minds.
I don’t know of any other hacker publication that would print an article that was AGAINST
hacking, much less two or three in the same issue. You really are about free speech, and I
thank you for that. Can’t wait to see what you have in store for the future. [eon]
Inside the Hacker Mind doesn’t just mean hearing what hackers have to say, it’s about understanding hackers and the world in which they live. In order to fully appreciate that, sometimes we have to examine why some people are against them. Once you begin silencing people for thinking differently, you close yourself off and begin to think in terms of black and white, right and wrong. Someone’s comments may anger you, but there’s information to be found everywhere. “Even the dull and ignorant, they too have their story.” - “Desiderata”
Frequency,
Still loving the ezine, you guys kick ass. It’s kind of sad that Hackermind
isn’t around anymore, never thought the show would die off before the ezine,
but it’s good to know you’re still doing your thing. Any plans of future shows
or specials? You guys were the first and you’ll always be the best, keep on rocking. [Lady J]
As long as www.hackermind.net belongs to yours truly, Hackermind is not dead. Sure the weekly episodes are gone, and finding time to make an episode is tough, but like you said we’re still here. As for the future, of course we have things planned. We won’t go making any announcments just yet, but I doubt you’ll stop hearing from us all together anytime soon.
Hackermind,
Hey, I'm a new listener of Hackermind and I downloaded and and listened to
every episode available on the site right now, I have a couple questions for
ya
First, I might have missed this in one of the shows, or maybe you guy's
didn't wanna say, but what did Dash get arrested for?
Second, What happened to Dash (on your history page, it said he was going
through hard times), and do you think you're gonna do more episodes with
him?
Third, what happened to the magazine you guy's had goin on (I just now
totally forgot the name of it...)
I know you must be busy, so don't rush to respond. I just wanted to let you
know that you have a great show and it's the only one I actually like (I've
listened to Off the Wall, Off the Hook, Brain Damage, Radio Freak America,
all kinds of shows, I just can't "connect" with any of them...) and I'm
really looking forward to any new episodes you've got coming up.
1) Dash was arrested for drawing a cartoon, check out the May 15, 2001 edition of the Off the Hook to get the gist of it. http://www.2600.com/offthehook/2001/0501.html
2) He went through some hard times in his personal life, but things now seem to be getting back to normal.
3) Frequency is still coming at ya (almost) every month, but Equal Access has been discontinued. Subscribers will receive the last of their issues, and that’ll be the end of it for the time being. Publishing a magazine proved far too expensive for just a couple of students.
Thanks for the compliments. Each of those shows have their own unique personality, but I’m glad to hear you enjoyed ours.
Frequency,
No doubt this is the wrong place to say this, but what the heck,
I have a gripe about 2600 magazine. The quality of articles seems
to be on a steady decline, I mean, who really cares to see three or four
pages of someone’s nmap scan? Does anyone ever bother to read
through those damn dumpster diving articles? Great, you found a piece
of 1960’s equipment that doesn’t even work…w00t. Go tell your friends
about it, don’t force the world to experience your garbage exploring experience.
Then there’s my favorite, the one in the newest issue about how to properly
destroy a CD-ROM…um, break it into a million pieces and chuck it in the
sewer, problem solved. My point is that these articles are so fucking pointless
it’s ridiculous, who needs a 19th article about Blockbuster or Wal-mart anyway?
It’s not like I’m ever going to reset one of their cash registers or unplug their
machines! Same goes for the one on highway sign “hacking.” It requires you
to open up the back of the damn sign, who in their right mind will do that? And
how the fuck is that hacking? What, you can pick a lock and type, that somehow
constitutes “hacking” the sign?
Believe it or not, I love 2600, but for the past several years it seems like the
magazine only exists so they can get their editorial in the beginning and make
a few bucks off of it. Ah well, think I’ll go read about some operating system
I’ll never have access to. [Passive]
I too love 2600, but you’re right when you criticize certain articles. Since I’ve had articles published, I really can’t put down anyone else’s work, but I can agree that 2600 makes some poor editing decisions. A few months back the Hackermind BBS was actually rooted by a visitor to our site, yet when he submitted the information to 2600, they never published it. They seem to have plenty of articles on non-technical or purely opinionated matters, but for a technical journal, you have to wonder why such obvious technological information is not published.
Frequency,
I visited Slashdot.org not too long ago and noticed a post about the RIAA cutting back on peer to peer filesharing. That’s not unusual, nor is what the poster said next. He said this makes it difficult for him to sample music before he goes out and buys it. What I wanna know is, how many people really go out and purchase music they’ve downloaded? Be realistic—if you can download it, then you can burn it. There’s no reason whatsoever to buy the cd! I know I’m a bad person, I’m condoning piracy and painting a bad example for everyone online, but aren’t we all thinking that?? Why would you pay when you could get it free? Why, because you wanted to be nice? Get outta here! I suppose if you really love a band you’ll buy their cd to support them, but that whole “sample music so I can buy it later” line is really getting old. It’s like saying “I’m a hacker, I’m just seeking knowledge to better educate myself.” You’re a hacker and you’re having fun, simple as that. I just don’t think we have to justify every move we make. [k-rod]
A lot of people say they purchase the music they like, but how many really do I couldn’t say. The RIAA doesn’t seem to be losing very much money, so maybe that’s some evidence for you to consider. I think all in all most people do want to purchase something, if only to have the complete package, instead of just a burnt CD with a few songs on it. As far as justification goes, I hope someday we won’t have to justify listening to the music we choose to. And if you feel guilty about downloading a song and not buying the album, should you also feel guilty about hearing it on the radio and not sticking around for the commercials?
Frequency,
Is it too late to get this publiched?? [aaron]
Yes.