Take Down
When renowned computer hacker Kevin Mitnick was arrested in a Raleigh, North
Carolina apartment early last year, the event marked not the daring capture
of a sociopath, but the easy picking of a frustrated UNIX nerd who was begging
to be caught. Mitnick, a "career hacker" if you will, had allowed
a potentially harmless pastime to grow into a debilitating obsession. His
hacks had become cries for help, the electronic pleas of a loner, an underachiever,
the product of a broken home. His capture by the FBI was thus a humanitarian
gesture. Marlon Perkins couldn't have tranquilized wounded animals with
more noble intentions.
This is the Mitnick melodrama as presented by Tsutomu Shimomura, a senior
fellow at the San Diego Supercomputer Center. Shimomura helped authorities
track Mitnick after the hacker invaded and ransacked Shimomura's computers
in December 1994. Mitnick was snagged some two month later, implicated in
a variety of computer break-ins, and charged with "illegal use of a
telephone access device." The entire story can be found on Takedown,
a site that details Shimomura's role in the man hunt, and delves into Mitnick's
personal history and psychology.
The site brims with fascinating minutiae, including replays of some of Mitnick's
key Telnet sessions. Sure, you could read the print version of "Takedown,"co-authored by Shimomura and *New York Times* reporter John Markoff. And,
yes, you can visit the book's official Hyperion promo site. But Shimomura's
own Takedown site provides RealAudio samples of John Woo-like phone messages
left on his personal answering machine during the height of Mitnick's mischief.
Were the messages from Mitnick himself? This has yet to be determined. They
are, however, patently bizarre:
"Damn you. My technique is the best. My boss is the best. Damn you.
I know rdist technique, I know sendmail technique, and my style is much
better. Damn you, don't you know who I am? Me and my friends, we'll kill
you."
A second voice speaks: "Hey boss, your kung fu's really good."
Back to the first voice: "That's right, my style is the best."
While neither voice may be Mitnick's, the crank call does reflect the playful
hacking spirit shared by Mitnick and his brethren. In other words, hacking
isn't about stealing money or intellectual property. It's about demonstrating
one's own power in a faceless, post-modern society. While Shimomura arrogantly
paints himself as a white knight to Mitnick's ugly Quasimodo, he does sketch
an accurate and compelling picture of hacking as a pastime-cum-obsession.
-JP
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AeroCrafter
Homebuilt Aircraft Sourcebook
Getting tired of billboards on the Web? Me, too. Especially when they are
as mundane as this one. If you happen to own a copy of "The Aircraft
Sourcebook," you will definitely want to check out the table of corrections
to the text found at this site. Short of that, this page only tries to convince
you to buy a copy of your field guide to the exciting world of airplane
construction. If you do feel the urge to buy the book, I suggest you check
out a copy in your local bookstore; you won't find much information about
it here.-BB
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Longriders Biker
Mall
Visit the Biker Mall for motorcycle photos, support... and a whole lotta
trouble. We're talking browser trouble. Netscape 2.0's Frames feature may
be a few thousand BPSes ahead of its time - it's nice to have all those
independent windows on a single screen, but if the content chokes your bandwidth,
the gimmick isn't worth the download struggle. Even on a T1 line, the site
hobbled in like Tim Conway's old man character from "The Carol Burnett
Show." An audio file of a roaring Harley sounded like white noise,
and "slides shows" of various motorcycles and bikini babes failed
to slide as promised. -JP
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Paper Airplane
of the Month
Long after the last cootie catcher of your grade school years has been recycled,
paper airplanes are still guaranteed to amaze. Especially if you live on
the third story. This cute site offers a new plane template every month
to print, fold and let fly. But given the infinite possibilities of a sheet
of paper (and maybe a paperclip or two), the maintainers of this page could
certainly do better than monthly updates. You can always take the matter
into your own hands though - hacking your own dead tree dirigible is always
more fun than recreating that same old flying wing.-DP
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Puppetry
Puppetry is one of the worlds most venerable art forms, yet it is usually
not considered "serious" in this country - an impression this
site goes to great lengths to change. Whether you are a serious puppeteer,
or totally new to the art, there is an extensive amount of well-organized
information to capture your interest. The site is arranged by types of puppetry,
and includes famous puppets and puppeteers, current puppet exhibits and
touring companies, online resources, mail order supply houses, and much
more!-BB
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Square
Dancing
Swing your partner dosee doe... With lists of square dance dealers, organizations,
callers, cuers, clubs, and other related Web sites, Square Dancing is certain
to teach you at least something about the world of square dancing. Even
though the site is still under construction, there's good information to
be found, no matter what part of the country you're in. Or the world for
that matter - there's a link to the Belgium Square Dancing Organization.
Who knew? -RK
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Thee Joker's Funhouse
First of all, hacking was not just an 80s teen fetish that ended when the
Legion of Doom went to jail and Shimomura nailed Mitnick. It's alive and
well in many basements and high school computer labs, which still follow
the maxim that "information wants to be free." This site is a
basic guide to phone phreaking and hacking resources on the Web. Although
a bit young, and riddled with an annoying amount of slang, Thee Joker's
Funhouse is a fine starting point if you want an introduction to the questionable
activities of those lurking on the lines. Remember, though: If the phone
company calls, deny owning one.-DP
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Unofficial
Martha Stewart Home Page
Upon first click, this page seems like an exercise in irony... But laugh
not. We're talking true Martha Stewart fandom here. In fact, the phrase
"goddess of the home" can be found in the opening paragraph. By
exploring this site, you too can learn the secrets of being Martha - icon
for the hyperreal American home of beautiful flowers and tidy living rooms!
Start with the Martha Mega-FAQ, indulge yourself with a few "Ask Martha"columns posted here, and then grab your wire whisk and follow a link to
the coveted oatmeal cranberry cookie recipe. Yum!-DP
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Virtual
Garden
Let's face it: You either have a green thumb, or you prefer plastic plants.
I'm the latter kind of person. But still, the Virtual Garden offers a wealth
of information I wish I could put to use. The searchable plants encyclopedia
is really amazing - learn to identify the three forms of lettuce and discover
if the Adiantum plant really has the power to thicken and curl hair. For
the more diehard dirt dweller, the site has numerous online gardening books
and magazines to peruse and even a directory of the finest botanical gardens
in the world. Couldn't find any Cannabis Sativa growing tips on the site,
though.-DP
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