Quotes from Clifford Stoll

Im a scientist, once I do something, I want to do something else.

The astronomer's rule of thumb: if you didn't write it down, it didn't happen

Of course. NSA is rumored to tape record every transatlantic telephone conversation. Maybe they'd recorded this session.

Cliff, I'd like to take over, but our charter prevents it. NSA can't engage in domestic monitoring, even if we're asked. That's prison term stuff.

Si realmente quieren saber sobre el futuro, no le pregunten a un técnico, a un científico o a un físico. ¡No! No le pregunten a quien escriba en código. No, si quieren saber cómo va a ser la sociedad en 20 años, pregúntenle a la maestra de un jardín de niños.

So what? Somebody's always had control over information, and others have always tried to steal it. Read Machiavelli. As technology changes, sneakiness finds new expressions." Martha

VI was predecessor to hundreds of word processing systems. By now, Unix folks see it as a bit stodgy—it hasn't the versatility of Gnu-Emacs, nor the friendliness of more modern editors. Despite that, VI shows up on every Unix system.

The hacker didn't succeed through sophistication. Rather he poked at obvious places, trying to enter through unlock doors. Persistence, not wizardry, let him through.

As computers replace textbooks, students will become more computer literate and more book illiterate. They'll be exploring virtual worlds, watching dancing triangles, downloading the latest web sites. But they won't be reading books.

Life was full: no hacker is worth missing a Dead concert for.

Computers force us into creating with our minds and prevent us from making things with our hands. They dull the skills we use in everyday life.

Over the past decade Stallman created a powerful editing program called Gnu-Emacs. But Gnu's much more than just a text editor. It's easy to customize to your personal preferences. It's a foundation upon which other programs can be built. It even has its own mail facility built in. Naturally, our physicists demanded Gnu; with an eye to selling more computing cycles, we installed it happily.

By analyzing public data with the help of computers, people can uncover secrets without ever seeing a classified database.

Its programs aren't labeled, "Danger—medical computer. Do not tamper

Astronomers saw me that way. "Cliff, he's not much of an astronomer, but what a computer hacker!" (The computer folks, of course, had a different view: "Cliff's not much of a programmer, but what an astronomer!" At best, graduate school had taught me to keep both sides fooled.)

It's easy to mistake familiarity with computers for intelligence, but computer literate certainly doesn't equal smart. And computer illiterate sure doesn't mean stupid. Which do we need more: computer literacy or literacy?

As much as I love computers, I can't imagine getting an excellent education from any multimedia system. Rather than augmenting the teacher, these machines steal limited class time and direct attention away from scholarship and toward pretty graphics.

I've just about stopped using the computer in class, because the kids are so distracted by the computers themselves," Ms. Valentine concludes. "I think it's the corporate world manipulating the public school system. It's a big show.

Weaned on educational games and multimedia encyclopedias, kids naturally seek out the trivial when forced to read books. While visiting a school librarian, I listened to a high school senior seek help with an assignment: "I'm writing a report about Napoleon," he said. "Can you find me a thin book with lots of pictures?

Computers deliver an abundance of symbols yet offer an impoverishment of experience. Do our children need to see more icons, corporate logos, and glitzy fonts... or do they need more time climbing, running, and figuring out how to get along with each other?

it's a part of the Internet, a computer network that cross-links a hundred other networks.

Richard Stallman, a free-lance computer programmer, loudly proclaimed that information should be free.

Martha said] "So what? Somebody's always had control over information, and others have always tried to steal it. Read Machiavelli. As technology changes, sneakiness finds new expressions.

Ich langte in meine Tasche nach einem Milky Way - was sonst für einen Astronomen - und machte es mir bequem, um den Hacker auf meinem grünen Monitor zu beobachten.