ABOUT HACKERS. WE'RE NOT BAD. ONLY A FEW BAD APPLES, JUST LIKE COPS AND REPORTERS. I HOPE YOU'RE A GOOD GUY. You called me, remember? STILL, IT'S NOT LIKE YOU THINK. Sure, I think. NO NO NO . . .HACKERS. WE'RE BASICALLY A GOOD LOT WHO ENJOY COMPUTERS FOR COMPUTERS SAKE. That's what I've been saying REALLY. HEY, DO YOU KNOW WHAT A HACKER REALLY IS? A guy who pokes his nose around where it's not wanted. Like in NASA computers. YEAH, THAT'S WHAT THE PRESS SAYS AND SO THAT'S WHAT THE COUNTRY THINKS. BUT IT'S NOT NECESSARILY SO. So, change my mind. LET ME GIVE YOU THE NAMES OF A FEW HACKERS. BILL GATES. HE FOUNDED MICROSOFT. WORTH A COUPLE OF BILLION. MITCH KAPOR. FOUNDED LOTUS. STEVE WOZNIAK FOUNDED APPLE. GET THE POINT? You still haven't told me what you think a hacker is. A HACKER IS SOMEONE WHO HACKS WITH COMPUTERS. SOMEONE WHO ENJOYS USING THEM, PROGRAMMING THEM, FIGURING OUT HOW THEY WORK, WHAT MAKES THEM TICK. PUSHING THEM TO THE LIMIT. EXTRACTING EVERY LAST INCH OF POWER FROM THEM. LET ME ASK YOU A QUESTION. WHAT DO YOU CALL SOMEONE WHO PLAYS WITH AMATEUR RADIOS? A Ham. AND WHAT DO YOU CALL SOMEONE WHO HAS A CALCULATOR IN HIS SHORT POCKET WITH A DOZEN BALLPOINT PENS? In my day it was a sliderule, and we called them propeller heads. THAT TRANSLATES. GOOD. AND WHAT DO YOU CALL SOMEONE WHO FLIES AIRPLANES FOR FUN? A fly boy, space jockey. A CAR TINKERER? A grease monkey AND SOMEONE WHO JUMPS OUT OF PLANES? Fucking crazy!!!! FAIR ENOUGH. BUT HERE'S THE POINT. DIFFERENT STROKES FOR DIF- FERENT FOLKS. AND IT JUST SO HAPPENS THAT PEOPLE WHO LIKE TO PLAY WITH COMPUTERS ARE CALLED HACKERS. IT'S AN OLD TERM FROM THE 60'S FROM THE COLLEGES, AND AT THAT TIME IT WASN'T DEROGATO- RY. IT DIDN'T HAVE THE SAME NEGATIVE CONNOTATIONS THAT IT DOES TODAY THANKS TO YOU. HACKERS ARE JUST A BUNCH OF PEOPLE WHO PLAY WITH COMPUTERS INSTEAD OF CARS, BOATS, AIRPLANES, SPORTS OR WHATEVER. THAT'S IT, PURE AND SIMPLE. Ok, let's accept that for now. What about those stories of hackers running around inside of everybody else's computers and making computer viruses and all. Morris and Chase were hackers who caused a bunch of damage. WHOA! TWO SEPARATE ISSUES. THERE ARE A NUMBER OF HACKERS WHO DO GO PROBING AND LOOKING AROUND OTHER PEOPLE'S COMPUTERS. AND I AM PROUD TO ADMIT THAT I AM ONE OF THEM. Wait a minute. You first say that hackers are the guys in the white hats and then you admit that you are one of those criminal types who invades the privacy of others.