

The article that inspired Steve Jobs: “Secrets of the Little Blue Box” - rottendoubt
http://www.slate.com/articles/technology/the_spectator/2011/10/the_article_that_inspired_steve_jobs_secrets_of_the_little_blue_.html

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zach
A similarly fascinating and influential book for me (at age 10, mind you) was
_Out of the Inner Circle_ , a book whose cover featured the "computer
intruder" author with a black box over his eyes. So as you might guess, it was
very much following in the same outlaw hacker mold which may have been set
with this very article.

The book, ghostwritten by Howard Rheingold in 1985, was a visceral
crystallization of what I think is fair to call the punk era of hacking in the
early 80's. Having just enough point of contact in personal computing to
understand what was going on and just enough credulity to accept the wildness
of the story, it was quite a captivating narrative. This book, a few issues of
_Electronic Fun with Computers and Games_ and a photocopied version of _The
Secret Guide to Computers_ were what really turned me on to computers as a kid
in the 80's.

Reading a book like _Inner Circle_ or an article like this may have provided a
certain hero myth for hackers, the kind which sometimes seems necessary to
kindle a long-term passion. A myth like what James Bond was to aspiring CIA
operatives, _Star Trek_ was to future JPL engineers, and now _The Social
Network_ is to Stanford undergrads. I think our society greatly underestimates
how valuable these myths can be. Without an article about having a hand-held
box that lets you put a worldwide communications network at your disposal,
would there be an iPhone?

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rottendoubt
This article was a little bit before my time (I was born in 1974). I found it
fascinating, though! Pre-computer hackers. I wish I had seen some of the books
you mentioned when I was younger. =)

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martinkallstrom
Same article as single page:
[http://www.slate.com/articles/technology/the_spectator/2011/...](http://www.slate.com/articles/technology/the_spectator/2011/10/the_article_that_inspired_steve_jobs_secrets_of_the_little_blue_.single.html)

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rottendoubt
New York Times story on one of the guys mentioned in the article (Joe
Engressia): <http://www.nytimes.com/2007/08/20/us/20engressia.html>

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6ren
It sounds like one of the inspirations for _The Matrix_ also...

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dy
Yes! That is exactly what I was thinking, especially when "Captain Crunch"
keeps talking about "the system."

Exploring a complex system and trying to break it down to it's underlying
rules is the ultimate engaging activity. It's a little less so when that
system is man-made, though I imagine Ma Bell at that time was so large and
complex that emergent properties had arisen of the system that no one knew.

The idea of riding the wires using your voice because you have perfect pitch
does feel very Neo in the Matrix though. Going to have to watch that movie
again as I tail -f some logs.

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rottendoubt
The article itself could be the basis for a movie.

