Revolution
Ok, I have time for one last post before I start my weekend (glee). This idea's also been at the forefront of my mind. Things I've learned/realized:
elgooG:
As a lark, programmers of All Too Flat created a mirror site for uber-website/search engine Google.com. Taking the concept to its literal limit, they formed elgoog.com, a website that reports its search results backwards. (Try it. It's fun. Just go to Google.com and search for phrase "elgoog".) The website was more than just a lark in that could actually search for phrases inputed into its search bar (albeit reversed) with Google's search engine and return results (again, reversed). The site achieved unforeseen popularity in China where the state government had banned Google.com from being accessed by locals but hadn't filtered elgooG. Determined Chinese locals were able to search for material that they couldn't find otherwise. China has since lifted its blocks for Google.com
Captain Crunch:
A whole generation of cyberphreaks and hackers sprung up almost overnight, giving rise to a technological revolution. The roots of these hackers lie in something called phone phreaking. Back in the day, before the advent of the computer, hackers discovered a flaw in the phone system provided by AT&T. Basically, certain frequencies, when sent through the receiver, would be interpreted in different ways by the automated systems. The trick was to find frequencies. One of the first and certainly the most popular one was 2600 hz. One of the founding phone phreakers, the Whistler, discovered that not only could he whistle at 2600 hz (hence the nickname) but also that by a 2600 hz buzz could be made by modifying a toy whistle, a giveaway in Cap'n Crunch cereal boxes. He told his friend, John Draper, who took this knowledge to build blue boxes, becoming one of the first phone phreakers. (Draper, subsequently, took on the nickname Captain Crunch and has since had legions of hackers and hacker-wannabes who've taken the name as an homage.) 2 more famous people who got their start as phreakers? Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak, co-founders of Apple Computers and arguably 2 of the most important individuals in the 20th century.
Ali bumaye:
Muhammed Ali, stripped of his title and determined to get it back, challenged George Foreman, then heavyweight champion, to a fight to end all fights. Don King scheduled it in Zaire. Ali, a local favorite, was showered with chants of Ali bumaye! or Ali, kill him! in English. Ali's loss of his heavyweight belt prior to this fight was due to his refusal to fight in the Vietnam War, a conflict he saw as being racist and needless. Stripped of his title, pride, and freedom, Ali persevered and managed to not only emerge with his morals in tact but also with the belt, after defeating Foreman with his famous rope-a-dope strategy. To use the phrase Ali bumaye today indicates not just an association with the fight but an association with the man who proved that one man can take on a government and win.
Revolutions come in small packages. They come when you least expect them and they come when you're not even looking. They happen everyday with every choice and every consequence. That's what I've learned.
elgooG:
As a lark, programmers of All Too Flat created a mirror site for uber-website/search engine Google.com. Taking the concept to its literal limit, they formed elgoog.com, a website that reports its search results backwards. (Try it. It's fun. Just go to Google.com and search for phrase "elgoog".) The website was more than just a lark in that could actually search for phrases inputed into its search bar (albeit reversed) with Google's search engine and return results (again, reversed). The site achieved unforeseen popularity in China where the state government had banned Google.com from being accessed by locals but hadn't filtered elgooG. Determined Chinese locals were able to search for material that they couldn't find otherwise. China has since lifted its blocks for Google.com
Captain Crunch:
A whole generation of cyberphreaks and hackers sprung up almost overnight, giving rise to a technological revolution. The roots of these hackers lie in something called phone phreaking. Back in the day, before the advent of the computer, hackers discovered a flaw in the phone system provided by AT&T. Basically, certain frequencies, when sent through the receiver, would be interpreted in different ways by the automated systems. The trick was to find frequencies. One of the first and certainly the most popular one was 2600 hz. One of the founding phone phreakers, the Whistler, discovered that not only could he whistle at 2600 hz (hence the nickname) but also that by a 2600 hz buzz could be made by modifying a toy whistle, a giveaway in Cap'n Crunch cereal boxes. He told his friend, John Draper, who took this knowledge to build blue boxes, becoming one of the first phone phreakers. (Draper, subsequently, took on the nickname Captain Crunch and has since had legions of hackers and hacker-wannabes who've taken the name as an homage.) 2 more famous people who got their start as phreakers? Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak, co-founders of Apple Computers and arguably 2 of the most important individuals in the 20th century.
Ali bumaye:
Muhammed Ali, stripped of his title and determined to get it back, challenged George Foreman, then heavyweight champion, to a fight to end all fights. Don King scheduled it in Zaire. Ali, a local favorite, was showered with chants of Ali bumaye! or Ali, kill him! in English. Ali's loss of his heavyweight belt prior to this fight was due to his refusal to fight in the Vietnam War, a conflict he saw as being racist and needless. Stripped of his title, pride, and freedom, Ali persevered and managed to not only emerge with his morals in tact but also with the belt, after defeating Foreman with his famous rope-a-dope strategy. To use the phrase Ali bumaye today indicates not just an association with the fight but an association with the man who proved that one man can take on a government and win.
Revolutions come in small packages. They come when you least expect them and they come when you're not even looking. They happen everyday with every choice and every consequence. That's what I've learned.
posted by Chris "Krang" Yang | 5:12 PM
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