I would not take the advice of somebody, if that persons basement is not full of klein-bottles. Everything else is just surface level ..
I checked my basement Klein bottle stock and it looks like I’ve got zero volume. How much can I put you down for? (we sell by the litre)
Stalking the Wily Hacker: 40 years later – Cliff Stoll [video]
51–60 of 98 posts
Re: Stalking the Wily Hacker: 40 years later – Cliff Stoll [video]
#52The PBS Nova episode about Stoll was the literal starting point of my discovery of the internet.
Because of the show, my next year in university I signed up for an elective CompSci course (I was an English Literature major) about threat assessment. Part of our course involved browsing the RISKS Forum newsgroup on the Sparc Stations at the University of Toronto Engineering Annex.
That episode was also the beginning of my fascination with telecom equipment, which I got the chance to use professionally for about a year in 1998-1999. There's a telephone museum about an hour from where I live that still has a working mechanical switch that you can dial on and see it working.
Re: Stalking the Wily Hacker: 40 years later – Cliff Stoll [video]
#53A coworker suggested that I read The Cuckoo's Egg and I sorta shrugged it off. When I got around to reading it, I was pretty happy that it exists. It's a real time-portal to a pre-security internet. You can skip all the descriptions about how tech works, which are included for normies. Imagine not using passwords or just using 'password' or all the other stuff that we did when we were young and stupid. Then imagine government agencies doing the same. What? Yep. That's what the book is about.
Re: Stalking the Wily Hacker: 40 years later – Cliff Stoll [video]
#54I watch a lot of videos at 1.5x. Older Cliff Stoll videos don't work at 1.5x. Cliff at 1.0x is already like other people at 1.5x. I am so stoked to see Cliff at 1.0x in 2026 is still like other people at 1.5x. I am so glad to see Cliff still out there talking. "The Cuckoo's Egg"[0] was formative for me when I was a kid getting into computers. I am so happy that Cliff is out there making formative experiences for new…
Thanx, Evan - from my nonNewtonian frame of reference, life is happening at 1x, but time dilation is difficult to measure. I’ll try living at 0.5x someday. -Cliff
Re: Stalking the Wily Hacker: 40 years later – Cliff Stoll [video]
#55One of my favorite books is "The Cuckoo's Egg". I read it at least yearly. Cliff Stoll has had an incredible impact on my interests. I'm happy to see him doing talks.
And my thanks to you, Peaceful Lulz. I had fun writing that book, and occasionally do a talks. Couldn’t resist a 40th anniversary spoutathon at defcon! -Cliff
Re: Stalking the Wily Hacker: 40 years later – Cliff Stoll [video]
#56Great followup interview, too: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AJCWsoozg0Q
Re: Stalking the Wily Hacker: 40 years later – Cliff Stoll [video]
#57Earlier quoted context omitted.
I just bought one a few months ago after putting it off for years. He sent the most charming hand written note and a series of selfies proving that he personally packed it! A true gem.
I love that he’s still doing that - he did the same thing back then: selfies, lots of fun little notes on the packaging, stories about taking the package by bicycle to the nearest post office, and even assurances about his neighborhood’s political leanings (overwhelmingly anti-Bush).
Same politics today, Rat of Pi. Bay Area bubble. Cheers, -C
Re: Stalking the Wily Hacker: 40 years later – Cliff Stoll [video]
#58Did he really break the screen on someone's phone during the talk? He seems dangerous to be around.
One of the goons put a phone showing a timer on stage, hoping it might help keep me on time. Alas its screensaver kicked in, and I figured that the dead screen was my fault.
Note to myself: Next talk, bring analog clock. Old darkroom timer.
Cheers, Cliff
Re: Stalking the Wily Hacker: 40 years later – Cliff Stoll [video]
#59Re: Stalking the Wily Hacker: 40 years later – Cliff Stoll [video]
#60Fantastic book, great story, awesome memories. Thank you, Cliff.
My smiles back to you, Mich. From a long time ago, when the world was young, and continents hadn’t drifted apart.