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posted by janrinok on Sunday March 02 2014, @09:00AM   Printer-friendly
from the hey-we're-famous dept.

Anonymous Coward writes:

"Every geek worth his hash and salt has heard about the hacker/cracker distinction but have you ever wondered what does the designation entail when you go beyond scratching the surface? Gabriella Coleman has. According to Wikipedia she is an anthropologist, academic and author whose work focuses on hacker culture and online activism. The link below is her class on computer hackers at New York University. I found it an interesting read. The Anthropology of Hackers - Gabriella Coleman - The Atlantic"

 
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  • (Score: 3, Interesting) by AnonTechie on Sunday March 02 2014, @09:16AM

    by AnonTechie (2275) on Sunday March 02 2014, @09:16AM (#9472) Journal

    Does this mean that clueless journalists, news reporters, etc. will finally learn the proper distinction between hacker and cracker ?? and use the appropriate term when writing articles ...

    --
    Albert Einstein - "Only two things are infinite, the universe and human stupidity, and I'm not sure about the former."
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  • (Score: 5, Insightful) by Marand on Sunday March 02 2014, @09:54AM

    by Marand (1081) on Sunday March 02 2014, @09:54AM (#9486) Journal

    Does this mean that clueless journalists, news reporters, etc. will finally learn the proper distinction between hacker and cracker ?? and use the appropriate term when writing articles ...

    Much like a certain law of headlines [wikipedia.org] that's popular around sites like these, if you have to ask, the answer is "no".

  • (Score: 2, Insightful) by jt on Sunday March 02 2014, @02:10PM

    by jt (2890) on Sunday March 02 2014, @02:10PM (#9601)

    The hacker/cracker definition... that ship sailed years back. Languages change over time, and are not controlled by anyone or any institution (as much as the French government might like to believe). From the 1980s onward most 'real people' have adopted 'hacker' for what we used to call 'cracker'. So that's what 'hacker' means now, and it's the appropriate term for those articles.

  • (Score: 5, Informative) by Khyber on Sunday March 02 2014, @04:48PM

    by Khyber (54) on Sunday March 02 2014, @04:48PM (#9648) Journal

    Nope, because they're wrong with their very first unitalicized sentence.

    " a "hack" is a clever technical solution arrived through a non-obvious means. "

    No, as defined by TMRC in the 50s, a hack was a useful modification to pre-existing hardware.

    Please read Stephen Levy's Hackers: Heroes of the Computer Revolution to see just how wrong this article truly is.

    --
    Destroying Semiconductors With Style Since 2008, and scaring you ill-educated fools since 2013.
    • (Score: 3) by Khyber on Sunday March 02 2014, @04:51PM

      by Khyber (54) on Sunday March 02 2014, @04:51PM (#9649) Journal

      What's funny is the article even mentions this very book, AND STILL gets the definitions wrong!

      --
      Destroying Semiconductors With Style Since 2008, and scaring you ill-educated fools since 2013.