Thank You Again, Steve Jobs !!! - 'Occupy Wall Street Ignites Political Hackathon' - Wired

[WillyT]

Photo Gallery: Occupy Wall Street Ignites Political Hackathon
By Keith Axline and Bryan Derballa - Wired
October 7, 2011 | 6:30 am

<snip>

Critics dismiss #OccupyWallStreet as a bunch of dirty, whining hippies and trustafarians. But many of the protesters at Zuccotti Plaza are actually hacker-minded geeks bringing an engineering mentality to bear on politics and several high and low-tech problems.

The #OWS encampment runs on generators that power a media center packed with laptops, Wi-Fi and video equipment. Live updates and operational messages propagate over Twitter as well as over closed alternative networks resistant to sniffing by unwanted observers. Digital donations are funneled through Kickstarter, and material donations arriving from around the country supply a kitchen and a medical station -- which treats minor protest hazards such as pepper spray and cuts.

The DIY nature of the movement evokes the spirit of the Maker Faire and Hackathon events, with participants contributing their skills and creativity to support a larger, loosely defined movement or goal.

Here are our favorite scenes and hacks from the protest so far:

<snip>

Link (w/photos): http://m.wired.com/rawfile/2011/10/political-hackathon/?utm_source=feedburner&pid=1212&viewall=true

:bounce:

:kick:

[OffWithTheirHeads]

1. Most excellent!

[MisterP]

2. what does Jobs have to do with this? he didn't invent hacking or Facebook

[lunatica]

4. He invented the tools and made sure everyone had them

What they're doing with those tools is admirable.

[MattBaggins]

6. lolwut

Perhaps you meant to thank the likes of Linus Torvalds, Richard Stallman, Vint Cerf, etc

[MattBaggins]

8. He did not invent any of those tools.

He took a few "screwdrivers" and put pretty gummi candy handles on them to attract kids but he didn't invent them and he most certainly didn't create the high tech stuff used for in depth "hacking" or IT work.

[proud2BlibKansan]

11. Yet his name is on the patents

http://mashable.com/2011/10/07/steve-jobs-secret-formula-changed-the-world/

[Logical]

15. I bet he used more patents from previous inventors than he did his own! Want to take that bet?

[proud2BlibKansan]

18. No. That would be a stupid bet.

Because you can say the same thing for many people. I'm sure Edison also used devices invented by others. But that doesn't lessen the significance of his work.

[Logical]

22. They why did you mention it?

[proud2BlibKansan]

24. I didn't. You did.

I posted that his name is on patents. And it is. Your silly bet doesn't disprove that in the least.

[Logical]

28. It proves Jobs patents did no more than any other.

[proud2BlibKansan]

30. So? When did I claim he did?

[Logical]

23. Also, it proves Apple almost giving away Macs to you met their goals...

of the program! It was to get students and especially teachers on the Apple bandwagon. It was a clever and successful Apple marketing plan. It worked for schools, but did not help the corporate side much.

[proud2BlibKansan]

25. Darn. I missed the giveaway.

I've paid for all of my Macs. Didn't know I could have gotten one for free.

[Logical]

27. Yes you did. They sold them cheap to schools and teachers. Common knowledge!

[proud2BlibKansan]

29. My school has PCs.

Darn.

[Logical]

31. Any teacher can still get a discount.....Here are links for you.

Easily found links.....

http://store.apple.com/us/browse/campaigns/education_pricing?afid=p219|GOUS&cid=AOS-US-KWG

http://store.apple.com/us/browse/home/education_routing

http://www.apple.com/education/how-to-buy/

Too many more to list!

[proud2BlibKansan]

32. The discount is 10% and it's not limited to teachers

That's hardly free. Or even close to it.

[Logical]

35. The schools that got Macs had many given to them from Apple I know....

in the 90's for sure because I installed them. And the teachers got them free also for use at school and home.

Apple wanted kids to grow up on Macs so they would buy Macs later.

They thought it would impact the business use of Macs which it did not at all. Businesses stayed mostly with PCs. 84% of businesses still use windows.

I guess your schools have always been PC schools so you did not get free Macs. Bummer for you. Better for the future kids in the corporate work environment.

[WillyT]

5. What Did Gutenberg Have To Do With 'Lady Chatterley's Lover' ???

What did Edison have to do with Monday Night Football?

What did Henry Ford have to do with NASCAR?

What did the Wright Brothers have to do with the International Space Station?

:shrug:

[MattBaggins]

7. Each of those individuals actually invented the items that led to the others

Steve Jobs did not in fact invent any of the items you think he did.

[WillyT]

10. So... Occupy Wall Street Is Apple Device Free ???

Really???

:wow:

And I really don't want to get into a battle of the pocket protectors here, but... Jobs, along with others...

Made the devices "user friendly", and therefore made their use as widespread as it is today.

You don't imagine that this phenomena would be as popular if everybody were forced to use a command prompt, do you?

:shrug:

[MisterP]

13. so it's Xerox we have to thank, then

and it's not like only Jobs could have ever used a GUI
and there are no doubt Droids at OWS--why not thank Gates or Ed Whitacre or Lowell McAdam? why not Mauchly or Wozniak?
Jobs was a charismatic, personable salesman above all, and I can respect that dimension of him (retail 2005-August 2011)--but we're going to need some clearer reasons by Jobs is The One to thank for OWS or hacktivism, especially given many of Apple's glaring records

[MattBaggins]

37. Thank Torvalds for all the droids... that outnumber the iphones.

[MisterP]

9. well, come to think of it, OWS is fighting the corporatism, purulent consumerism, outsourcing,

brutal labor conditions, and cultishness that Jobs represented, so, yeah, he really did inspire them

[lunatica]

14. Excellent!

[lunatica]

3. I wish I was there to witness this

I would love to walk around and just take it all in. To be a physical part of it. They've already turned themselves into a functioning community. Meals, medical help, library, newspaper, and public speaking. Those people really have it together.

[TNLib]

12. I was explaining this to my mom. These aren't hippies from the sixty's running this protest.

these are modern day activist using technology.

[Logical]

16. Jesus, will the Apple cult members ever stop these stupid posts?

[proud2BlibKansan]

19. Probably about the same time the Apple haters stop their stupid posts.

[Logical]

20. The Original pro-Apple posts have been way more numerous!

[Lucian]

17. Jobs had nothing to do with this.

:eyes:

Can the Jobs worship end already?

UNREC.

[seabeyond]

21. bah ha haha. way to get jobs name in tis thread. lol nt

[joshcryer]

26. No one has more contempt for hackers than Jobs.

[negativenihil]

33. that's a silly statement.

He and Woz use to sell blue boxes for crying out loud!

They tolerate the hacker subculture because it's where Apple has it's roots.

NOW! Before someone jumps up and starts claiming people who take down web sites and deny internet services are "Hackers", they aren't. They are known, and have been known for some time, as script kiddies. Yes a group of them have decided to co-op and use that same name, but to call those kids Hackers is a disservice to any true and honest hacker.

To illustrate this point, look at the iOS jailbreaking scene. Apple doesn't truely do anything to actively resist it, they simply make it just hard enough for the average joe sixpack to not try it.

[joshcryer]

34. He exploited Woz, the kind hearted geniune hacker, for profit.

Simple as that.

[joshcryer]

36. So looking at the pictures, I see *one* Mac.

It's Dell's and Androids, that I'm seeing as part of the hacks.

As far as iOS jailbreaking, Apple had no choice because the DMCA rule changes made it completely legal. In fact Apple tried to argue that it was illegal to get people in deep shit for jailbreaking. Why would Apple "make it harder to jailbreak" when doing so has no legal defense? ie, if someone then winds up jailbreaking the new security (which they would eventually) Apple would have no recourse.