rchao@well.sf.ca.us (Robert Chao) (04/24/91)
I just saw the best thing I've ever seen on computers. This week's NOVA tells the true story of how a little astronomer at Berkeley stumbled upon an act of computer spying that involved the military, the CIA and the FBI. The whole thing began with what appeared to be a 75-cent computer accounting error. The narrative is straightforward and whimsical, and totally gripping. It gets extremely emotional at the end. I AM SPEECHLESS, YOU WILL WATCH THIS. OH MY GOD, YOU THOUGHT NOVA WAS BORING? IF you have any interesting notes about this story, please send. Note: it was on San Fran's channel 9 tonight (Tue 4/23) and will be on again Wed midnight, does anyone know when else here? -- Robert Chao Oakland, California
unknown@ucscb.UCSC.EDU (The Unknown User) (04/24/91)
In article <24404@well.sf.ca.us> rchao@well.sf.ca.us (Robert Chao) writes: >I just saw the best thing I've ever seen on computers. >This week's NOVA tells the true story of how a little astronomer >at Berkeley stumbled upon an act of computer spying that involved >the military, the CIA and the FBI. The whole thing began with >what appeared to be a 75-cent computer accounting error. This is a repeat NOVA... I saw most of it the last time it was on (originally).. But read "The Cuckoo's Egg".. that's what the Nova episode is a brief story about. The Cuckoo's Egg is a GREAT GREAT book written by Clifford Stoll (the astronomer), and is just COOL as hell. Also read "Hackers" by Steven Levy for a great general book on computing.. NOT breaking in places and stuff, that's NOT what a hacker is. -- /unknown@ucscb.ucsc.edu Apple IIGS Forever! WANT ULTIMA VI //e or GS?-mail me.\ \CHEAP CDs info-mail me. McIntosh Junior: The Power to Crush the Other Kids. /
eugene@amelia.nas.nasa.gov (Eugene N. Miya) (04/24/91)
In article <24404@well.sf.ca.us> rchao@well.sf.ca.us (Robert Chao) writes: >This week's NOVA tells the true story of how a little astronomer >Robert Chao >Oakland, California Actually, Cliff is tall and thin. I would not say little. Follow ups directed out of ba.general. --eugene miya, NASA Ames Research Center, eugene@orville.nas.nasa.gov Resident Cynic, Rock of Ages Home for Retired Hackers {uunet,mailrus,other gateways}!ames!eugene
shabang@milton.u.washington.edu (Siobahn (Shabang) Morgan) (04/25/91)
eugene@amelia.nas.nasa.gov (Eugene N. Miya) writes: >In article <24404@well.sf.ca.us> rchao@well.sf.ca.us (Robert Chao) writes: >>This week's NOVA tells the true story of how a little astronomer >>Robert Chao >>Oakland, California >Actually, Cliff is tall and thin. I would not say little. >Follow ups directed out of ba.general. Well, he is shorter than me, and I'm roughly 5'8" or so. Siobahn (Shabang) Morgan shabang@milton.u.washington.edu The ASTRONOMERS - fighting the forces of evil led by the infamous DARKMAN!
russelrd@mentor.cc.purdue.edu (MattBrockman) (04/25/91)
In article <14947@darkstar.ucsc.edu> unknown@ucscb.UCSC.EDU (The Unknown User) writes: > >In article <24404@well.sf.ca.us> rchao@well.sf.ca.us (Robert Chao) writes: >>This week's NOVA tells the true story of how a little astronomer >>at Berkeley stumbled upon an act of computer spying that involved >>the military, the CIA and the FBI. The whole thing began with > > But read "The Cuckoo's Egg".. that's what the Nova episode is >a brief story about. The Cuckoo's Egg is a GREAT GREAT book >written by Clifford Stoll (the astronomer), and is just COOL as hell. I first saw Clifford Stoll when he was interviewed on "Late Night with Connie Chung"...a real odd-ball guy, I loved him. -Matt .... ... .. .
rosen@cbnewsb.cb.att.com (steven.b.rosen) (04/25/91)
In article <24404@well.sf.ca.us>, rchao@well.sf.ca.us (Robert Chao) writes: > > This week's NOVA tells the true story of how a little astronomer > at Berkeley stumbled upon an act of computer spying that involved > the military, the CIA and the FBI. The whole thing began with > what appeared to be a 75-cent computer accounting error. > -- > Robert Chao > Oakland, California Robert, The astronomer (Cliff Stoll - sp?) wrote a book about his experience, called the Cookoos Egg (sp?). If you like NOVA - GET THIS BOOK ! ...steve... ---------------------------------------- Steve Rosen attmail!srosen srosen@attmail.com ----------------------------------------
rmilner@zia.aoc.nrao.edu (Ruth Milner) (04/25/91)
In article <24404@well.sf.ca.us> rchao@well.sf.ca.us (Robert Chao) writes: > >I just saw the best thing I've ever seen on computers. >This week's NOVA tells the true story of how a little astronomer >at Berkeley stumbled upon an act of computer spying that involved >the military, the CIA and the FBI. If you want the real details, read the book Cliff Stoll wrote about this "The Cuckoo's Egg". It's *much* better than the show was. -- Ruth Milner Systems Manager NRAO/VLA Socorro NM Computing Division Head rmilner@zia.aoc.nrao.edu
eugene@amelia.nas.nasa.gov (Eugene N. Miya) (04/25/91)
In article <1991Apr24.185413.1885@cbfsb.att.com> rosen@cbnewsb.cb.att.com (steven.b.rosen) writes: > called the Cookoos Egg (sp?). . . . GET THIS BOOK ! What did Cliff bribe you with chocolate chip cookies? Or, hey Cliff is that you logged in on some one else account? Is that a security violation? --Just an AI Program.
kristi@fig16.cray.com (Kristin Kapsner) (04/25/91)
In article <24404@well.sf.ca.us> rchao@well.sf.ca.us (Robert Chao) writes: > >I just saw the best thing I've ever seen on computers. >This week's NOVA tells the true story of how a little astronomer >at Berkeley stumbled upon an act of computer spying that involved >the military, the CIA and the FBI. The whole thing began with >what appeared to be a 75-cent computer accounting error. >The narrative is straightforward and whimsical, and totally gripping. >It gets extremely emotional at the end. I AM SPEECHLESS, YOU WILL >WATCH THIS. OH MY GOD, YOU THOUGHT NOVA WAS BORING? >IF you have any interesting notes about this story, please send. >Note: it was on San Fran's channel 9 tonight (Tue 4/23) and will be >on again Wed midnight, does anyone know when else here? >-- >Robert Chao >Oakland, California I just want to add my praise to this episode! We watched it in our Senior Seminar on Ethics and Computer History. That little guy was just great! He slept by the computers and everything! Kristy
astro@cfa.harvard.edu (Astro Catalog Project) (04/25/91)
In article <24404@well.sf.ca.us> rchao@well.sf.ca.us (Robert Chao) writes: > >I just saw the best thing I've ever seen on computers. >This week's NOVA tells the true story of how a little astronomer >at Berkeley stumbled upon an act of computer spying that involved >the military, the CIA and the FBI. The whole thing began with >what appeared to be a 75-cent computer accounting error. >The narrative is straightforward and whimsical, and totally gripping. >It gets extremely emotional at the end. I AM SPEECHLESS, YOU WILL >WATCH THIS. OH MY GOD, YOU THOUGHT NOVA WAS BORING? >IF you have any interesting notes about this story, please send. >Note: it was on San Fran's channel 9 tonight (Tue 4/23) and will be You're speechless? Imagine how I feel -- got a cookie caught in my throat while watching my roommate Claudia on TV last night. --> Thanx for the kind words. I sure appreciate it! Incidentally, that Nova was filmed about a year ago -- took the better part of a month to do. Lotta work (aargh) and everyone played themselves (exept for the 4 CIA spooks; we drafted some UC football coaches since the original spies wouldn't appear on TV) Well, I'm now back in Oakland (Rockridge, really), so you might recognize the neighborhood. Cheers & Smiles Cliff Stoll Ignore the header: please reply to cliff@cfa.harvard.edu
kristi@fig16.cray.com (Kristin Kapsner) (04/25/91)
In article <24404@well.sf.ca.us> rchao@well.sf.ca.us (Robert Chao) writes: > >I just saw the best thing I've ever seen on computers. >This week's NOVA tells the true story of how a little astronomer >at Berkeley stumbled upon an act of computer spying that involved >the military, the CIA and the FBI. Lucky us....(not me though :( ) Cliff Stoll spoke at Cray about how vulnerable computer systems really are....I'm only an intern, so I wasn't here when he spoke.....I would've loved to....we were shown a tape of the episode in one of my classes! Kristy
joannt@sail.LABS.TEK.COM (Joann Taylor) (04/25/91)
For anyone who is really interested, Cliff Stoll also wrote an article in the May 1988 Communications of the ACM entitled "Stalking the Wily Hacker". This is a good article with lots of technical references. Joann Joann Taylor Tektronix Laboratories CSNET: joannt@sail.labs.tek.com
ldstern@rodan.acs.syr.edu (Larry Stern) (04/25/91)
In article <24404@well.sf.ca.us> rchao@well.sf.ca.us (Robert Chao) writes: > >I just saw the best thing I've ever seen on computers. >This week's NOVA tells the true story of how a little astronomer >at Berkeley stumbled upon an act of computer spying that involved >the military, the CIA and the FBI. The whole thing began with >what appeared to be a 75-cent computer accounting error. >The narrative is straightforward and whimsical, and totally gripping. >It gets extremely emotional at the end. I AM SPEECHLESS, YOU WILL >WATCH THIS. OH MY GOD, YOU THOUGHT NOVA WAS BORING? >IF you have any interesting notes about this story, please send. >Note: it was on San Fran's channel 9 tonight (Tue 4/23) and will be >on again Wed midnight, does anyone know when else here? >-- >Robert Chao >Oakland, California That episode of Nova was based on Cliff Stoll's book "The Cuckoo's Egg: tracking a spy through the maze of computer espionage". It is available in paperback from Pocket Books, ISBN 0-671-72688-9. -- Larry Stern LDSTERN@RODAN.ACS.SYR.EDU
kmccook@wrdis01.af.mil (Ken McCook) (04/25/91)
Cliff ... I just knew you were out there reading all this. So how's it feel to be a cult *HERO* or should I say Demi-God? Glad you played yourself! No actor could do you justice! Ken McCook
billg@hitachi.uucp (Bill Gundry) (04/25/91)
From article <24404@well.sf.ca.us>, by rchao@well.sf.ca.us (Robert Chao): > > I just saw the best thing I've ever seen on computers. > This week's NOVA tells the true story of how a little astronomer > at Berkeley stumbled upon an act of computer spying that involved > the military, the CIA and the FBI. The whole thing began with > what appeared to be a 75-cent computer accounting error. > The narrative is straightforward and whimsical, and totally gripping. > It gets extremely emotional at the end. I AM SPEECHLESS, YOU WILL > WATCH THIS. OH MY GOD, YOU THOUGHT NOVA WAS BORING? > IF you have any interesting notes about this story, please send. > Note: it was on San Fran's channel 9 tonight (Tue 4/23) and will be > on again Wed midnight, does anyone know when else here? > -- Well I would use the term "overacted", if that is a term. Watching Stoller run from home to his printers get kinda boring. Read the book, it gives more detail, and relates more to his "conversion" from a feeling a little paranoid about government and its various agencies to feeling that they are people too, with their jobs and problems to cope with. I thought that was one of the more interesting sidelights of the whole affair. Bill Gundry ...uunet!hitachi!billg
rmilner@zia.aoc.nrao.edu (Ruth Milner) (04/26/91)
In article <11185@mentor.cc.purdue.edu> russelrd@mentor.cc.purdue.edu (MattBrockman) writes: > >I first saw Clifford Stoll when he was interviewed on >"Late Night with Connie Chung"...a real odd-ball guy, I loved him. He was on "Larry King Live" one night a few months back. He must not have been getting much programming done for a while there (Cliff? are you out there?). -- Ruth Milner Systems Manager NRAO/VLA Socorro NM Computing Division Head rmilner@zia.aoc.nrao.edu
brent@telebit.com (Brent Chapman) (04/26/91)
eugene@amelia.nas.nasa.gov (Eugene N. Miya) writes: >In article <24404@well.sf.ca.us> rchao@well.sf.ca.us (Robert Chao) writes: >>This week's NOVA tells the true story of how a little astronomer >Actually, Cliff is tall and thin. I would not say little. Naaah.. He only _looks_ tall because he's always jumping up and down and waving his arms around... :-) He's one of the most interesting, enthusiastic, and "active" speakers I've ever seen. If you hever get a chance to go to one of his talks, take it, for the sheer entertainment value if nothing else. You may not agree with what he has to say, but he has a wonderful way of saying it. I helped arrange for him to speak at Xerox PARC while I was working there last year, and I had _many_ folks there later tell me that his was the most fun and interesting lecture that PARC (which attracts quite a number of distinguished and fascinating speakers) had seen in the preceding year or two. -Brent -- Brent Chapman Telebit Corporation Sun Network Specialist 1315 Chesapeake Terrace brent@telebit.com Sunnyvale, CA 94089 Phone: 408/745-3264
gutierrez@ranma.arc.nasa.gov (Robert Gutierrez) (04/28/91)
astro@cfa.harvard.edu (Astro Catalog Project) [aka: Cliff Stoll] writes: > rchao@well.sf.ca.us (Robert Chao) writes: > > > >I just saw the best thing I've ever seen on computers. > >This week's NOVA tells the true story of how a little astronomer > >at Berkeley stumbled upon an act of computer spying that involved > >the military, the CIA and the FBI.... [...] > >... I AM SPEECHLESS, YOU WILL WATCH THIS. OH MY GOD, YOU THOUGHT NOVA WAS BORING? > You're speechless? Imagine how I feel -- got a cookie caught > in my throat while watching my roommate Claudia on TV last night. I was speechless when I saw my friend on there too!!! I didn't know he was also an actor!!! :-) :-) :-) [Actually, my friend is Paul Murray, tech maintainence supervisor (?) at LBL (Lawrence Berkeley Labs). Needless to say, Paul e-mailed me that he was to be on the Nova episode before it aired last year. Paul was very much the driving force into my excursion in computers and the industry 17 years ago...!] > Well, I'm now back in Oakland (Rockridge, really), so you might > recognize the neighborhood. Missed the bike ride up the hill to the labs, eh??? robert michael gutierrez resident NASA mole...