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 Founded By:    |  _                        _______
 Guardian Of Time |  __      N.I.A.   _      ___   ___  Are you on any WAN? are
 Judge Dredd    |  ____     ___    ___    ___     ___ you on Bitnet, Internet
 ------------------+  _____    ___    ___    ___     ___  Compuserve, MCI Mail,
 \           /      ___ ___  ___    ___    ___________  Sprintmail, Applelink,
 +---------+       ___  ___ ___    ___    ___________    Easynet, MilNet,
 | 01DEC90 |       ___   ______    ___    ___     ___    FidoNet, et al.?
 | File 67 |       ___    _____    ___    ___     ___ If so please drop us a
 +---------+               ____     _     __      ___        line at
 ___           _       ___ [email protected]
 Other World BBS        __
 Text Only            _    Network Information Access
 Ignorance, There's No Excuse.
 
 Network Thought Machine [3] & SNA Networks [1]
 Guardian Of Time/Judge Dredd/BBS Community
 
 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 
 "SNA Networks Part I" : Enterprise Systems Journal
 Judge Dredd
 
 SNA Support For Multivendor Environment
 
 IBM firmly believes that open, fair competition is the best way to ensure that
 the full potential of information and communications technologies is realized
 for the benefit of the customers.  As evidence of that belief, IBM offers:
 - An open network design that encourages SNA attachments w/published
 interfaces.
 - Long-standing support for international standards, for example X.21, X.25
 and Open Systems Interconnection (OSI).
 - Practical help to ensure that customers can achieve information network
 goals.
 People who need to connect their IBM to non-IBM computer systems require a
 common method for communicating b/w these systems.  Dissimilar hardware &
 software architectures and data encoding schemes require that the transfer of
 information b/w these systems be achieved by agreed-on communications
 procedures.  This intelligent exchange of information and programs via
 process-to-process communications is called 'interoperability'.  The method by
 which information is transferred b/w communicating systems over physical media
 is referred to as 'connectivity'.
 The following additions to SNA, support communications in a multivendor
 enviornment:
 - OS|/Communications Subsystem (CS) and OSI File Services
 - IBM's Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol (TCP/IP) for
 mainframes as well as PC's.
 - The IBM Series/1 Programmable Communications Co-Processor
 - SNA Open Communication Archetectures (OCA)
 - Open Systems Network Support (OSNS)
 - Open Systems Transport and Session Support (OTSS)
 - General Teleprocessing Monitor for OSI
 - OSI X.400 Message Transfer Facility program and the X.400 offerings for
 DISOSS and PROFS
 - The IBM Series/1 EDX family of products
 - The AIX family of products
 
 Open Communication Architectures (OCA)
 
 The announcement of OCA described the SNA architectures that extend the SNA
 benefits into mixed IBM and non-IBM networks.  Major goals:
 - Interconnect communications networks
 - Attach a variety of communications products to and w/in SNA network
 - Use of public data network facilities
 - Extend SNA-based services to a wide variety of attached components
 
 OSI
 
 In 1977, the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) established
 a framework for standards development to allow communications among systems in
 a multivendor environment.  The definition of these standards led to the
 creation of an OSI reference model.  Implementation of the model or the OSI
 open system facilitates communications between dissimilar systems which obey a
 set of communications rules, called protocols, independent of their internal
 architecture.  OSI precisely defines these communication protocols and OSI
 standards make effective communications among systems possible.
 IBM is a strong proponent of OSI and has had OSI products since 1985.  Its
 OSI/CS products are designed to work with other vendors' OSI implementations
 taking into account regional differences between North America, Europe and
 Japan.  IBM OSI/CS products support the OSI protocols as specified in the
 following OSI profiles: US GOSIP, UK GOSIP, CEN/CENELEC and CEPT.
 OSI products achieve interoperability through similar conformance to the OSI
 standards.  Conformance testing is done to demonstrate conformity to basic
 standards or profiles.  Interoperability testing is done to ensure that the
 products of one manufacturer work with the products of other manufacturers.
 Both are required.  Europe is playing a key role in conformance testing
 through the ECC-sponsored European IT Conformance Testing Services.  Similar
 activities are underway in the US and Japan.  IBM has offered an OSI
 Interoperability Verification Services through the IBM International Network
 Services (INS) in Europe since 1986.
 
 OSI, SAA And SNA
 
 By including the OSI protocls into the SAA Common Commmunications Support,
 IBM is extending the list of SAA software interfaces, conventions and
 protocols.  This builds on the strengths of IBM SNA and SAA architectures to
 provide application solutions in a mixed SNA/OSI operational environment.
 Under SAA, SNA and OSI should be viewed as complementary communications
 protocols.
 SNA is the primary architecture for IBM-to-IBM networking.  However, IBM
 integrates SNA and OSI into a cohesive network offering which allows the two
 to coexist and work together.  OSI provides communications capabilities to
 allow customers to build mixed networks using multiple vendors' computing
 equipment.
 The OSI products are intended primarily for communications between IBM and
 non-IBM systems.
 In supplying OSI products, IBM is committed to providing value beyond
 conformance with the OSI standards.  For example, the OSI/CS for MVS and VM
 program products provides network management via NetView.  The NetView network
 management product allowss a NetView operator to manage both SNA and OSI
 networks and to manage both IBM and non-IBM nodes in an OSI network.  The
 OSI/CS also uses the transport and data link control functions provided by the
 SNA, VTAM and NCP products.  This use allows sharing adapters and connections
 by both SNA and OSI traffic.  VTAM and NCP also participate in detecting and
 forwarding network management information to NetView for OSI systems which
 they also do for SNA systems.
 
 TCP/IP
 
 TCP/IP is a set of layered communications protocoles that were defined by DOD
 (US Department Of Defense) DARPA (Department Advanced Research Project Agencies)
 and have evolved.  TCP/IP provides definitions of connectivity functions for
 both local and wide area networks.  The collection of TCP/IP interconnected
 networks is known as Internet.  Given proper authority, a user on any of these
 standard TCP/IP networks can communicate to users on any of the other TCP/IP
 networks.  TCP/IP defines higher-level communications applications such as
 terminal emulation (TELNET), File Transfer Protocol (FTP) and Simple Mail
 Transfer Protocol (SMTP).
 TCP/IP implementations may allow connectivity between different vendors'
 systems but do not provide all the communication functions that a user needs.
 Each vendor's implementation and the set of functions supported must be compared
 by the customer to ensure their requirements are met.
 IBM has a large family of TCP/IP products:
 - TCP/IP for MVS
 - TCP/IP for VM
 - TCP/IP for PC DOS
 - The AIX family of UNIX products
 - TCP/IP for OS/400
 
 TCP/IP and SNA
 
 TCP/IP and SNA networks can coexist.  The ability to interconnect TCP/IP
 networks over an SNA backbone is one example of that coexistance.  Also, users
 of a TCP/IP network can logon to IBM SNA hosts using the TELNET facility and
 IBM gateway host with both TCP/IP and SNA installed.  Additionally, IBM also
 provides application gateway function products to facilitate PROFS to SMTP
 mail transfer.  Some customers will use TCP/IP and SNA network coexistence as
 their multivendor networking solution until the transition from TCP/IP to OSI
 has occured.
 
 TCP/IP and OSI
 
 TCP/IP is a layered architecture similar to OSI.  Even though there is a
 varying number of layers in the two architectures, there are three areas in
 which they have similar functions.  At OSI layers one and two, both TCP/IP and
 OSI support X.25, Token-Ring and Ethernet.  At OSI layers three and four, TCP
 and IP layers perform functions similar to the Transport and Network Layers in
 OSI.  Likewise, the OSI application-to-application functions (OSI layer seven)
 are comparable.  Electronic mail (SMTP to X.400), file transfer (FTP to FTAM)
 and terminal emulation (TELNET to OSI Virtual Terminal protocol) are
 comparable in TCP/IP and OSI.  In most cases, the OSI protocols are, or will
 be, richer in function than the TCP/IP equivalent.
 IBM is committed to supporting OSI standards as they evolve.  However, many
 customers require interconnection solutions today that OSI standards do not
 yet address.  To satisfy those requirements, IBM provides TCP/IP products.
 TCP/IP systems will eventually migrate to OSI.
 
 ISDN - History
 
 A different approach of utilizing heterogeneous networks could be based on a
 newly developed _international_ standard - Integrated Services Digital Network
 (ISDN).  It is a public digital end-to-end telecommunication network
 supporting multiple services including, but not limited to, voice and data,
 leased lijne transparent service and so on.  ISDN provides digital access to
 this network, allowing full utilization of the digital transmission over the
 user access line.  ISDN networks are based on a 64Kbps data rate and are
 intended to supply current voice facilities, existing data services and a
 large number of new and extended facilities.
 Requests for these facilities are made on a common and extendable set of
 signalling protocols.  This set of protocols should continue to grow as new
 facilities are added.  Applications requesting high bandwidth services are
 connected (via the slow speed signal protocol requests) to high bandwidth
 transparent digital channels.  The types of proposed facilities, utilizing
 ISDN, are basic telephone services, teletex, videotex, facsimile, packed and
 circuit switched data, electronic mail, transaction services, energy
 management, remote meter reading, remote alarm services, extended telephone
 services and enhanced services.
 The definition of ISDN as a public network does not preclude its use in
 private network architectures.  On the contrary, it has direct relevance and
 applications to the PBX environment on customer premises.
 The evolution to ISDN is a natural consequence of the evolution of the
 telephone network.  Originally the telephone system was used exclusively for
 analog voice transmission, but later these analog signals came into use to
 provide communication between electronic devices such as alarm systems.  The
 introduction of modems allows a variety of digital services to communicate at
 a wide range of speeds, while the addiction of new data networks has
 facilitated the availability of a variety of data processing services.  Each
 of these network services has required the definition of separate interfaces,
 protocols and lines to the customers' premises.
 During this time, the telephone network evolved from an entirely analog
 system to a mixed system including analog and digital components.  In
 addition, high-speed digital trunks and digital switching were introduced.
 The digitalization of the network has reached customer premises only in some
 instances.
 The use of analog signals in the local loop necessitates conversion at the
 digital exchange (by the network provider) of the analog signal into digital
 and reverse to deliver it to the other end.  In the case of data transmission,
 the customer must also convert his digital signal to analog prior to placing
 the signal on the local loop and then reconvert it to digital at the receiving
 end.  The major advantages of using digital technology is end-to-end, high
 speed digital communication and performance (fast connection time and better
 bit error rate).
 Digital end-to-end data communication means a modemless world.  So, the
 integration of voice and data transmission is the most economical solution to
 network providers and users.  Digital voice is an easier format to compact and
 store to satisfy future office requirements.  THe integration of voice and
 data seems to provide the most manageable and economical solution for the
 environment of the future, both home and office.
 
 ISDN - Principles Of
 
 The main feature of the ISDN concept is the support of a wide randge of voice
 and nonvoice applications in the same network.  A key element of service
 integration for an ISDN is the provision of a range of services using a
 limited set of connection types and multipurpose user-network interface
 arrangements.  ISDN supports a variety of applications, including both
 switched and nonswitched connections.  Switched connections in an ISDN include
 both circuit-switched and packet-switched connections and their
 concatenations.
 The major motivation for a migration to ISDN is that ISDN will offer more
 reliable and enhanced services, moxed voice and data, more bandwidth and fewer
 interfaces than existing telecommunication lines at the same price or lower.
 ISDN will maximize economy and flexibility.  Working toward the goal of ISDN
 is a worldwide effor steered by the CCITT (Consultative Committe on
 International Telegraph and Telephone), which initiated the ISDN I Series
 standardization work.
 
 ISDN - Components Of
 
 The major components of an ISDN are user-to-network interface, information
 channels, signalling protocols and communications mode.
 *User-To-Netork Interfaces
 There are two user-network interfaces presently defined for ISDN applications
 -- the basic interface and the primary rate interface.  The basic interface
 provides for network access by either small business or residential users.
 Its allows for one of three access arrangements: 2B plus D, B plus D or D
 channels.  In each case, the D channel operates at 16Kbps transmission rate
 and the B channel at 64Kbps.  The access capacty provided to end users will
 depend on subscriber loop transmission capacity.  It may vary from country to
 country.
 The primary rate interface provides for network access by Private Branch
 Exchanges (PBX), LAN gateways and other user nodes such as communication
 controllers and clusters.  The primary rate interface is based on existing
 multiplexing hierarchies (which are 1544Kpbs in Canada, Japan and the US and
 2048Kbps in Europe).  It can consist of B plus D channels, 23B plus D channels
 or 30B plus D channels where the total transmission rate for the primary rate
 interface should not exceed 1535Kpbs (Canada, Japan and US) or 1920Kbps
 (Europe).  The D channel for this interface operates at 64Kbps.
 *Information Channels
 ISDN provides two types of channels.  One is a user information transfer
 channel, which carries user information at the transmission rates of the
 channel.  Several rates have already been defined for these channels, also
 called clear channels:
 -B Channel -- a 64Kbps channel
 -H0 Channel -- a 384Kbps channel
 -H1 Channel -- a 1536Kbps channel in Canada, Japan or US or 1920Kbps Europe
 The other is the user-network control channel, also called the D channel,
 carrying mostly control or signalling information between the end user and the
 network.  In some access configurations, packetized user user data may be
 interleaved with signalling information.  In such a case, the D channel
 becomes a user information channel.
 Additional channels, at transmission rates ranging from six to 140Mbps, are
 sometimes referred to as broadhand channels required for a broadhand ISDN.
 The are also called high bit rate services.
 *Signalling Protocols
 Signalling protocols are based on an out-band technique (separate channed) and
 message-oriented structure evolutionary from High Level Data Link Control
 (HDLC).  Message-oriented signalling allows for the provision of
 additional/sophisticated functions which may reside either in the network
 domain or on the user's premises.  Signalling protocols have a key
 characteristic -- they are common channel protocols.  Currently, voice and
 data calls are considered to be separate entities by terminals and networks.
 Common channel signalling, in contrast, integrates voice and data shcemes.
 *Communications Modes
 There are three communications modes possible for user information transfer.
 Circuit-switched mode provide and end-to-end digital connection at the
 transmission rate of the selected channel (B or H).  The channel may be either
 transparent (granted integrity of the bit sequence) or suited to a particular
 application such as telephone service where compression may occur withing the
 network.
 Packet-switched mode provides two possibilites for sending user packets: via a
 user-information channel (B or H) or via the user-to-network control channel
 channel (the D channel) interleaved with signalling messages.  The last,
 semi-permanten/permanent, refers to a user-information channel (B or H) which
 uses a preset path through the ISDN network.  Both network transmission and
 switching resources could be used.
 
 ISDN - Service Aspects Of
 
 ISDN networks will support a wide range of services.  The purpose of the
 Consultative Committee of International Telephone and Telegraph (CCITT)
 I-Series Recommendations is to provide classifications of the methods for
 description of such services as well as to give a basis for the definition of
 the network capabilities required by ISDN.  Services supported by ISDN are the
 communication capabilities made availible to customers by telecommunication
 service providers.
 ISDN provides a set of network capabilitites which are difined by
 standardized communication services to be offered to customers.  A service
 provision by the network provider to a customer connected to an ISDN may cover
 all or part of the means required to fully suupport the service.
 Telecommunication services are divided into two broad catagories.  Bearer
 service provides a capability for the transmission of signals between
 user-network interfaces.  It offers the connection to the network and covers
 layers one to three of the OSI reference model.  Telecommunication service
 provides the complete capability, including terminal equipment functions, for
 communication between users according to established protocols.  It offers
 connection to the network and covers layers one to three of the OSI reference
 model and layers four to seven also.
 -JD/NIA
 
 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 
 LOTUS CDROM
 (anon)
 
 Lotus Development Corporation has a new product due out in 1991, called
 "Household Marketplace."  It's a database on CDROM.  It has the estimated
 income and a profile of the buying habits of 120 million US residents.
 That's a high percentage of the US population -- the odds are pretty good
 that YOU are in the Lotus database.
 
 A Lotus spokesman has said that the company is concerned about privacy
 issues, so to help prevent misuse of the data only legitimate businesses
 can get the disk.  With easy access to a laser printer, a POBox, and/or a
 fax machine, however, it is hard to see how Lotus can determine the
 legitimacy of anyone, however, and I'm sure that with minor effort almost
 anyone will be able to purchase Marketplace.  The cost, by the way, is
 under $1000 with quarterly updates available.
 
 The database does not contain any of the data covered by the Fair Credit
 Practices Act so Lotus is under no legal obligation to let you see what
 they are saying about you.  In fact, during interviews they have said that
 there is NO WAY for an individual to review their personal data, nor are
 there any provisions to make corrections on what is recorded.
 
 Lotus will remove anyone from their database who writes to them.
 Send a letter to:
 
 Lotus Development Corp.
 Attn:  Market Name Referral Service
 55 Cambridge Parkway
 Cambridge, MA 02142
 
 ---
 
 Attention all Hackers, Journalist, and Federal Agents,
 
 A new board has been opened up to the Computer Underground Society:
 
 FACE to FACE @ 713 242 6853
 Phrack distribution!
 Home to Network Information Access
 ______________________________________________________________________________
 
 This Bulletin Board System is designed to open a new era-- the era of
 the 1990s Computer Underground. Security Agents, Journalists, and Hackers from
 all over the country are invited to call in an attempt to carry on intelligent
 conversation. It's a pure communications medium between the two sides. Access
 is guaranteed to anyone who may wish to call. As you might know, the new
 Phrack is out, and is available at F2F.
 
 --**-- News Flash:
 
 Phrack Classic 33 is scheduled to be released before
 Christmas! As of yet though, no exact date has been set in stone. However,
 Phrack is accepting submissions openly-- you may send them to any of the
 following addresses:
 
 [email protected]
 [email protected]
 FACE to FACE BBS @ 713 242 6853
 
 [::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::]
 
 NIA---NIA---NIA---NIA---NIA---NIA---NIA---NIA---NIA
 
 "MODEM BLUES : NUCLEAR GERBIL"
 
 Well, I got my modem
 Just sixteen
 1200 baud, y'know what I mean
 I could hack into Randall's with that
 And I learned other nifty crap
 Like how to make people think I'm cool
 A five-page ANSI signoff to make you drool
 I love my modem and my ego, too
 And good warezzzz make me want to spoo!
 But, ask me to post what I'm thinking about
 I laugh at you to try and figure me out
 I'm into door games, downloads, chat lines too,
 But posting intelligently I can't do!
 'Cause I'm a 'm0e'
 And I've got the
 'Houston m0dem blues'...
 
 (solo)
 
 Thank you, thank you, fuck you all & goodnight.
 
 NIA---NIA---NIA---NIA---NIA---NIA---NIA---NIA---NIA
 
 >From    :Averon #59
 To      :Guardian Of Time #21
 Subject :Privacy..?
 DateTime:5:31 pm  Mon Nov 12, 1990
 
 Yep.. my point exactly.  The government considers itself above the law,
 therefore pays only marginal lip service to procedures.  If the SS can get
 away with terrorizing some folks who scare easily, then it WILL.
 
 It doesn't matter who's right and who's wrong.. if you are wrongly accused of
 criminal acts, YOU pay the price.  Defense is expensive, court/jail time is a
 drain on your physical/mental energies, society NEVER forgives, even if you
 are acquitted.  How can you possibly explain away all those federales pawing
 thru your stuff, the flashing blue-and-whites in your driveway, your neighbors
 being questioned?  "Yeah, sure you're innocent.. what'd you REALLY do?  Bet
 you plea bargained with them, eh?"
 
 Sundevil is a pre-emptive first strike against perceived criminals; the goal
 is not to round up some collosal gang of hackers, rather its sole purpose is
 to confiscate equipment, strike fear in the hearts of those who are borderline
 illegal, and grandstand for the media.  Equipment is rarely returned, and when
 it is, it's often damaged and unusable.  The non-computing public is willing
 to let these "hackers" suffer because they don't understand!  If it was
 Nintendo games and Acura Integras being rounded up, things'd be different...
 but the publicity has been unfairly stacked.
 
 We are living in an age of "Wars": War on Drugs, War on Free Speech, War on
 Pornography, War on Hackers... what's next?
 
 See you behind the barbed wire.
 
 NIA---NIA---NIA---NIA---NIA---NIA---NIA
 
 THE STATE OF NATIONAL SECURITY -- HOW MUCH WE (DON'T) KNOW
 By Sir Lawrence
 Transcribed and Edited by Lord Macduff
 
 I have been a member of the modem community for about seven years.
 During that time period, I have watched literally hundreds of bulletin boards
 go up and go down. A great majority of these systems were based on a public
 message and file exchange. But a few of these systems were dedicated to the
 exchange and distribution of information... Information that was not usually
 available on a regular basis. In my day, I have seen files on VAX/VMS, phone
 switching systems, hacking, phreaking, and anything else that one could dream
 of. But one thing that constantly has me pondering at all hours of the night
 is the state of our national defense.
 How close and how often do we come to pressing the button? Defined as
 DEFCON-1, the state of panic which is actually sub-defined as World War III,
 is something that has not been reached... yet.
 There are five levels of International Status. DEFCON-5 is what we'd
 all like to be at... unless you're a real nut case and have absolutely no hope
 for the future of mankind. DEFCON(s) 4-1 are lesser states of "panic". A dumb
 reference, yet a valid one, is the movie "Wargames". Although a liberal dose
 of fiction was mixed in as far as the actual methods of hacking and such, it
 makes one think "Just how often DO hackers break into systems like that and
 cause problems possibly leading to the destruction of the world?" [Editor's
 Note -- Not as often as certain federal agencies would like to think. Go
 catch some REAL criminals instead of picking on us modem users...]
 Another question that comes to mind is "How often do Soviet troop
 movements or something of that nature cause a defcon decrease to bring us to
 the brink of global extermination... and the public never knows about it?"
 During the Kennedy Administration, this country was brought to what is the
 equivalent of DEFCON-2 when the Soviets brought their missiles into Cuba in
 the early 1960's. From what transcripts say about the incident, we were
 seconds away from DEFCON-1... what a pisser, huh? Although that happened seven
 years before I was born, my generation would have taken it with a grain of
 salt and looked at it as a chance to get a tan. (A real good one, I might
 add...) Our country goes seconds from World War III and we never found out
 until years later. How often does this happen? Personally, I'd like to know
 when Vodka is going to replace Coca-Cola as the national beverage. I'd also
 like to know when fish eggs are going to be put on the menu at fast food
 joints.
 At this very moment [4:27 AM on Sunday, November 11, 1990 if anyone
 is curious... -Ed.] United States and Allied troops are in the Middle East
 preparing for war. The media reports that all the troops are over there just
 sitting around bored to death. [Yet another Editor's Note -- Due to a time
 control problem, I will finish this essay instead of Sir Lawrence...
 Apologies for the interruption.] It's very possible we could have another
 Vietnam on our hands. Hell, Saddam Hussain is not going to stop with the
 invasion of Kuwait... There's a very interesting parallel between Hussain and
 a short German guy who started World War II... I'm not so sure why everyone's
 worried about German Reunification -- It's the Iraquis we SHOULD be worrying
 about! Hussain insists that the American citizens that he is holding hostage
 in various hotels in Baghdad are "Guests". We might do well to round up every
 last Iraqi citizen in this country who has a visa or green card and stick 'em
 all in ONE Motel 6 somewhere in the midwest. Let Tom Bodett deal with them for
 a while... Perhaps the CIA could go blow up some of their planes or important
 buildings... Goodness knows they've done the same to us enough times to make
 the average citizen want to puke. If we hurry up and storm the place NOW,
 before Saddam figures out how to put together that mail-order nuclear bomb,
 we could take the whole place over in a matter of days. We could use that oil.
 The weapons manufacturers would make a fortune, prehaps even create new jobs.
 Our economy could USE a boost, with the gas prices what they are. [Sidenote:
 Who's to say that Exxon isn't financing Saddam Hussain?] Sell the entire
 country to Russia for them to use as parking, for that matter.
 The projected costs for Operation Desert Shield are in the billions,
 while it has accomplished virtually nothing. Truly another case of YOUR TAX
 DOLLARS AT WORK.
 But who's to say if this is for real? This may be a conspiracy by the
 oil companies (who secretly own the government) to make more money. The
 government controls the media, which is our only source if information from
 over there. Small wonder they want to supress publications like PHRACK...
 They aren't from the government-controlled media.
 
 SUPRESSION BREEDS REVOLUTION
 
 NIA---NIA---NIA---NIA---NIA---NIA
 
 "WHEN WILL MACHINGS BECOME INTELLIGENT - MARK ROBERT THORSON"
 
 When will machines become intelligent?  What will the transition be like?
 I see three possible scenarios:
 
 1)  Sudden introduction of machine consciousness technology.  This could be
 a result of some essential feature of intelligence, some sort of critical
 mass, which comes into being suddenly.  For example, if consciousness
 required the supernatural entity commonly known as a "soul", consciousness
 would not be demonstrated until we build the first machine which is a
 suitable vehicle for a soul.  When the soul takes possession, consciousness
 suddenly results.
 
 Alternatively, consciousness might require some period of introspection
 or self-teaching.  Pre-intelligent machines would be unable to enter
 this positive feedback loop.  The first intelligent machine would
 puzzle its inventors by going into a meditation state for a while, then
 POW! ...  "I think therefore I am!"
 
 2)  Gradual introduction of machine consciousness.  In this scenario, the
 definition of intelligence is very blurred.  The last people who will
 admit that machines are intelligent will be the machine-builders themselves,
 because they understand the inner workings and see the machines as
 mechanisms.  There will be a gradual continuum of intelligence up to
 the most sophisticated programs, which are likely to be video games
 and management information systems.  The upper range of this continuum
 will advance slowly, but will eventually reach the level of machines
 which seem obviously intelligent when viewed by the lay public.
 
 A likely side-effect will be a generational break between two generations
 of programmers.  There will be a generation of old geezers who insist
 machines are not intelligent because they understand all the tricks
 machines use to fake intelligence.  And there will be the younger generation
 who understand that faking intelligence is actually the same thing
 as intelligence.
 
 3)  The entry of intelligence into practical use is undiscovered until some
 point after the fact.  Machines which seem "obviously machine-like" but
 which contain some elementary features of reasoning become common tools.
 It's only years later that some creative person invents definitions for
 intelligent behavior which make it clear that we've really been using
 intelligent machines all along without seeing (or at least acknowledging)
 it.
 It will be this conceptual framework which will snap us into a sudden
 awareness that intelligence has been achieved, or perhaps that
 intelligence is a certain quantity which our machines possess in a
 small degree and which our brains possess in some larger degree.
 
 NIA---NIA---NIA---NIA---NIA---NIA---
 
 "MARK ZENIER : CYBERPROBLEMS IN ALT.CYBERPUNK"
 
 In article <[email protected]>, (Sameer Parekh) writes:
 >
 >       I think that some of the Chatsubo organizational materials should
 > be posted here for lack of another newsgroup. (And another one to organize
 > Chatsubo would be pointless.)  If these materials were posted in
 > alt.cyberpunk.chatsubo, they would destroy the continuity of Chatsubo.
 >
 >       Here we should post the framework of Chatsubo.  I know that
 > Chatsubo should in itself be basically anarchic, but what would happen
 > of say, someone decided to kil someone else, yet that person did accept the
 > death.  That is the reason for a basic framework.
 
 First some history for folks in alt.config.
 
 Around the start of November, a participant in alt.callahans decided
 to create a new milieau based on some of the new trends in science
 fiction.  She did this in the newsgroup devoted to the discussion
 of this, alt.cyberpunk.  She also invited a bunch of her friends
 to join in.
 
 Some of us existing readers of alt.cyberpunk were less than
 overjoyed that the newsgroup was being turned into a costume
 party version of soc.singles.  Especially when some of these
 new people said they weren't going to leave.  Fortunatly, the
 newsgroup alt.cyberpunk.chatsubo was created as a refuge for
 these poor lost souls. (Even if they are a little scorched around
 the edges.)
 
 Now, you want to hold the metadiscussions about alt.cyberpunk.chatsubo
 in alt.cyberpunk.
 
 Sorry, I'm not interested in who did what to whom, and what
 color the wallpaper should be.
 
 You have two options:
 1. Get some discipline in your subject lines so that the metadiscussions
 can take place in alt.cyberpunk.chatsubo. (The lack of such discipline
 in the first round is the main grievance against the Chatsuboites)
 I suggest including the keyword "Metadiscussion" in the subject line.
 
 Or if that is too obtrusive:
 1. Create a new newsgroup (alt.cyberpunk.chatsubo.backstage,
 alt.cyberpunk.chatsubo.d, ...)
 
 I don't care where you play your role-playing games, just as
 long as it isn't on top of someone elses newsgroup.
 
 [email protected]
 
 NIA---NIA---NIA---NIA---NIA---NIA---NIA---NIA---NIA
 
 "HOW TO HAVE AN INTELLIGENT COMPLAINT W/OUT RESORTING TO JUNIOR HIGH
 SCHOOL LANGUAGE : MICHAEL RASMUSSEN"
 
 >I've begun to notice that a certain fraction of postings are now these
 >long, rambling, literary creations. I don't think this is the best way
 >to discuss the literary and prognosticative matters involved with
 >cyberpunk.
 >
 >believe this to be primarily a discussion group about the literary
 >form known as cyberpunk, and topics directly related to it. Postings
 >that are "in the cyberpunk mode" are related in a superficial way
 >--
 >[email protected]  or try [email protected]
 
 The brown leather jacket goes along for the ride as its wearer goes up to
 the bar.  He notices one of the crowd complaining about how the talk flows
 in here.  "erich" seems disturbed that having crossed the threshold of an
 area labeled Interface he is mired (??) in an interface.
 "Barkeep," and Michael holds out a bill for another drink.
 "Paid for." replies the bartender.
 "Wha? well in that case give me one of whatever, whoever bought when they
 paid for mine."  He starts to think about art school, and the arguments about
 critisizing work by talking about it and critisizing work by doing work which
 shows how you think it ought to be done.  How it's one thing to say that
 straight or traditional photography was boring, that something new was needed;
 and quite another thing to demonstrate your belief by creating non-boring, yet
 understandable work outside of those streams.
 
 The barkeeper interrupted the thoughts by setting down a pitcher of saki with
 a traditional cup and a matching teacup.  Michael's quizzical expression was
 returned with a small knowing grin.  A sniff tells that the saki is excellent.
 "You have regulars with good taste I see," he says to the bartender as he lays
 own a tip.
 
 "Erich, how can postings 'in the cyberpunk mode' be 'related in a superficial
 way' to cyberpunk mode?  They are examples of the mode at work, showing its
 strength and weakness in the most direct and verifiable mode available.
 You seem put off by the mehtod, I would guess that you would travel across
 Montana on the interstate, or in a plane, and miss the wonders of the great
 northern plains that using the roads that follow the Lewis & Clark trail can
 offer.  Or closer to home for you, a trip to San Francisco would be on one
 of the "we take off every hour" flights, instead of up 101.  Quick, to the
 point, and devoid of involvement.
 
 That's your choice.  But we've been labeling our road as Interface, you don't
 have to take the exit (detour?).  If you choose to join us remember that we
 are involved here, and we want to argue our points by example instead of
 abstraction.
 
 Well in any case, Some benefactor has provided me with saki and two cups.
 Would you like some?"
 
 Michael sits down, pours the warm fluid with an air of reverence and takes
 a sip from the cup he has chosen for himself.  He looks at Erich and settels
 down into the overstuffing of the armchair.
 
 "Pirsig talks about quality in Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance.
 Quality as a distinct entity.  Our quality is cyberpunk by example.  Though
 at first glance it seems 'rambling' you may find that it is the direct route
 to discovering the limits of our tools today.  Metadiscussions just don't
 seem to fit the bill, to me at least."
 
 NIA---NIA---NIA---NIA---NIA---NIA---NIA---NIA---NIA
 
 "LEST WE FORGET OUR DAYS OF BOXING : LEN VISHNEVSKY"
 
 > I used to see plans of boxes all the time.  Does anyone remember the
 > blotto box?  It seems that someone had the impression the FBI used a
 > method called lock and trace, which kept the voltage on your phone
 > line at a high level, so they g-men could trace you and you couldn't
 > disconnect the line (i.e. hang up)  The blotto box was designed to
 > play a radio or some other electric device to lower the voltage and
 > disconnect the line before you were traced.  Does any of this seem
 > even remotely real?  Obviously with ess you can be traced instantly
 > now, but what about 5-10 years ago?
 
 It was true 5-10 years ago.  They would raise the voltage of your line
 to 90v or so, which made a loud noise in your ear and *kept* the phone line
 open.  Try to hang up and the phone would ring again.  You might not be on
 the line, but your path would stay open.
 
 The Blotto Box was simple:  Connect the red/green wires to an AC outlet
 and plug your light in.  This would use up all the power, supposedly.  Also,
 supposedly, they tried to compensate by increasing the power, which the
 light bulb promptly ate up.  In the end, the FBI computer would melt from
 generating that much power.  But the phone line's fuses would blow before
 that would *really* happen, thus disconnecting your path.
 
 I think this method of trace, at the fastest, took 10 seconds.  Plenty
 of time to unplug your light and put it on the line.  But you've got to
 know you're being traced...
 
 So you stick a voltmeter on your line.  This became kind of popular.
 Since old kludgy bugs and taps used to drain power from your line, you not
 only knew when someone was tracing, but when someone was tapping.  But it
 was only a tool for the paranoid, since how many people actually got traced
 this way?
 
 NIA---NIA---NIA---NIA---NIA---NIA---NIA---NIA---NIA
 
 Message #  31 of 40
 Subject:   Hi etc...
 From:      [MODERATED]
 To:        ALL
 Sent:      11/21/90 at 7:58 pm
 
 Hi, all.
 
 Yeah, I really want to see some people from the Establishment log on.  Then
 this place should start a-movin'.
 
 I dunno about Sun D II, some people in the in 415 area code - have been
 busted.  The thing that bothers me the most is, as usual, the methods.  If
 these boys had been ANY other type of criminal, they would have been treated
 more fairly (ok, with the possible exception of any criminal who happens to be
 black - the get treated as porrly much of the time).
 
 And if any of you all seemingly nonexistent security folk wanna refute that,
 let's talk.
 
 But I think the statement that indicates the levels that are currently being
 stooped to is that we might get our phone lines tapped (TAPPED!) for legally
 calling this completely legal BBS.
 
 But hey - just another bit of evidence that the US is discarding its original
 Constitution for one more sympathetic to, say, Nazi Germany's.
 
 NIA---NIA---NIA---NIA---NIA---NIA---NIA---NIA---NIA
 
 Sub-Board: FACE to FACE
 
 Message #  32 of 40
 Subject:   SD II
 From:      [MODERATED]
 To:        ALL
 Sent:      11/21/90 at 8:39 pm
 
 Uncensored was making a big thing out of 9-12 supposed busts in New York.  I've
 made a few phone calls trying to find out how true it was, but no ones
 talking...  CLLI Code went down at about that time though, so there might be
 some truth to it....
 
 
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 Sub-Board: Operation "SunDevil"
 
 Message #  14 of 19
 Subject:   naughty stuff
 From:      [MODERATED]
 To:        ALL
 Sent:      11/21/90 at 8:11 pm
 
 So, you think maybe people would eventually come to their senses?
 
 A judge in Oakland seems to have authorized a wiretap because person a, who had
 been convicted of illegally entering a computer and... changing a Christmas
 mailing list, had person b's name and phone number amongst his hacking notes.
 
 In fact, the police not only got the original search warrant for person a
 because ONE company had his number traced ONCE, but got a warrant for person b
 and, after failing to find anything incriminating, got the tap for person b.
 
 Sure enough, person b had a knock on his door a few days ago..  but that's not
 the point.  Even gangs in San Francisco get better treatment from judges.
 
 OK.  Enough ranting.
 
 NIA---NIA---NIA---NIA---NIA---NIA---NIA---NIA---NIA
 
 Sub-Board: FACE to FACE
 
 Message #  42 of 78
 Subject:   Re: Why...
 From:      [MODERATED]
 To:        [ Anonymous ]
 Sent:      11/23/90 at 5:58 pm
 
 I can answer that at least in part since I work for a corporation and my
 job is to stop 'hackers'. I mean this in the prevention sense rather
 than by working with the cops but I've done that also. In a sense some
 of you have created me -> by attacking computers that are necessary to
 our business, you have created fear and anger in the part of management.
 This has led to desire for punishment and revenge which is not surprising
 to any student of psychology.
 
 This has even affected me to some extent as sometimes I see myself as
 the handle implies, a wizard but sometimes I see myself as a cat,
 watching a mouse hole, looking for a nice meal of mice. After all,
 if you poke your head thru the hole, you are responsible for your own
 actions.
 
 Now, I do feel that there has to be balancing in sentencing and that
 someone convicted for serious crimes, whether white or blue collar
 ought to get much more severe sentences than tresspass-class cracking
 but system crashing and repeat offences are another matter.
 
 NIA---NIA---NIA---NIA---NIA---NIA---NIA---NIA---NIA
 
 Sub-Board: FACE to FACE
 
 Message #  46 of 78
 Subject:   General
 From:      [MODERATED]
 To:        ALL
 Sent:      11/23/90 at 11:38 pm
 
 After a few years of leaving the computer "underground" and heading out
 into the world of business computing, I feel that I have seen both sides of
 what is supposed to be the "law".  Why do I get the funny feeling that the
 further that I delve into the "legal" side of it, the further I get away from
 what is really the truth and is more moral than the so-called legal users of
 the system.
 
 Okay, so I may seem to have some contempt for the system.  About four
 years ago, I belonged to a group known simply (hah!) as "Omnipotent, Inc."  We
 really didn't think of ourselves as a "hacker ring" since we were rarely
 involved in hacking outside our own little world of suburbia hidden away
 somewhere in 713.  Then one day the roof came crashing down on us.  Of the
 original seven members.  Two were arrested three (including myself) were made
 to pay for "damages" done to school computers and business computers and
 long-distance services.  The rest of the members I have not been in contact
 with since that time.  The two that were arrested were given probation and the
 usual community service since the charges were not viewed as being serious.
 However, the scary fact is that the poeple that were investigating this
 so-called "hacker group" (these are direct quotes from a Southwestern Bell
 Security employee) had no idea of the extent of what was really happening.  The
 investigation, if there ever was truly one, must have been a half-assed job
 that truly didn't check to see if we were behind half the things that were
 going on.
 
 NIA---NIA---NIA---NIA---NIA---NIA---NIA---NIA---NIA
 
 
 Sub-Board: FACE to FACE
 
 Message #  53 of 78
 Subject:   Re: General
 From:      [MODERATED]
 To:        [MODERATED]
 Sent:      11/25/90 at 4:24 am
 
 first, call me sometime, i think your mind is going..
 
 about msg #51.. i seriously doubt any company is losing any appreciable amount
 to hacking.  I understand that some might feel the information is too sensive
 and invest to prevent it from getting out.  Of course, they could also keep on
 withe the southern bell estimates of $200K to change passwords..  boy, sure
 would like to be the person who did that.. 'bout 50K an hour..
 
 about msg #52.. in most of the cases about hackers you hear about, no damage is
 ever actually done, by normal standards.  problem is what the companies
 consider damage, ie use of computer time & resources..
 
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 Sub-Board: FACE to FACE
 
 Message #  61 of 78
 Subject:   Jerry Crown!
 From:      [MODERATED]
 To:        ALL
 Sent:      11/26/90 at 12:42 am
 
 Hey, man, what's up?
 
 So, what can we learn from your post - if, as I assume as well, it is genuine?
 
 We know of your ego; not to offend, mine is pretty immense too, but it isn't
 just anyone who'll come right out and say "I AM Big Brother and I know where
 you live!"  And we have yet another bit of evidence that that is the way the
 "powers that be" think - we're mice.
 
 We know a little - not much, yet, maybe talk to us? - of what you do.  You log
 on to boards under, I am assuming, false pretences, to... what?  Talk to us,
 eh?  I can assume you do it to catch people abusing GTE's telecomm. services
 (Sprint and the erstwhile Telenet), but then for what do you care about us?
 
 My questions to you -
 1) What exactly is it that you do?
 
 2) Why - both personally (does it excite you as much as it did Stoll?)
 and as a corporation (how much cash does Sprint claim it loses, how
 much does the extra electricity really cost y'all?)
 
 3) My biggest question - what is your moral analysis of the situation?
 What is your opinion of the various crimes you investigate, from
 code fraud to cracking systems via x.25 nets?
 
 [SORRY LOST THE REST OF THIS MESSAGE -- GUARDIAN OF TIME ]
 
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 Sub-Board: FACE to FACE
 
 Message #  70 of 78
 Subject:   Re: Why...
 From:      [MODERATED]
 To:        [ Anonymous ]
 Sent:      11/26/90 at 8:03 am
 
 The reason the pheds are cracxking down is because of a statistic I heard over
 the weekend.
 The average bank robbery net $5000.00
 The average computer crime nets $300,00
 It explains a few things.  Hacking for profit is not exactly the most "ethical"
 things to do.  In, fact, hacker by definition do not hack for anything other
 than knowledge and challenge.
 
 NIA---NIA---NIA---NIA---NIA---NIA---NIA---NIA---NIA
 
 
 Sub-Board: FACE to FACE
 
 Message #  73 of 78
 Subject:   Re: General
 From:      [MODERATED]
 To:        [MODERATED]
 Sent:      11/26/90 at 1:28 pm
 
 
 You are quite wrong does the word Industrial Espionage ring any bells?  How
 much would coca cola lose it their formula got out?  They are ver very
 protective of that I even doubt they'd prosecute I assume they would call up
 Jake or Myer Lanski and kill.  As to loses yes it does happen on a large
 degree but not by us.  Individuals who destroy for a living are to blame, and
 wse end up as the scapegoats.  As for the governments interest in hackers fear
 is what comes to mind if you don't understand something kill it or get rid of
 it.  That has always been the theory, and because hackers have power to pry
 where they shouldn't we might learn of some nasty thing thier doing that we
 shouldn't know about i.e. using human beings off the street for bio and
 chemical weapons tests.  Or do you think the mighty US mass produces chemical
 and biological agents without first testing them out on people to be sure they
 work?  Enough of that I just prefer honesty not lies from our government.  The
 old cliche "Practice what you preach" comes to mind right now.  As for the
 constituition it's NOTHING, but a worthless piece of paper noone cares at all
 look at Noriega.  They bugged conversations between him and his attourney,
 disallowed him to take out funds to pay for his trial, etc...
 
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 Sub-Board: FACE to FACE
 
 Message #  78 of 78
 Subject:   Re: Re: Sprintdude
 From:      [MODERATED]
 To:        [MODERATED]
 Sent:      11/26/90 at 9:53 pm
 
 I dont think anyone is trying to turn this into a rag fest..  Its just
 extremely hard to believe that someone who has supposedly been involved with
 security investigations as long as he claims to have been would be a little
 more mature in his postings.
 
 The security/law enforcement/etc field is SUPPOSED to have an unbiased opinion
 concerning matters that pertain to their work.  Just like the press.  That is
 how they supposedly come up with their "professional" opinions.  In the case of
 our friend Mr. Jerry here, he seems to have a personality problem, or perhaps
 its just a lack of professionalism.  Personally, I dont think he is involved in
 security.  Someone mentioned the idea of a plant, or just some "kid" having fun
 pretending to be Mr. Big-Bad-Security-Agent.  Anyone who has been involved with
 security that long should at least be professional.
 
 Well...Thats my $.02.
 
 "Little, yellow, different, better."
 
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 Sub-Board: Operation "SunDevil"
 
 Message #  30 of 31
 Subject:   Re: stuff
 From:      [MODERATED]
 To:        [MODERATED]
 Sent:      11/26/90 at 3:09 am
 
 Search affidavits and warrants tend to be canned "cliff notes" type of things,
 and they generally list things like books, notes, cassettes, and anything
 electronic that looks suspicious. The raiders are generally not knowledgeable
 and go a bit wild (see Len Rose, Steve Jackson, Doc Cypher, etc). In one raid
 they took a copy of Gordon Meyer's M.A. thesis. They've taken answering
 machines, telephones, and even private letters and paper unrelated to
 computers belonging to others. Educating judges and other about what's
 reasonable and what's not is one goal....next they'll be taking the
 microwave and refrigerator.
 
 NIA---NIA---NIA---NIA---NIA---NIA---NIA---NIA---NIA
 
 "CHATSUBO CHATSUBO WHY CAN'T WE HAVE A CHATSUBO: LEFTY"
 
 In article <[email protected]> [email protected]
 (Sameer Parekh) writes:
 > I think that some of the Chatsubo organizational materials should
 > be posted here for lack of another newsgroup. (And another one to organize
 > Chatsubo would be pointless.)  If these materials were posted in
 > alt.cyberpunk.chatsubo, they would destroy the continuity of Chatsubo.
 
 I think you're sadly mistaken.  I didn't want your Creative Writing 101
 assignments in here in the first place, I'm certainly not interested in
 the supporting material.
 
 As far as the "continuity" of alt.cyberpunk.chatsubo is concerned, that's
 _your_ worry.
 >         Here we should post the framework of Chatsubo.  I know that
 > Chatsubo should in itself be basically anarchic, but what would happen
 > of say, someone decided to kil someone else, yet that person did accept the
 > death.  That is the reason for a basic framework.
 
 Keep it _out_ of alt.cyberpunk, please.  This is _not_ what I subscribe to
 the group for.
 
 Here's a good idea.  Maybe Tim and I can come in with blasters, and kill
 everybody...
 
 >         One idead for the framework that I have regards the bartender.
 > I think that he/she can have an active role, but not _too_ active.
 > What I mean is that he/she can act and do things, but they mustn't be
 > very active actions. (now THAT is one COHERENT sentence)  People when
 > they post should make the bartender do things, and respond, and the like,
 > but the actions shouldn't have a drastic effect.
 > (I hope this last paragraph was understood)
 
 Just about as well written as most of the other examples of this ilk I've
 seen.
 
 > Well, seeya there.
 
 Not on a dare.
 
 --
 Lefty  ([email protected])              |          "And you may ask yourself,
 D:.O:.D:., C:.M:.C:.                |             'How do I work this?'"
 End of article 4821 (of 4826)--what next? [npq]
 
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 "LANGUAGE THE REAL THING: MARK ROBERT THROSON"
 
 Language is first and foremost the reproduction
 mechanism for memes.  A meme (as defined by Dawkins in
 _The_Selfish_Gene_) is an individual particle of
 culture, just as a gene is an individual particle of
 genetic inheritance.  A meme can be an individual
 thought, such as "soup is good food" or a complex of
 thoughts, such as a religion.
 
 Language is how memes jump from person to person.  On
 the transmit end, the language organ photographs a
 portion of the network of crystallized intelligence and
 encodes it for shipment.  On the receive end, it decodes
 the package and temporarily installs it into the
 corresponding place in the receiver's network.  The code
 is free of the context of the transmitter and receiver.
 For example, if I say "This tastes like fish." that
 would seem like a good thing to a receiver who likes
 fish, or a bad thing to one who doesn't.  I.e. the
 message doesn't carry the context with it unless it is
 specifically encoded, as in "This tastes like -- yuck --
 fish.".  (Voice inflection can transmit the same
 information, but that is just another form of specific
 encoding of the context.)
 
 I can tell you anything in my conscious mind, from why I
 don't eat pickles to why I don't go to church.
 Likewise, I can input almost any idea from you.  I might
 not agree with the truth or falseness of what you say,
 but I can try it on for size.  I can map it into my
 network and see if it fits.
 
 Somehow, the language organ is like some sort of robot
 arm, with random-access pick-and-place reach into
 arbitrary places in the network, as illustrated below.
 
 * - *   * - * - * - *   * - * - *   * - * - *
 |   |       |       |   |       |       |   |
 * - * - * - *   *   * - * - * - * - *   * - *
 |       |   |       |           |   |
 * - * - * - *       * - * - * - * - *
 |           |       |
 *       * - *       *
 
 (*)
 --------------   /\  V
 |  Language  |  /  \ |
 |  Encoder/  |_/    \|
 |  Decoder   |
 --------------
 
 How could an organ have such all-invasive access?  It
 could selectively activate individual particles of
 crystallized intelligence using an address bus.  For
 example, when the address bus for the food department of
 my brain carries the code for "pickles", an address
 decoder activates my pickle-agents including one
 connected to my "too much salt" agent.  Seventy binary
 signals can address more than a billion billion
 particles, so obviously such an address bus needn't be
 unreasonably large.  (It would probably be much larger
 than seventy binary signals, however, in order that a
 random address picked out by an agent would be likely to
 be globally unique, much like the system used to assign
 credit card numbers.)
 
 My guess is that the language organ has two parts:  a
 centralized encode/decode part (Broca's and Wernicke's
 areas, etc.) hooked up to the hearing and vocal organs,
 and a distributed part -- the "robot arm" -- consisting
 of one or more sparsely encoded buses capable of
 interrogating all of the conscious agents and agencies
 and even placing new agents and constructing new
 agencies, although the newly-arrived memes seem to have
 weak connections, and require reinforcement from the
 existing network to become permanent.  (I.e. you are
 much more likely to believe your own conclusions than
 those spoken to you or read in a book, until you've had
 time to consider them.)
 
 In an earlier posting, I claimed that thoughts are the
 experience of agents crossing the fluid vs. crystallized
 interface.  Now, I'd go further and claim that dreams
 are the experience of agents and agencies spontaneously
 forming and re-dissolving while the robot arm is idle.
 We don't perceive dreams while we're awake because
 agents and agencies constructed by the arm are formed at
 a higher voltage or pressure or something.  While the
 arm is active, we don't see the spontaneous activity,
 just as we don't see the stars when the sun is out.  The
 higher intensity of the connections created by the arm
 is lacking in the agents and agencies formed during
 dreams, which is why dreams are forgotten so quickly.
 
 New thoughts begin in this haze of spontaneous activity
 (which is always present, even though we only perceive
 it at night).  A new thought occurs when two
 crystallized agents need a connection, and a fluid agent
 jumps into the gap.  If the connection is really needed,
 it gets reinforced and becomes permanent.
 
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 Warning: Be wary of Japanese bearing microchips : KEVIN HUGHES
 
 _Mondo_2000_ is getting famous around the Bay Area!  Within a few
 months of the number two issue, articles about the magazine and related
 interviews have appeared in the (East Bay) _Express_ and the San Francisco
 _Examiner_.  Queen Mu, _Mondo_'s 'Domineditrix', was actually interviewed as
 part of a local news series on cracking, to be mentioned later.  Usenet
 posters and _Mondo_ letters page writers attest to heavy perusal of _Mondo_
 in high-tech workplaces (such as Intel and Sun Microsystems).  The _Examiner_
 says _Mondo_ is "_huge_ in England and Japan".  Again, you can subscribe
 (getting four issues) by sending $24, check or money order, to _Mondo_2000_,
 P.O. Box 10171, Berkeley, CA, 94709.  Airmail or overseas subscriptions are
 $50.  Their telephone number is (415) 845-9018; their fax number is (415)
 649-9630.  The only place close to the UCB campus that you can find _Mondo_
 (and where I first found it) is at Dave's Smoke Shop on 2444 Durant Avenue -
 (415) 841-7292.
 Another publication that is computer oriented and rather metaphysical
 is _The_Node_, "For hackers with soul", based in San Francisco.  It states
 that it is ". . .published quarterly by Performing Arts Social Society, Inc.,
 to foster the use of computers in improving the human condition in the 21st
 Century.  It is produced with the help of Utopian Technology.  You can sub-
 scribe to _The_Node_ for $12 a year.  For $18 a year, you can receive _The_
 Node_ plus four copies of _RockHEAD_, a music/psychology publication 'for
 rockers with brains.'  _The_Node_ actively fosters the idea of 'psychographic
 networking' linking up people around shared values and interests. . .".  The
 address is _The_Node_, P.O. Box 1174, San Francisco, CA, 94101.  If you live
 in or around the Bay Area, you can pick up _The_Node_ free from a newsstand.
 Some cyberarticles I've seen around include a great article on Tim
 Leary's involvement with VR and such in the S.F. _Examiner_'s _Image_ magazine,
 the 11/4/90 issue.  A good article on VR written by _Omni_ magazine columnist
 Steve Ditlea appears in the 10/21/90 _This_World_ magazine, which I believe
 comes with the S.F. _Examiner_'s Sunday paper as well.  That article was
 adapted from a series running in _New_York_ magazine.  A decent interview
 with _Mondo_'s editor R.U. Sirius is featured in the 9/28/90 East Bay
 _Express_.
 I find that trying to get educational information from computer
 science students is like trying to find a contact lens in a sandstorm.  But
 I encourage those both in and out of college to attend lectures and buy texts
 teaching subjects they're interested in but not necessarily enrolled in.  A
 little information can go a long way, and you won't have to endure the stress
 of tests and grading.  Here's some information to help you find more
 information using Internet:
 If you have telnet capability, you can access dozens of computer-
 based library systems in as many locations.  Besides the GLADIS and MELVYL
 systems at UCB, you can look up books at the Universities of Delaware,
 Hawaii, Chicago, Illinois, Kansas, and Maine, to name a few.  An updated
 list of these catalogs and databases is available - just ftp to UMD5.UMD.EDU,
 login as 'anonymous', and the list will be in the 'info-lib' directory.  The
 list was last updated on 8/5/90.
 I recommend looking at CARL, the Colorado Alliance of Research
 Libraries.  The database contains a list of other useful public Internet
 databases.  Telnet to 192.54.81.128 (pac.carl.org).  One neat place I found
 through CARL was a geographic information database with thousands of locations,
 ZIP codes, latitudes, and longitudes.  Just type in a place, a ZIP, or nearly
 anything, and the server will find the matching relevant data almost
 instantly.  I find it a lot of fun for quick searches and trivia.  Telnet to
 martini.eecs.umich.edu, using port 3000 (type 'telnet martini.eecs.umich.edu
 3000').
 The Cleveland Free-Net also seems worth exploring around a bit.
 Telnet to 129.22.8.(75,76,77,78 or 82).  A list of anonymously ftp-able sites
 can be found on some help or Internet newsgroups, or it can be found by just
 asking around your local network.  Or you can email me and I'll send you a
 copy.  Newsgroups that some reading this newsgroup may find appealing are:
 alt.cyberspace, alt.cyb-sys, alt.society.cu-digest, comp.ai (.neural-nets,
 .philosophy), comp.mail.multi-media, comp.society (.futures), sci.bio.tech-
 nology, sci.environment, sci.nanotech (there's a good discussion on this
 one), sci.virtual-worlds, and no doubt a lot more.  You can also find a list
 of public access UNIX/Usenet sites regularly posted and updated at least
 monthly on the newsgroup pubnet.nixpub.
 Have fun and try using the system to your advantage for once!
 
 _Addendum_
 
 In message ID [email protected], J. Eric Townsend
 ([email protected]) types:
 
 ] Old technology is not useless -- it can be adapted to solve problems
 ] you don't have a budget for.
 
 ] That 512K Mac in your closet would be a perfect gift for a researcher
 ] in a computer-third-world country...
 
 Absolutely!  But a 512K Mac, IMHO, isn't such a hot _multimedia_
 machine these days.  I know of a computing center that appletalks about
 five upgraded five year old Macs, and successfully has them run Microsoft
 Word 4.0 and PageMaker 3.0.  There's also a UC Berkeley Mac physics lab that
 uses a 512 exclusively for cleansing viruses.  It's a great inexpensive
 approach.  I think as more people learn computing, there will be a good
 amount of American and especially international third-world students who will
 learn on old technology, because it's very cheap and it still works.  But by
 then I'm sure the fairly well-to-do will be expecting (and getting) cheap
 state-of-the-art technology.  Today there are those who always insist on
 getting the most up-to-date computer and gadget, just as there are those who
 are comfortable using old Commodore 64's or whatever to get what they need
 done.  Myself, I wouldn't mind scavenging a flea market for a Timex-Sinclair
 or even an Altair, just to use for waking me up in the morning. :^)
 
 ______   Kevin Hughes                      |   "The problem with    |
 --_\  __/_------------------------------------| the future is that it  |---
 \ \ \  /  Internet: [email protected] | usually arrives before |
 ---\/\/\/-------------------------------------| we're ready for it."   |---
 
 NIA---NIA---NIA---NIA---NIA---NIA---NIA---NIA---NIA
 
 64/65: TAP
 Name: [MODERATED]
 Date: Mon Nov 12 23:32:56 1990
 
 Well... good questions, i have answered them before during summercon 1989, but
 for those that didn't hear or know i will go over it again.
 
 TAP quit publishing in 1984 after a big FBI coverup type thing. They broke
 into the editors house, stole most of his papers and mailing lists and what
 they could not carry they set on fire and burned. In 1989 it was decided TAP
 would rise from the ashes and rumors of the past to continue into the future.
 Aristotle and I (Predat0r) obtained permission from the last two editors of
 TAP, who were TUC and Cheshire Catalyst that we could publish TAP. they said
 they would not support us, but did not care that we restarted it. So they
 turned it over to us with all legal rights. including the ISSN number for the
 magazine. under current copyright laws each issue of TAP is copywritten by the
 general definition of the copyright laws. since i am the publisher i could sue
 someone for reprinting an article and not asking for or giving credit to TAP.
 it gets complicated and is a matter for lawyers and all and i don't feel like
 posting an official TAP is this and can do this, and so forth, i take no stand
 on anything until my lawyer advises me again. and i am not wasting money
 unless something big comes out of it. like someone else trying to start a TAP
 clone.
 
 NIA---NIA---NIA---NIA---NIA---NIA---NIA---NIA---NIA
 
 Well, this concludes NIA issue 67.  If anyone wishes (hint) to
 submit some material, please do so at the [email protected]
 You can get our files from f2f and soon the CuD archives.  Look for
 upcoming issues soon (including HP and more DEC manuals).
 Well, its getting closer to winter so to end the file with these wise words:
 -Never eat yellow snow.
 -anon
 
 [OTHER WORLD BBS]
 
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