Steve Jobs to 2005 graduates: 'Stay hungry, stay foolish'

An article here has a interesting insight from Steve Jobs.

Drawing from some of the most pivotal points in his life, Steve Jobs, chief executive officer and co-founder of Apple Computer and of Pixar Animation Studios, urged graduates to pursue their dreams and see the opportunities in life's setbacks—including death itself—at the university's 114th Commencement on Sunday in Stanford Stadium.

Botnets that make money, but at who's expense?

The article is locate here.

Witlog claims he doesn't use his botnet for illegal purposes, only "for fun." I found that claim pretty hard to believe given a) the income he could make installing ad-serving software on each computer under his control, combined with b) the risk he is taking of getting caught breaking into so many computers. The kid I wrote about in the Post magazine story on the connection between botnets and spyware was making $6,000 to $10,000 per month installing adware on a botnet half the size of the one Witlog claims to have.

How to Become a Real Computer Geek

lol I came across this article recently, I thought it was pretty amusing:

Now that many so-called "computer geeks" are becoming extremely wealthy, the age of ostracizing the computer savvy is coming to an end. The road to true computer geekdom is long and arduous, but the payoff is worth the trouble.

Steps:
1. Update your computer software and hardware regularly to keep your system state-of-the-art.

2. Purchase and install several superfluous peripherals for your computer, such as a video camera and a CD burner.

3. Establish a separate phone line for Internet use or sign up for a direct connection. This will allow you to be online without interruption around the clock.

4. Attain mastery of a variety of mainstream programming languages, such as C and C++. (Web scripting languages, such as JavaScript, don't count.)

5. Refuse to use "wimpy" graphical operating systems, such as Windows and the Mac OS: Instead, prefer Unix variants, preferably the free and popular Linux.

6. Add so many hacks and patches to your system that others are clueless in its wake.

7. Contribute to GNU or other open-source projects.

8. Establish a minimum of three separate e-mail addresses.

9. Build your own Web page using advanced programming techniques.

10. Subscribe to a variety of computer and computer-related magazines, serials and periodicals to keep up with the latest trends and developments in the computer world.

11. Get involved in other hobbies that tend to be associated with computer geekdom, such as network gaming, trading card games, and anime (Japanese animation).

12. Establish a network of fellow computer geeks with whom you can have long conversations about computers and online adventures that non-computer geeks cannot hope to understand.

Tips:
Many computer geeks build their computers out of separate components rather than buying a preassembled package.

If you're serious about computer geekdom, consider earning a degree in computer science from a major college, university or technical school.