Hackers Tapestries
Description: This world often hidden from public view: the world of computer programmers and activists fighting to keep the internet free, uncensored, and safe to use. As more and more of our everyday activities occur online—from socializing to banking to political organizing—questions about who owns and controls online spaces are becoming increasingly central issues. Still, few of us actively think about these concerns when we open our browsers and update our Facebook statuses. we are introduced to the world of activists who are working on behalf of the rest of us, internet activists and hackers who actively question the rules of the online game.
Description: Getting internet connectivity from the telecom mega corporations and cable companies of the world as most do today is rather perfunctory, but during the ‘90s and even into the early 2000s, you could get internet service from countless ISP's. Due to the lack of infrastructure needed to provide dial-up access, literally anyone could launch an ISP and one such example came from a very unlikely source - DB. On Sept. 1, 1998, DB and the network services company UltraStar launched BowieNet in the United States with the rest of the world to follow. The design is just dripping with the techno design style of the era, so whether you're a DB fan, a hacker, or just a geek, this one should do it for you.
Description: You Are An Idiot, also known as Offiz and Trojan:JS/NoBrain was a trojan website that took over a user's browser with an animated Flash file featuring 3 smiley faces on a strobing background, along with the text, "you are an idiot" as audio of "you are an idiot" being loudly sung. Originally going live back in 2002, this malware did not delete any files, instead acting like a fork bomb. When opened, the site would spawn 6 additional windows to make the singing and flashing even more chaotic. If the user managed to close one, the browser would duplicate to run a secondary instance. Trying to open Task Manager or closing one using Alt+F4 doesn't work, instead, it displayed a dialogue box stating that the user is an idiot.
Description: A computer hacker is a computer expert who uses their technical knowledge to overcome a problem. While "hacker" can refer to any skilled computer programmer, the term has become associated in popular culture with a "security hacker", someone who, with their technical knowledge, uses bugs or exploits to break into computer systems. Law enforcement agencies have also been using hacking techniques in order to collect evidence on criminals and other malicious actors using anonymity tools and the dark web to mask their identities online.
Description: LimeWire was a peer-to-peer file sharing (P2P) platform that launched with its own client in 2000. LimeWire utilized the gnutella network and BitTorrent protocol to allow users share content by uploading and downloading content through the client. LimeWire offered both a free version and a paid enhanced version called LimeWire Pro, which, somewhat ironically, could be acquired through the regular LimeWire software as paid users shared their copies of Pro with the platform. LimeWire had a solid ten-year run before a lawsuit back by music industry heavyweights resulted in the company, and it's software client, being shut down in 2010.
Description: Jolt Cola was a carbonated soft drink originally made by The Jolt Company of Rochester, New York. From the outset, Jolt’s marketing strategy centered on the caffeine content, billing the drink as a means to promote wakefulness, including a slogan of “All the sugar and twice the caffeine.” The highly caffeinated beverage was targeted towards students and young professionals, stressing its use as a stimulant in a similar manner as energy drinks. Jolt Cola is featured in the 1995 movie ‘Hackers’ as the hosts of a pirate television broadcast claim to be sponsored by the beverage and advertise Jolt Cola as “the soft drink of the elite hacker.”
Description: Jolt Cola was a carbonated beverage initially produced by The Jolt Company, based in Rochester, New York. From its inception, the marketing approach for Jolt emphasized its high caffeine content, promoting the drink as a means to enhance alertness, encapsulated in the slogan “All the sugar and twice the caffeine.” This highly caffeinated drink was aimed at students and young professionals, highlighting its role as a stimulant akin to energy drinks. Jolt Cola made an appearance in the 1995 film ‘Hackers,’ where the hosts of a pirate television broadcast claimed sponsorship by the drink, promoting it as “the soft drink of the elite hacker.”
Description: Digital Equipment Corporation (DEC), was founded by Ken Olsen and Harlan Anderson in 1957 in Maynard, Massachusetts. Operating under the trade name Digital, they were a major player in the computer industry from the 1960s to the 1990s. Although the company produced many product lines over their history, they are best known for their work in the minicomputer market starting in the mid-1960s. The company produced a series of machines known as the PDP line, with the PDP-8 and PDP-11 being among the most successful minis in history. Their success was only surpassed by another DEC product, the late-1970s VAX "supermini" systems that were designed to replace the PDP-11.
Description: A digitally created cartoon featuring six people arranged in a circular formation, with stylistic swirls of pink and blue emanating outwards. Additional faces with distorted features are positioned at intervals around the circle. The text "HACKERS" is displayed at the bottom in a neon-style typeface.
Description: From dial-up days to DSL dreams, LimeWire was the wild west of file sharing - music, movies, and more at your fingertips (and maybe a few viruses too). A rebellious relic of the early internet, LimeWire connected millions through decentralized p2p magic. Whether you were burning mix CDs or hunting for that rare track, LimeWire was your portal to digital freedom.
