No metaphors. Just a thumping good book that I read back in '87 or '88 and absolutely loved. I've got sort of a romantic appreciation for the era of computing spanning early 1960s to mid 1980s, and this was the first book I came across that really get behind the minds and the personalities that drove the genre.

The rest of the story: http://product.half.ebay.com/Hackers_W0QQprZ1754026QQtgZinfo

Other good reads of the genre, and I'll note that none of them are books about technology- they're books about people:

The Cuckoo's Egg: http://product.half.ebay.com/The-Cuckoos-Egg_W0QQprZ259728QQtgZinfo (this one is just utterly awesome- Cliff Stoll is the man.)

Masters of Deception: http://product.half.ebay.com/Masters-of-Deception_W0QQprZ26326QQtgZinfo (This one is about hackers of the more modern (criminal) sense, but was interesting to me since I grew up on the fringes of the stuff this book talks about)

Takedown: http://product.half.ebay.com/Takedown_W0QQprZ1089223QQtgZinfo (As a teenager, Mitnick was basically a rockstar figure to me. I finally met him a few years ago at the Premiere network ops center, and it turns out that he's a total douche. Still a good read, though.)

Those were all great books, there was a time I read everything about the 80-90's hacker/phreak subculture. The last one I read on the subject was "Where Wizards Stay Up Late" and is about the origins of the intarweb.

Raise your hand if you were online before the WWW. I remember getting online the 1st time with TRS-80 Model 4 and a 300baud modem. I could read and type fast than that setup. Met my wife on a BBS :)

Wow I was a dork, but now I'm cool and drive a Miata and have tattoos. :)

On before www. Anyone phreakers here? Still can't believe some of that stuff worked on Ma Bell. Too bad it's obsolete.

Not me, I'm just a casual surfer. A PC noob I guess. I've had my computer for less than 10 years. Still a good read, though. Had me hooked from the first paraghaph.

What is that? Another new avitar? Quacker Part II...Son of Quacker!

Love it!:giggle:

Rubber ducky, your the one...you make bathtime so much fun. Sorry ,I got carried away.:bowrofl: