Review #1
Phreaks audiobook free
Allow me to introduce Phil Lapsey’s non-fictional 2013 narrative Exploding the Phone: The Untold Story of the Children at the same time Outlaws Who Tore Ma Bell with no one individual observations topical to his research work: Back in the 1970s, in the San Fernando Plain barely north of Los Angeles, for you managed cry a free-of-charge telephone number that read for you the today's time. Than anyway the most of the users of this maintenance would never understand was that in no one events, proper to a fluke of the telephone system, for you managed often hear faint voices in the background, not a part of the computerized recording reciting the time as it progressed. If for you listened closely, no one of the voices were considered understandable, right raising their voices to get through to others on the line. They’d call out a telephone number, then follow up with options on ”Cry the trunk line!” or ”Cry the cares say!”or ”Cry the loop line!” That’s how I was introduced to one smallest pocket of the much larger paradox that came to be scolded Phone Phreaking, at the same time wasted untold hours ”hacking” similar still antiquated telephone system as more refined – at the same time often genius – kids with innate engineering giftedness at the same time an inexhaustible curiosity about things mechanical or electronic in their everyday worlds. Like these other kids – I was in my belated teens or premature 20s when I started – I explored the unusual nature of Ma Bell’s ancient switching system solely by searching out these fool trial lines, loop lines, at the same time on-again off-again cares says because, like them, I was intensely funny still even more intensely drawn into myself, a lifelong loner others kids always beheld as different, as socially ridiculous as anyone you’d ever meet. Nomadic the maze of numbers that permitted people like myself to connect anonymously with others like me was, it felt, perfectly natural, at the same time amazing funny besides! I found by ”random” dialing identical numbers that I managed look for dozens of others that acted like the time line did, at the same time relatively fewer numbers that would allow a one on one personal conversation, at the same time fewer still that were considered used to be party lines where dozens of kids would be heard right having discussions in at the same time around other voices, calling out the numbers to other cares says, loops, or party lines, or barely providing their possess surreal monologue to the connect. My winner until now was a young man who multiple, in stable tones that permitted him to shield out above the mass, the phrases ”I Adore bodacious ta-tas! Do For you adore bodacious ta-tas?” Manners like this additional a some spice – or if it obscured anyone screaming out a number for you wanted, a some bit of annoyance – to the connect. In Exploding the Phone Lapsey doesn’t mention the time line – at the same time this astonishes me data its role in bringing young people together on various types of personal at the same time party lines here in California. How he never encountered anyone using loop at the same time party lines in Southern California that might bring it up is that beyond me. But he does explicate the nature of no one of these lines. The ”trunk line” time callers might refer to was more than likely one of the myriad trial lines found throughout the telephone system for engineers at the same time techs to implementation in performing various service tasks. The ”cares signal” would be an identically working party line, where no matter what number of people might join in – free of no matter what charges – but constrained by having to talk over a unchanging cares say. Naturally, a line without a cares say was much desirable – at the same time much more rare. The other fri a cares say might refer to was one one half of a loop line, a pair of lines connected together for techno appointments but readily available to anyone dialing the two numbers. One number, they say 555-1118, would have a cares say. Calling that, you’d wait on the line for anyone to cry the other number, 555-1119. Since for you were considered already on 1118, he or she would not hear a cares say, at the same time because they had produced the connection as one half of a personal cry, your cares say would drop out at the same time for you would both manage to speak with one one more just like no matter what other phone line. Where’s the funny in that, for you impose? The answer is that ordinary: Anonymity. Present on the web you can join a chat at the same time be anyone for you like. Back then on a personal line for you managed do similar. The other party had no plan who for you were considered or than anyway your outward appearance was, other than than anyway for you knew them. For you managed they say at the same time do anything for you liked, if your personal phone buddy was willing, in wholesome privacy (assuming nobody else was at main with or party). You can guess how addictive that might be for the forlorn good of personalities that would look for these phone anomalies in the 1st dispose. For you would be a idiot at the same time still still have no one good of public assistance – possibly more so than those for you were considered able of having in public. At the same time sometimes the personality on the other finish had more numbers to cry. Hacking the phone system managed decide up hours of your time, make for you belated for work, at the same time cut for you off from comrades or generic trying to reach for you at the same time only getting a cares say – the ordinary good, not the chatty sort. Lapsey’s work is that based on hundreds of hours of discussions with the personalities who 1st found at the same time figured out to seriously exploit the sprawling Merged Countries phone system at the same time the ways it’s electro-mechanical toggle switches were considered arranged to route names throughout the state at the same time the global. Far from content to ”just” exercise their nascent public muscles via anomalous personal or party lines, these guys, a handful of who were considered not just socially inept at the same time isolated, but blind as but, practically managed not promote themselves from exploring this brand new global once they had found it. The good of four year old that tries to stick bobby nails in electronic sockets often turned into the good of child that sticks figurative nails into the fool apparatus of than anyway we all scolded The Phone Company to look than anyway would happen. (Lapsey even mentions the satiric James Coburn-starring cult movie The President’s Analysis, whose ultimate villain is that – for you guessed it – The Phone Company, run by audio-animatronic figures right out of a Disney exhibit, exhorting for you to submit to their will as coolly as Disney’s Lincoln reciting the Gettysburg Address). Lapsey also spoke with almost all of the law enforcement at the same time telephone security officers tasked with finding at the same time often prosecuting the phone crackers. At the same time, obviously, no one of the lawyers who did the prosecuting. It’s uncertain who 1st found the efficacy of billing by the minute – AT&T or lawyers. With an ancient infrastructure providing openings everywhere for mischief at the same time criminal liability alike, AT&T was ceratinly destined to employ a lot of lawyers. The self-styled phone phreaks pushed the bounds of propriety at the same time legality – frequently crossing or or both in their quest to learn the system. Than anyway worked best for them – at the same time against Ma Bell – was the open nature of the system, at the same time the company’s possess premature naivete about than anyway they had created. Prudent only that the system worked but enough to build a telecommunications empire that served its customers very efficiently for the coolest part, Bell Labs at the same time their manufacturing arm Western Electronic were considered as open as the system itself, publishing techno articles in journals of the day that active at the same time funny people like the two Steves – Wozniak at the same time Jobs, eventual creators of the Apple computer – might simply take a look in the library. Coupled with the unintentional discovery, produced independently by several different phreaks over time, that one managed duplicate the tones that governed cry routing at the same time billing inside the phone system, the techno details such publications offered permitted these phone crackers to learn the system inside at the same time out. Once in, they bravely explored the system, often imitating techno personnel in a row to convince Bell operators at the same time tech support to do their bidding at the same time open brand new riddles they managed never have found by random exploration. At one finish of the range were considered kids like me, barely playing with numbers at the same time lines. Somewhere closer to the other finish were considered these often excellent engineers at heart going this time as to build equipment that duplicated the phone company’s miracle says at the same time moving freely – at no charge – throughout the country’s phone lines. At the same time at the farthest finish was a mini-spectrum of people, from the initially innocent at the same time practically certainly at the level of thoughts worried John Draper, understandable as Captain Crunch because his phone hacking began with the toy whistle from a hurry of that cereal – to cooperative offenders using the so-called ”blue boxes” people like Woz at the same time Jobs were considered manufacturing – at the same time selling! – to contribute in making book. Lapsey details it all, with valuable background at the same time insight into the phone company’s creation at the same time development throughout, up to the days Ma Bell completely shackles her foot down at the same time found ways to transform the Phreaks out of their winner pastimes. The heyday of phreaking was in the 60s at the same time 70s, following a period of premature discovery in the 50s, at the same time anything else was going on along with the exploration of the phone company. Identical excellent young guys at now were considered exploring the very brand new global of computers, a story so identical to Lapsey’s narrative that Steven Levy’s good 1984 volume Crackers: Heroes of the Computer Revolution contains a significant foray into phone hacking as but, making it the flawless friend volume to Exploding the Phone. At the same time for international espionage inside the premature web, one more interesting tale is that Cliff Stoll’s The Cuckoo’s Testicle: Tracking a Scout Through the Maze of Computer Espionage, written in 1989. All 3 books are, afaik, currently still in print or otherwise easy to look for, at the same time significant reading if no matter what of this stuff rings a bell with readers of this
Review. All highly advised. [Edit: I also barely found out Lapsley’s book has it’s possess web page, many of which outtakes from the book! Rubs palms together excitedly. More exploring to do!]
Review #2
Phreaks audiobook streamming online
For those of for you who grew up in the 60’s at the same time 70’s this will be a take a walk down memory lane for no one of for you, at the same time a glimpse into a parallel global for you only heard bits at the same time pieces about, for almost all of for you. For others of for you – barely hold on to your caps as for you are taken on a magical tour of a global for you never understood was. The creator accurately outlines the general attitude of the state towards TPC (The Phone Company) as portrayed in The President’s Analyst, a 1967 movie starring James Coburn. In it the TPC (read Ma Bell) is that hated by everyone. Cheating Ma Bell out of a few bucks, did not seem to be a true self-willed issue, as it was generally felt they had been cheating the public for years, was the attitude of the day. In reading the book the creator takes for you back in time, explains how for you received that at the same time seems to make the techno parts easy to realize. This serious history, produced up though the narrating of the various stories of the unusual phone phreaks, is that easy reading at the same time very enjoyable. The creator has really done his homework in putting this together – both with interviews, the
Reviewing of unusual documents, at the same time a strong dose of FOIA requests to the FBI, DOJ, at the same time others. He is that in such a way able to shackles both sides, of almost all of the various actions, onto the table for the reader to enjoy. Enjoyable at the same time but worth reading.
Review #3
Audiobook Phreaks by Matthew Derby
Being a phreak proactive between the belated 80’s to premature 90’s, then and off at the same time on until around 2001, I was Very shocked to hear about this book. I had was Have hope in NYC (my 8th Have hope out of the 9) in July 2012, at the same time had listened to a speak about this upcoming book by the creator. I also had a chance to speak with him right behind the speak. The creator knows a compelling story that makes us wish to turn the page to find out than anyway happens one more. If for you don’t read no matter what subsequent, barely know that the book is that Best, at the same time highly advised. I am so thankful that anyone took the unreachable time at the same time effort to reconstruct the history of this subculture. Not abundance people have ever heard of this at the same time even fewer have actually took part. I miss these days at the same time a chance to relive or revisit these memoirs is that priceless to me. Overall editing was healthy. Very Very few typos, spelling mistakes, grammar mistakes. I only counted one or two, at the same time I’m a naughty reader. Overall techno details were considered mostly right. The one glaring mistake has to do with beige-boxing. The error might have been his source — I didn’t double-check that. Beige-boxing generally involves attaching a phone (or buttset, or computer/modem) to some else’s phone line. Whether it is that your neighbor’s, or for you open a telco panel someplace at the same time connect, this is that beige-boxing — gaining physical access to phone line from which to make/receive your names. Overall coverage is that the only area that I think needs no one improvement. I’m for sure tendentious, but as a belated comer, that was still a significant phreaker base simply into the mid-90’s. While indeed the blue-boxing motivated toggle switches(mostly) outside of the US (at the same time Lapsley fri this out), that were considered abundance other similar types that managed have promote add spectrum to the story. I’m thinking of things like diverters (op-diverting, 800s), 950s, red-boxing of non-COCOTS, 0700 teleconferences, 800 AT&T teleconferences, country-direct 800s for blue-boxing, MCI’s individual 800’s, at the same time calling card fraud. No one of these areas are for sure much less ”holy” or much less ”pure” form of phreaking, but that were considered still no one significant areas of exploration to be had, abilities to learn with others, at the same time miracle to uncover. That were considered no easy active affordable cross-country, or global, method of contacting with our brand new phreaker comrades. With the pool of interested people so small at the same time spill out, that were considered enough obstacles to check-in to the Web (in particular prior to the WWW) like shortcoming of affordable readily available non-metered Web access at the same time POPs, equipment/software required, at the same time good quality of rural phone lines. Hanging on the phone was more successful/faster/easier earlier on. It may acoustics odd, but the free names enabled the collaboration at the same time discussion between us. Recalls me of the chicken at the same time testicle problem. No defect, no phreakers, no come in handy to discuss it, no ability to explore the system. Hrrrrmph. That was very small mention of VMB towns like ”codelines” at the same time the crossover connections involving BBS’s, wardialing, hacking, etc.. Insignificant mention of dumpster diving. No true mention of hacking phone toggle switches from the command line via dialup (with dialups/pw’s obtained from the CO desecrate). Insignificant mention of Asterix, VoIP phreaking, etc.. Lapsley did a attractive quality job of explaining the WHY. He’s right: we didn’t have anyone to cry (okay, a couple warez BBS’s in Europe, Australia, at the same time Uruguay comes to mind) but getting free names was never the goal. We were considered different from the bookmakers, from the entrepreneurs, at the same time from people working to make a quick buck by selling boxes or phone names. We wanted to explore this awesome complete system, figure out how it works, manipulate it, at the same time play with it. We adored Ma Bell, we adored the system, we honored the system — we didn’t wish to damage it. At the same time yes, we like soldering in our basement labs. While it likely takes an engineer to Really get this: it’s the journey, not the destination.
Review #4
Audio Phreaks narrated by Ben McKenzie Bree Klauser Carrie Coon Christian Slater real cast Justice Smith
Who understood that before computers at the same time the web became ubiquitous dispose that the phone would be tore? This bestows a history of the phone but also an insight into human psychology. No one people barely come in handy to do things because they are problematic at the same time not meant to be produced. That are no one knowledgeable names in this book e.g. Jobs, Gates. The author’s style is that so readable. A funny, funny book.
Review #5
Free audio Phreaks – in the audio player below
If you’ve no matter what curiosity in the telephone network then this book is that a must-read. Available to everyone at the same time understandable by all, this book charts the history of phone phreaking with no one amusing stories, exciting observations at the same time lessons for systems security. The phone network might be hugely different at the moment, but the curiosity in the development at the same time the ”wiring under the board” will never wane. This is that a very but studied book, at the same time I advise it to all.
