Hacker and WPBF: Difference between pages

Revision as of 15:28, 31 May 2006

Revision as of 22:28, 28 June 2007

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{{Infobox_Broadcast |

{{otheruses}}

call_letters = WPBF|

station_logo = [[Image:Wpbf_abc25.jpg]]|

station_slogan = ''Where '''You''' Come First''|

station_branding = ''WPBF TV 25'' (general)<br>''WPBF News 25'' (newscasts)|

analog = 25 ([[Ultra high frequency|UHF]])|

digital = 16 (UHF)|

affiliations = [[American Broadcasting Company|ABC]]<br>[[The AccuWeather Channel|AccuWx TV]] (on DT2)|

founded = [[January 1]], [[1989]]|

___location = [[Tequesta, Florida|Tequesta]] - [[West Palm Beach, Florida]]|

callsign_meaning = '''W'''est '''P'''alm '''B'''each, '''F'''lorida|

owner = [[Hearst Corporation]]<br>''operated by [[Hearst-Argyle Television]]''|

licensee = WPBF-TV Company|

former_callsigns = |

former_affiliations = |

effective_radiated_power = 5000 [[Watt|kW]] (analog)<br>1000 kW (digital)|

homepage = [http://www.wpbf.com/ wpbf.com]|

}}

'''WPBF''' is the [[American Broadcasting Company|ABC]]-affiliated [[television station]] for the [[Treasure Coast]] area of [[Florida]]'s east coast. Licensed to [[Tequesta, Florida|Tequesta]], the station broadcasts an analog signal on [[UHF]] channel 25 and a digital signal on UHF channel 16. WPBF's transmitter is located south of [[Fort Pierce, Florida|Fort Pierce]] and [[Interstate 95|I-95]] in [[Martin County, Florida|Martin County]]. The station's studios are located on RCA Blvd. in the Monet section of [[Palm Beach Gardens, Florida|Palm Beach Gardens]]. WPBF is owned by the [[Hearst Corporation]] and operated by [[Hearst-Argyle Television]].

A '''hacker''' is a person who creates and modifies [[computer software]] and [[computer hardware]], including computer programming, administration, and security-related items.

The station offers [[The AccuWeather Channel]] on its DT2 digital subchannel as well as via live streaming video on its website. The weather channel is known on-air as ''Weather First TV''.

In [[computer programming]], a hacker is a programmer who hacks or reaches a goal by employing a series of modifications to [[exploit]] or extend existing [[source code|code]] or resources. For some, hacker has a negative connotation and refers to a person who "[[Hack (technology slang)|hack]]s" or uses [[kludge]]s to accomplish programming tasks that are ugly, inelegant, and inefficient. The negative form of the noun "hack" is even used among users of the positive sense of "hacker".

==History==

In [[computer security]], a hacker is a person able to [[Exploit (computer security)|exploit]] a system or gain unauthorized access through skill and tactics. This usually refers to a [[black hat]] hacker. There are also [[white hat]]s ([[hacker ethic|ethical hackers]]), and [[grey hat]]s. (''See: [[Hacker (computer security)]]''). [[Script kiddies]] are often black hat hackers who claim to have far more skill than they actually have, instead using programs developed by others to achieve a sucessful [[Exploit (computer security)|exploit]].

WPBF first went on the air [[January 1]], [[1989]] owned by Brenda Skipper and Sylvia Salinas. The original plans called for the station to be an [[Independent station|independent]]. However, in mid-[[1988]] [[CBS]], which was due to lose its longtime [[Miami]] - [[Fort Lauderdale]] affiliate [[WTVJ]] to [[NBC]], bought [[FOX]] affiliate WCIX (now [[WFOR-TV]]). WCIX only provided a Grade B ("rimshot") signal to Fort Lauderdale because its transmitter was located farther south than the other Miami - Fort Lauderdale stations. CBS persuaded the longtime ABC affiliate in West Palm Beach [[WPEC]] to switch to CBS in order to get a city-grade signal in Fort Lauderdale. In the fall of [[1988]], ABC made the decision to affiliate with WPBF rather than with the former CBS affiliate [[WTVX]]. These changes occurred on the day of WPBF's sign on.

Also before signing on, WPBF had bought a large inventory of classic sitcoms and cartoons, but did not have any time in its broadcast day to air them due to ABC affiliation. It sold this programming to WTVX a couple of months later when that station shut down its news department.

In other technical fields, hacker is extended to mean a person who makes things work beyond perceived limits through their own technical skill, such as a [[hardware hacker]], or [[reality hacker]].

Initially, WPBF had a small news department. In [[1993]], WPBF was sold to [[ion Media Networks|Paxson Communications]] (which at the time owned several FM radio stations and a few ABC and CBS affiliates), who added additional newscasts to the schedule. In [[1997]], Paxson sold their radio stations and network affiliates (including WPBF) in order to finance their acquisition of stations for the PAX TV network (now [[ION Television|ION]]), with channel 25 going to Hearst Corporation, its current owner. As soon as the transaction was finalized, Hearst handed over control of WPBF to its majority-owned subsidiary, Hearst-Argyle Television.

In [[hacker culture]], a hacker is a person who has attained an certain social status and is recognized among members of the culture for commitment to the culture's values and a certain amount of technical knowledge.

All Hearst-Argyle ABC affiliates including WPBF preempted ''[[Saving Private Ryan]]'' in [[2004]]. WPBF was one of three ABC affiliates in Florida that preempted the movie.

==Definitions of hack==

{{main|Hacker definition controversy}}

The word ''hack'' has several definitions, according to the

[http://www.ibiblio.org/webster/cgi-bin/headword_search.pl?query=hack&=Submit dictionary]. One is "''to cut irregularly, without skill or definite purpose''." Newspaper journalists are sometimes called "''hacks''", which could potentially be construed as a reference to an old style method of copy

editing involving an encyclopedia, a manual typewriter, a pair of

scissors and a roll of scotch tape. Cutting (one synonym for "''hack''") and pasting blocks of text or software source code in order to factor and reorganize an essay or program are activities familiar to writers and computer programmers alike. When typing on an old fashioned mechanical typewriter, a phalanx of typebars chops against the ribbon, paper, and platten, making a characteristic "''hacking''" noise.

On [[July]] 12, [[2006]], WPBF started a 30 minute 4 PM weekday newscast called ''Weather First at 4''. While the main intention of this new broadcast iswas to cover West Palm Beach area weather, news updates and headlines were also added. The weather portions are anchored by Chief Meteorologist Mike Lyons and meteorologist Felicia Rodriguez. The news portions are anchored by Jon Shainman and Tiffany Kenney. The 4 PM newscast can be seen via live streaming vidio on the station's website. WPBF is the only West Palm Beach station to air a 4 PM weekday newscast.

Another speculation is that the word "''hacker''" is a humorously ironic conflation of elegant and well spoken eloquent prosody, to "''a raspy, chopping, cough''." When a person doesn't know how to pronounce a word, they will sometimes fill in with a, ''hcahw'', coughing sound. Reporters are known to attempt writing about a subject they do not completely comprehend, don't get the facts or story straight, and thus sometimes "''hack the story to pieces''". So, perhaps to some, a neophyte programmer is thereby termed a "''hacker''", and that would explain why one sense of the word "''hack''" is given as "''A quick and inelegant, though functional solution to a programming problem''."

On [[July 17]], WPBF added 30 minutes to its weekday morning newscast, which then began airing at 5:30 AM.

== Categories of hacker ==

[[Image:Glider.svg|right|A glider from [[Conway's Game of Life]].]]

WPBF remains the lowest rated network affiliated television station in the West Palm Beach Market behind [[WFLX]], [[WPEC]], and [[WPTV (TV)|WPTV]] (in ascending order). This can be attributed to [[WPLG]]'s very strong over the air signal in Palm Beach County and its availability on [[Comcast]] cable systems throughout the area. WPLG is the highested rated local television station in all [[South Florida]], which also includes WPBF's market area.

The hacker community (the set of people who would describe themselves as hackers, or who would be described by others as hackers) falls into at least four partially overlapping categories. Sometimes alternate terms such as "cracker" are used in an attempt to more exactly distinguish which category of hacker is intended, or when attempting to put a contextual distance between the categories due to the [[Hacker definition controversy]].

Unlike many other network affiliates in the area, WPBF does not air a weekday Noon newscast. Also, the station does not have a sports department.

=== Hacker: Highly skilled programmer ===

The positive usage of ''hacker'' is one who knows a (sometimes specified) set of programming interfaces well enough to write software rapidly and expertly. This type of hacker is well-respected (although the term still carries some of the meaning of ''hack''), and is capable of developing programs without adequate planning or where pre-planning is difficult or impossible to acheive. This ''[[zugzwang]]'' gives freedom and the ability to be creative against methodical careful progress. At their best, hackers can be very productive. The technical downside of hacker productivity is often in maintainability, documentation, and completion. Very talented hackers may become bored with a project once they have figured out all of the hard parts, and be unwilling to finish off the "details". This attitude can cause friction in environments where other programmers are expected to pick up the half finished work, decipher the structures and ideas, and bullet-proof the code. In other cases, where a hacker is willing to maintain their own code, a company may be unable to find anyone else who is capable or willing to dig through code to maintain the program if the original programmer moves on to a new job.

==News Team==

Additionally, there is sometimes a social downside associated with hacking. The stereotype of a hacker as having gained technical ability at a cost in social ability may have an uncomfortable amount of factual foundation in many individuals. While not universal, nor even restricted to hackers, the difficulty in relating to other individuals and often abrasive personalities of some hackers makes some of them difficult to work with or to organize into teams; [[Richard Stallman]] (RMS) is a good example of this. Some within the hacker community have speculated that some mild form of [[autism]] might be involved in the case of some hackers. In one more pronounced example of such, [[Bram Cohen]], developer of [[BitTorrent]], has been self-diagnosed as having [[Asperger's syndrome]]. However, no formal studies of autistic tendencies in hackers have been done. However this is a stereotype that does not always fit. Many hackers thrive on social interaction to create a "balance" in their lives, between human interaction and computer interaction.

WPBF's [[weather radar]] is known as "Weather First True View" and is located north of West Palm Beach.

'''Anchors'''

=== '''Hacker''': Computer and network security expert ===

*Jim Abath - weekday mornings (also reporter)

{{main|Hacker (computer security) }}

*Bryce Daniels - weekday mornings

A ''hacker'' is one who is able to exploit systems or gains unauthorized access through clever tactics and detailed knowledge, that is, through the use of a [[hack]]. Malicious hackers are often called [[black hat hacker]]s, but it is more appropriate to call them [[crackers]] (from criminal hacker) as this is a term which distinguishes the exploitation of security weaknesses from hacking in general. The opposite of a black hat is a [[white hat]], [[ethical hackers]] who evaluate the security of systems or networks to help the owners by making them aware of security flaws or performing some other altruistic activity. Other hackers often viewed negatively include [[phreaking|phreaker]]s and [[software cracker]]s.

*Jon Shainman - weeknights at 4, 5:30, and 6 PM

*Tiffany Kenney - weeknights at 4, 5:30, and 6 PM (also health reporter)

*Lisa Hayward - weeknights at 5 and 11 PM

*Kristin Hoke - weeknights at 5 and 11 PM

*Corey Saban - Saturday nights and Sunday nights at 6 PM (also reporter three days a week)

*Angela Rozier - Sunday nights at 11 PM (also reporter)

=== Hacker: Hardware modifier ===

{{main|Hardware hacker}}

Another type of hacker is one who creates novel hardware modifications. At the most basic end of this spectrum are those who make frequent changes to the hardware in their computers using standard components, or make semi-cosmetic themed modifications to the appearance of the machine. This type of Hacker modifes his/her computer for performance needs and/or attractiveness. These changes often include adding memory, storage or LEDs and cold cathode tubes for light effects. These people often show off their talents in contests, and many enjoy [[LAN party|LAN parties]]. At the more advanced end of the hardware hackers are those who modify hardware (not limited to computers) to expand capabilities; this group blurs into the culture of hobbyist [[inventor]]s and professional electronics engineering. An example of such modification includes the addition of [[Internet protocol suite|TCP/IP]] [[Internet]] capabilities to a number of [[vending machine]]s and [[coffee]] makers during the late 1980's and early 1990's.

'''''Weather First Specialists'''''

Hackers who have the ability to write circuit-level code, [[device driver]]s, [[firmware]], low-level networking, (and even more impressively, using these techniques to make devices do things outside of their spec sheets), are typically in very high regard among hacker communities. This is primarily due to the difficulty and enormous complexity of this type of work, and the electrical engineering knowledge required to do so. Such hackers are rare, and almost always considered to be wizards or gurus of a very high degree.

*Mike Lyons - Chief seen weeknights[[Image:NWASoA.jpg|29px]]

*Felicia Rodriguez - weeknights at 4 PM

*Eric Burris - weekday mornings [[Image:AMSSoA.jpg|25px]]

*Kate Wentzel - weekends [[Image:AMSSoA.jpg|25px]][[Image:NWASoA.jpg|29px]]

== Hacker stereotypes ==

There are theoretical types of hackers who are considered to possess an atypical level of skill beyond that of other meanings of the positive form of "hacker", which include the '''Guru''' and the '''Wizard'''.

'''Reporters'''

In some portions of the computer community, a Wizard is one who can do anything a hacker can, but elegantly; while a Guru not only can do so elegantly, but instruct those who do not know how. In other portions, a Guru is one with a very broad degree of expertise, while a Wizard is expert in a very narrow field, distinctions seemingly more at home in a [[Role-playing game|RPG]] world, and not often heard in actual conversation.

*Amanda Burden

*Brian Albert

*Bonny Ghosh

*Cathleen O'Toole

*Marianne Milano - website host

*Amanda Salinas - also fill in anchor

*Terri Parker - investigative reporter

*Traci Mitchell - National Correspondent

*Laurie Kinney - National Correspondent

*Sally Kidd - National Correspondent

==Administration==

==Recognized hackers==

*Joseph J. Coscia - News Director

Due to the overlapping nature of the hacker concept space, many of these individuals could be included in more than one category. See also [[Hacker (computer security)]], which has a list of people in that category, including criminal or unethical hackers.

*Steve Boyer - Assistant News Director

*Caroline Scollard - General Sales Manager

*Ryan Rothstein - Local Sales Manager

*Mark Prutisto - Director of Integrated Media

===Recognized programmers===

*[[Linus Torvalds]], who was a computer science student at the University of Helsinki when he began writing the [[Linux]] kernel in 1991.

*[[Mel Kaye]], a near-legendary figure and the archetypal Real Programmer[http://catb.org/~esr/jargon/html/R/Real-Programmer.html]. He was credited with doing "the bulk of the programming" for the Royal McBee LGP-30 drum-memory computer in the 1950s. Ed Nather, another hacker, published the "Story of Mel" in the 1980s, which is now regarded as one of the most famous pieces of hacker folklore.

==External Links==

*[[Dan Bernstein]], the author of [[qmail]] and [[djbdns]], also a mathematician and cryptographer.

*[http://www.wpbf.com/ Station Website]

*[http://www.abc.com ABC Website]

*[http://www.abcnews.com ABC News Website]

*{{TVQ|WPBF}}

{{WPB TV}}

*[[John Carmack]], a widely recognized and influential game programmer. Through his work, he has made significant contributions to the field of 3D computer graphics and his games have sold in the millions. In 1999, Carmack appeared as number 10 in TIME's list of the 50 most influential people in technology.

{{ABC Florida}}

{{Hearst-Argyle}}

[[Category:Television stations in Florida|WPBF]]

*[[Bill Gosper]], mathematician and programmer, and contemporary of Richard Greenblatt.

[[Category:ABC network affiliates|WPBF]]

[[Category:Channel 25 TV stations in the United States]]

*[[Richard Greenblatt (programmer)|Richard Greenblatt]], primary designer of the MIT [[Lisp machine]] and pioneer of computerized [[chess]].

*[[Bill Joy]], the co-founder of [[Sun Microsystems]] and author of many fundamental [[UNIX]] utilities.

*[[Rasmus Lerdorf]], the creator of the [[PHP]] Programming language.

*[[John McCarthy]], the inventor of the [[Lisp programming language]]. Also coined the term "[[Artificial Intelligence]]".

*[[Rob Pike]], a software engineer and author. He is best known for his work at Bell Labs, where he was a member of the Unix team and was involved in the creation of the [[Plan 9]] and [[Inferno operating system]]s.

*[[Richard Stallman]], the founder of the free software movement and the [[GNU project]], and original author of [[Emacs]] and [[gcc]].

*[[Ken Thompson]] and [[Dennis Ritchie]], who created Unix in 1969. Ritchie is also notable for having created the [[C programming language]].

*[[Guido van Rossum]], the creator of the [[Python programming language]].

*[[Wietse Venema]], best known for writing the [[Postfix]] mail system and co-creating the [[Security Administrator Tool for Analyzing Networks]] (SATAN), a remote vulnerability scanner.

*[[Larry Wall]], the creator of the [[Perl programming language]].

*[[Steve Wozniak]], a co-founder of [[Apple Computer]] (with [[Steve Jobs]]). Got his start making devices for phone [[phreaking]], with a hand from [[John Draper]].

*[[Theo de Raadt]], the creator of [[OpenBSD]] and [[OpenSSH]].

===Security experts===

*[[Fyodor]] — The author of [[Nmap]] & STC.

*[[Johan Helsingius|Johan "Julf" Helsingius]] — Operated the world's most popular anonymous remailer, the Penet remailer (called penet.fi), until he closed up shop in September 1996.

*[[Adrian Lamo]] - American greyhat hacker who gained notoriety by hacking high-profile organizations using common flaws in their webpages. Hacks include [[The New York Times]], [[America Online|AOL]], [[MCI Worldcom]], [[Cingular]], [[Google]], and the [[NSA]].

*[[Mark Russinovich]] - Expert on Windows architecture and programming; noted for identifying the differences between Windows NT Server and Workstation, and discovering the [[2005 Sony CD copy protection controversy|2005 Sony Rootkit]] software

*[[Tsutomu Shimomura]] — Shimomura helped catch [[Kevin Mitnick]], the United States' most infamous computer intruder, in early 1994. He is the co-author of a book about the Mitnick case, ''Takedown: The Pursuit and Capture of Kevin Mitnick, America's Most Wanted Computer Outlaw-By the Man Who Did It'' (ISBN 0786889136).

*[[Bruce Schneier]] - Founder and [[Chief Technical Officer|CTO]] of [[Counterpane Internet Security, Inc.]]

*[[Solar Designer]] — Founder of the [[Openwall Project]].

===Hardware modifiers===

*[[Don Lancaster]] &mdash; author of the ''Hardware Hacker'' column in [[Radio Electronics]] magazine.

*[[Steve Wozniak]] &mdash; co-founder of [[Apple Computers]], credited with contributing greatly to the [[personal computer]] revolution of the 1970s.

===Hacker media personalities===

Listed below are individuals who, while fitting in one or more of the above categories, are more widely famous (especially among the general public) for their media presence than their technical accomplishments.

*[[Eric Gorden Corley|Eric Corley]] (a.k.a [[Emmanuel Goldstein]]) &mdash; Long standing publisher of [[2600 The Hacker Quarterly|2600: The Hacker Quarterly]] and founder of the [[H.O.P.E.]] conferences. He has been part of the hacker community since the late '70s.

* [[Cult of the Dead Cow|CULT OF THE DEAD COW]] &mdash; A high profile hacker group that has both made news and been consulted by the media on numerous occasions.

* [[Eric S. Raymond]] &mdash; One of the founders of the [[Open Source Initiative]]. He wrote the famous text [[The Cathedral and the Bazaar]] and many other essays. He also maintains the [[Jargon File]] for the [[Hacker culture]], which was previously maintained by [[Guy L. Steele, Jr.]].

* [[Bruce Perens]] &mdash; Also one of the founders of the [[Open Source Initiative]]. He was the former [[Debian GNU/Linux]] Project Leader, and is the primary author of the [[Open Source Definition]].

* [[The 414s]] and Neal Patrick, subjects of brief but widespread media coverage in [[1983]], as the United States media was becoming aware of hackers

* [[Gary McKinnon]], accused of hacking into 97 [[Military of the United States|United States military]] and [[NASA]] computers in [[2001]] and [[2002]]. [http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/technology/4757375.stm]

==See also==

*'''General'''

**[[Computer crime]]

**[[Hacker culture]]

**[[Hacker ethic]]

**[[Hacker Emblem]]

**[[Hacker Manifesto]]

**[[Biohacker]]

**[[Reality hacker]]

**[[Wetware hacker]]

**[[Information wants to be free]]

**[[Video hacker]]

*'''Related'''

**[[Quick-and-dirty]]

**[[The Hacker Test]]

**[[Hackathon]]

*'''Lists'''

**[[List of fictional hackers]]

== References ==

{{unreferenced}}

== Related books ==

<div class="references-small">

* {{cite book | authorlink = Steven Levy | last = Levy | first = Steven | title = [[Hackers: Heroes of the Computer Revolution]] | year = 1984 | id = ISBN 0385191952 | publisher = Doubleday }}

* {{cite book | authorlink = Bruce Sterling | last = Sterling | first = Bruce | url = http://www.mit.edu/hacker/hacker.html | title = The Hacker Crackdown | year = 1992 | id = ISBN 055308058X | publisher = Bantam }}

* {{cite book | last = Slatalla | first = Michelle | coauthors = Joshua Quittner | title = [[Masters of Deception]]: The Gang That Ruled Cyberspace | year = 1995 | id = ISBN 0060170301 | publisher = HarperCollins }}

* {{cite book | last = Dreyfus | first = Suelette | url = http://www.underground-book.com/ | title = Underground: Tales of Hacking, Madness and Obsession on the Electronic Frontier | year = 1997 | id = ISBN 1863305955 | publisher = Mandarin }}

</div>

==External links==

{{Sisterlinks|Hacker}}

*[http://www.catb.org/~esr/jargon The Jargon File]

*[http://wikihost.org/wikis/newjargonfile/ The New Jargon File]: An effort to establish an open hacker culture document, in the tradition of the [[Jargon File]]

*[http://www.catb.org/~esr/faqs/hacker-howto.html How To Become A Hacker] by [[Eric S. Raymond]] (ESR)

*[http://stallman.org/articles/on-hacking.html On Hacking] by [[Richard Stallman|Richard M. Stallman]] (RMS)

*[http://www.2600.com 2600: The Hacker Quarterly]

*[http://hacks.mit.edu/ The MIT Gallery of Hacks]

*[http://rootboot.net Hacking related database]

*[http://www.hackthissite.org/ Hacker Training Ground]

*[http://www.hackerslegion.com/ Legion of Ethical Hacking]

*[http://www.hackwire.com/ Hacker News]

*[http://www.hackergames.net/ Hacker Games]

*[http://www.hacker-dictionary.com The Hacker Dictionary]

*[http://www.thebroken.org The Broken video series on hacking]

*[http://www.paulgraham.com/hp.html Paul Graham's ''Hackers & Painters'' Essay]

*[http://www.paulgraham.com/gh.html Paul Graham's ''Great Hackers'' Essay]

*[http://www.wpi.edu/~trb/hacker70s.html WPI Hackers of the '70s]

*[http://citeseer.ist.psu.edu/raymond00brief.html A Brief History of Hackerdom (2000)}]

*[http://www.hackcanada.com HackCanada.com] A fairly large collection of original files written mostly by Canadian hackers.

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