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(Jon sez:) 
In 1988, Robert Morris - now a professor at MIT - released a program which
clattered around the Internet rather rapidly and compromised many computers
before it was stopped. It caused quite a stir, even getting mentioned on
the national news here in the United States at a time when the Internet
wasn't exactly common knowledge. His Morris Worm was
one of the precursors of more recent worms like Sapphire/Slammer.
Several years earlier, John Draper, better known as Cap'n Crunch, learned that one could use the free toy plastic whistle from a cereal box - and a tone generator - to make free long distance phone calls. Nowadays, of course, the phone system has been updated so you can't take it over with a child's toy anymore. You would need at least an X-Box. Both men wound up in the caring embrace of the American legal system, so following in their footsteps isn't advised. |
(Mark sez:) 
Thus the name "Morris & Draper" written, a bit indistinctly I'll admit, on the door glass. By contrast the brand name "Saaba" on the side of the big modular computer unit doesn't mean anything in particular -- it's just what you get if you try to write "server" in Japanese romanji. Finally, the poster of the adorable kitten hanging from a tree branch is just packed full of psychological and literary significance!
Also note that in the first panel Caprice is sensibly using her vectored air shield to keep the snow off. Paul L. Maloney IV wrote in to comment that he's been unable to access the MoS website for several weeks, getting only "operation timed out" errors. There's not any trouble at our end that we know of, but the Internet being the Internet that doesn't necessarily mean much. Has anyone else had difficulty accessing the site? If so, please write in and let us know. Oh yeah... So that's 250 pages. Neat. |
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