[←5 ]
Affectionate monicker, referring to the Bell Telephone Company, which provided telephone services to much of the United States and Canada from 1877 to 1984. Later it was acquired by AT&T.
[←6 ]
Somewhat far-fetched metaphorical reference to French author Emile Zola’s open letter published on 13 January 1898 in a newspaper, accusing the French government of anti-Semitism and the unlawful jailing of Alfred Dreyfus, a French Army General Staff officer who (although later proved innocent) was sentenced to lifelong penal servitude for espionage. Taken out of context, J’accuse means “I strongly accuse.”
[←7 ]
This lengthy exposé of the MF technology (and its being hacked by Phreaks) is correct and authentic. Multi-frequency signaling (MF) is a signaling system that was introduced by the Bell System after World War II. It uses a combination of tones for address (phone number) and supervision signaling. The signaling is sent in-band over the same channel as the bearer channel used for voice traffic. Multi-frequency signaling allowed the use of modern DTMF signaling (TouchTone). In-band M.F.-signalling began to disappear as electronic switching systems displaced mechanical switchgear. Out-of-band Common Channel Signaling (CCS) became nearly universal at the end of the 20th century in the United States. Common-channel signaling is the transmission of signaling information (control information) on a separate channel than the data, thereby defeating the MF Phreaks.
[←8 ]
At the time of writing, there did not exist personal computers. The technology was emergent but generally unknown by the public at large. The term computer designated “mainframe computers”, considered mastodons today (2018), operable only by specialized personnel in air-conditioned vaults. In late 1972, a French team patented a micro-computer called Micral-N, mainly for scientific and process-control applications. Another French team developed the Alvan, a small computer for office automation which found clients in banks and other sectors. In late 1972, a Sacramento State University team built the Sac State 8008 computer, able to handle thousands of patients' medical records. In early 1973, Sord Computer Corporation completed the SMP80/08 which, however, did not have a commercial release. Virtually all early microcomputers were essentially boxes with lights and switches; one had to read and understand binary numbers and machine language to program and use them. Of the early "box of switches"-type microcomputers, the MITS Altair 8800 (1975) was the most famous. The MITS Altair just mentioned played an instrumental role in sparking significant hobbyist interest, which itself eventually led to the founding and success of many well-known personal computer hardware and software companies, such as Microsoft and Apple Computer. Although the Altair itself was only a mild commercial success, it helped spark a huge industry. The period from about 1971 to 1976 is sometimes called the first generation of microcomputers. By 1977, the introduction of the second generation, known as home computers, made microcomputers considerably easier to use than their predecessors because their predecessors' operation often demanded thorough familiarity with practical electronics. The ability to connect to a monitor (screen) or TV set allowed visual manipulation of text and numbers. While two early home computers (Sinclair ZX80 and Acorn Atom) could be bought either in kit form or assembled, most home computers were only sold pre-assembled. They were enclosed in plastic or metal cases similar in appearance to typewriter or hi-fi equipment enclosures, which were more familiar and attractive to consumers than the industrial metal card-cage enclosures used by the Altair and similar computers. By 1982, an estimated 621,000 home computers were in American households. After the success of the Radio Shack (Tandy) TRS-80, the Commodore PET and the Apple II in 1977, almost every manufacturer of consumer electronics rushed to introduce a home computer. Large numbers of new machines of all types began to appear during the late 1970s and early 1980s. Mattel, Coleco, Texas Instruments and Timex, none of which had any previous connection to the computer industry, all had short-lived home computer lines in the early 1980s. Some home computers were more successful – the BBC Micro, Sinclair ZX Spectrum, Atari 800XL and Commodore 64, sold many units over several years and attracted third-party software development. Introduced in August 1981, the IBM Personal Computer would eventually become the standard platform used in business. In the late 1970s, the 6502-based Apple II series had carved out a niche for itself in business, however it would quickly be displaced for office use by IBM PC. Apple Computer's 1980 Apple III was underwhelming, and although the 1984 release of the Apple Macintosh introduced the modern graphical screen to the market, it wasn't common until IBM-compatible computers adopted it. Throughout the 1980s, businesses large and small adopted the Personal Computer platform.
[←9 ]
In those days, computers used punched cards (12 rows of 80 columns) as input.
[←10 ]
Dr. Fu Manchu is a fictional villain character introduced in a series of novels by British author Sax Rohmer during the first half of the twentieth century. The character was also featured extensively in cinema, television, radio, comic strips, and comic books for over 90 years, and has become an archetype of the evil criminal genius and mad scientist. Fu Manchu's murderous plots are marked by the extensive use of arcane methods; he disdains guns or explosives, preferring members of secret societies as his agents armed with knives, or using "pythons and cobras ... fungi and my tiny allies, the bacilli ... my black spiders" and other peculiar animals or natural chemical weapons. He had an abhorrence for the truth, and used torture and other gruesome tactics to dispose of enemies.
[←11 ]
James Riddle Hoffa (February 14, 1913 – disappeared July 30, 1975) was an American labor union leader who served as the President of the International Brotherhood of Teamsters (IBT) union from 1958 until 1971. Hoffa became involved with organized crime from the early years of his Teamsters work, and this connection continued until his disappearance in 1975. He was convicted of jury tampering, attempted bribery and fraud in 1964, in two separate trials. He was imprisoned in 1967 and sentenced to thirteen years. In mid-1971, he resigned as president of the union as part of a pardon agreement with President Richard Nixon. Hoffa vanished in late July 1975 and was declared legally dead in 1982. It is generally accepted that he was murdered and his body disposed of. “Hoffa” became a metaphor for unsolved murder cases. At the time of writing this novel, Hoffa was still alive.offa was still alive.HoffaHHvvv
[←12 ]
Kate (Ma) Barker (October 8, 1873 – January 16, 1935), better known as Ma Barker, was American mother of several criminals who ran the Barker gang during the "public enemy era," when the exploits of gangs of criminals in the U.S. Midwest gripped the American people and press. She traveled with her sons during their criminal careers. After Barker was killed during a shoot-out with the FBI, she gained a reputation as a ruthless crime matriarch who controlled and organized her sons' crimes. J. Edgar Hoover (head of the FBI) described her as "the most vicious, dangerous and resourceful criminal brain of the last decade".
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The Black Panther Party or the BPP (originally the Black Panther Party for Self-Defense) was a political organization founded in October 1966. The party was active in the United States from 1966 until 1982. At its inception, the Black Panther Party's core practice was its armed citizens' patrols to monitor the behavior of officers of the Oakland Police Department and challenge police brutality in Oakland, California. In 1969, community social programs became a core activity of party members. The Black Panther Party instituted a variety of community social programs, most extensively the Free Breakfast for Children Programs, and community health clinics to address issues like food injustice. The party enrolled the largest number of members and made the greatest impact in the Oakland-San Francisco Bay Area, New York, Chicago, Los Angeles, Seattle, and Philadelphia. Black Panther Party members were involved in many fatal firefights with police including Huey Newton allegedly killing officer John Frey in 1967 and the 1968 ambush of Oakland police officers which wounded two officers and killed Panther Bobby Hutton. The party was also involved in many internal conflicts including several murders of suspected police informants among their ranks. Government oppression initially contributed to the party's growth, as killings and arrests of Panthers increased its support among African Americans and on the broad political left, both of whom valued the Panthers as a powerful force opposed to de facto segregation and the military draft. Scholars have characterized the Black Panther Party as the most influential black movement organization of the late 1960s. Other commentators have described the Party as more criminal than political.