Coop's Corner: Hacker fatigue and then some

Do I detect a growing backlash against so-called "white hat" hackers? Let's hope so. Their defenders say these are good guys, doing the public a service by helping to poke holes in software security before we all get hosed. Nice try, but in my book there's precious little substantive difference between these jamokes and the so-called "black hat" hackers who are behind the various and sundry cyber attacks. These guys -- and they're invariably guys -- are accessories after the fact. And the era when they were let off with a slap on the wrist is destined to become ancient history.

And how much do we all love spam? A new spam sent around this Valentine's Day scams recipients into believing they've received one of those cute online greeting cards. Not only is it a con, but it represents the kind of cyber garbage that could potentially choke the e-greeting card business. Here's why: The cards, sent through a blind mailing, contain a cock-and-bull tale about how each hit helps save starving children. Then it requests you send messages to everyone you know. All baloney. It turns out that the reply mechanism won't disclose the real sender. Wow, what a surprise.

RSA.com got twice hacked over the weekend. The offending geniuses defaced the main graphic by putting a large "L" on the foreheads of the men in the photo. "The most trusted name in E-security has been owned," the graffiti read. "Big things are coming," and "Trust us with your data! Praise Allah!" they added for good measure.

Has anyone ever seen Bill Gates and Mixter in the same room together? Just a thought.

More than a fair bit of irony to learn that Sterling Software is being swallowed up by Computer Associates. History buffs might recall that Sterling, which made its mark swallowing smaller fry -- just like CA, for that matter -- was involved in the software industry's first hostile takeover when it went after Informatics in the 1980s. This became quite a novella, with Informatics holding out for weeks until Sterling came back with a sufficiently sweetened deal.

Yours truly has been flooded with hate mail from Microsoft flunkies, still ripping mad about earlier coverage of bugs in the software maker's Windows 2000 code. Cease and desist before I spam your e-mail with the collected speeches of Bill Gates. That might qualify as a human rights violation under the U.N. Charter, but I'm at the end of my tether with these yo-yo's.

Speaking of mediocre code-writing at Microsoft, I remember the whining e-mail Paul Maritz sent me after I wrote about the company's lousy track record with first iterations of its software. What the esteemed group VP ignored was my other comment, that Microsoft's real strength was its ability to listen to customers and finally get it right a couple of versions later. But when it comes to first pitches, the fact remains that these guys whiff nearly every time they come to bat with a new product.

In the tail between their legs category, DoubleClick's out with a multi-point plan to "protect" online consumers' privacy. This is delicious. Remember these are the same guys who are being sued for collecting and selling personal data without asking permission.

Years ago, the economist Joseph Schumpeter wrote about a process of creative destruction. Is this a harbinger of creative destruction? The news that Santa Clara county, the heart of Silicon Valley, experienced a net exodus of people for the first time in five years comes as a shock to folks who say the boom times are destined to last. Still, I remember what J.J. Allaire told me when he and his brother decided to set up shop in Cambridge, rather than the Bay area. "It was just prohibitive for a startup to set up shop around here," he said. Makes you wonder.

Where's Jeff Papows when you need him? Lotus' ex-CEO was good for at least one column per month.

You know that line about a foolish consistency being the hobgoblins of little minds? AOL immediately came to mind after hearing about the company's apparent volte face on the subject of open Internet access. The suits are now trying to split hairs over the definition of what "open access" actually is. Somewhat reminiscent of a relatively recent debate over the definition of "is."

For the first time in a public forum, Intel is providing details of its next generation of chips as it settles into Palm Springs for its developer's conference. As luck would have it, archrival Advanced Micro Devices is also in town to chat about future directions for its Athlon processor. Might I suggest pistols at 20 paces, gentlemen?