Phreaks, Dæmons & Ramparts
The Boy Who Heard Too Much, a recent article in Rolling Stone, briefly touches on the history of phone phreaking. For those who might be interested in that history, and a more rollicking story, it's hard to beat Ron Rosenbaum's 1971 aticle for Esquire, Secrets of the Little Blue Box.
The History of Phone Phreaking site has a nice pdf scan of the original article and John T Draper (AKA Captain Crunch) hosts another copy of this document here and a few words from his own perspective on the sensationalism and factual errors in the article.
I never read the Esquire article until years later, but I do clearly remember the issue of Ramparts Magazine that included the article Regulating the Phone Company in Your Home[pdf file]. (I was about ten years old at the time and living in the Northern Ontario. My mother's subscription to Ramparts was a link whole different/crazy world.) The fallout from Ramparts DIY article on mute boxes was a cataclysmic backlash from Ma Bell.
When Daniel Ellsberg published material that the gov't of Richard Nixon felt was detrimental to its well-being, it employed burgulary, blackmail, threats, and coercion to try to stop him. Richard & Co. failed.When Ramparts magazine published material that the Phone Company felt was detrimental to its well-being, it employed blackmail, threats, and coercion to halt publication. Bell & Co. succeeded.
- The Phone Book By J. Edward Hyde
The Havoc of War: How Ramparts Magazine Challenged American Culture - an excerpt from a new book about Ramparts Magazine at truthdig.
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