Slashdot Mirror
6 Homeless People Saved By the Internet
An anonymous reader writes "With Ted Williams's story (the homeless man with the golden voice, saved by the internet) blowing up online, and in the traditional media, we figured it was time to tell the stories of 5 other homeless people who've found success, be it financial or personal, through the wonderful use of this series of tubes we call The Internet."
In colder areas many homeless survive on the hot stream coming out of the tubes.
If it wasn't for rampant porno on the web, many homeless would have frozen.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WlBiLNN1NhQ
I only counted five homeless in the article. I guess the other one represents the hidden homeless around all of us.
[John]
Shit better not happen!
I only counted five homeless in the article. I guess the other one represents the hidden homeless around all of us.
That website is not laid out very well, there's a second page that talks about James Montgomery.
Personally, I'm not sure about Adrian Lamo. Text of #4:
Adrian Lamo, Homeless Hacker Genius
It's always the smart people who get caught. In this case, it's Adrian Lamo, who was arrested in September 2004 by the FBI for computer fraud.
He was charged with breaking into the private network of the New York Times Company and running a bill upwards $300,000 on the pay-per-use search tool Lexis-Nexis and a possible 15-year prison sentence.
This wouldn't be too surprising if Lamo was a Ivy-League graduate with a rebellious streak (we've all seen Social Network three times by now to get the picture), but Lamo, one of the best-known hackers in the country, was homeless.
Given the name "The Homeless Hacker" by some, Lamo traveled around with just his eight-year-old Toshiba, blanket, change of clothes and Taser stun gun which he used to shock vending machines to see if they'd drop any food or spare change. He did most of his virtual exploring from the internet connections of Kinko's copy shops, which if you wear the right stuff, is actually pretty smart if you're a hacker (assuming you're paying in cash.)
Aside from the blatent idiocy of "It's always the smart people who get caught." how was this man 'saved' by the internet. I know he got interviews and a job as a grey hat ... but not sure what he's up to now other than working as an informant.
My work here is dung.
Why do they have to have some exceptional talent in order to be worth saving from such a tragic fate?
Clearly the wealthy have the resources to save many people, but they only seem to care about those who can do something for them. So in many ways this is yet more tragic.
Sounds like an opportunity.
1. Find 2,000,000 homeless people on the Internet
2. ???
3. Profit!
Speaking of that business model, is Monster.Com still in operation?
Would you say I have a 'plethora' of pinatas, Jeffe?
5 people with a great life are now homeless, because their jobs are taken (indirectly) by those 5 homeless.
Don't fight for your country, if your country does not fight for you.
Yes, but monster.com isn't terribly useful to people who don't have a home to connect to it from.
Actually, in my experience, monster isn't all that useful, period, so it's no real loss.
File under 'M' for 'Manic ranting'
As a resident of Columbus, Ohio, I would greatly appreciate this fellow being forgotten. Every 10 minutes on all local television shows, radio shows, newspapers, this story is repeated. Good for him, but please /. don't be one of those guys...
But these 6 people used the internet. Just need to implement the sneakernet-based last-mile for the other 1,999,994.
Actually, in my experience, monster isn't all that useful, period, so it's no real loss
Then you get the gist of the irony of mentioning it in my post.
Who would have thought a homeless man could do perform Creep better than Radiohead?
Prepare to be blown away
He has an album out now.
Actually an incredible amount of homeless people have some kind of internet access. You can find a 0$ laptop with wifi these days, you can find a free hotspot. In order to come back in life it makes more sense to pay some bucks for a cell phone than for a rent. Many homeless people own a cellphone.
The Wise adapts himself to the world. The Fool adapts the world to himself. Therefore, all progress depends on the Fool.
all those people that were made homeless by the internet?
Eg: internet gambling addicts victims of Nigerian and other scams people fired for internet use at work contrary to company policy and of course those who revealed information on their Facebook/Myspace page and got canned / divorced / bullied /don't ask dont tell discharged etc.
It sounds like those people became homeless because of themselves.
If you aren't suspicious of your government's actions, you aren't doing your job as a responsible citizen.
Adrian Lamo, Homeless Hacker Genius
Really? Shiftless snitch with no conscience, perhaps. But "genius hacker"?
If you want news from today, you have to come back tomorrow.
"It sounds like those people became homeless because of themselves."
Yeah OK, we get it, some people would only be happy if the Homeless were put in forced labor camps, and euthanised if work output fell.
People like you sicken me.
In post Patriot Act America, the library books scan you.
For what it's worth, I'm in that situation as well. Some years back I wound up homeless after an accident threw my life into turmoil. I recovered physically, to some extent. But found that my entire life had been thrown into turmoil by the new status of "limping and scarred dude". It was social death in the superficial crowd I was in and employed by, and the job fled as quickly as the people eager to stab anyone in the back to advance. I found first my wife, then my money, and finally my job gone. However, I kept my laptop even as I lost a roof under which to use it. It took a while to get back on my feet, but it was entirely by taking small telecommuting jobs found over the net over a four month period or so. If that seems like a rather long time, keep in mind that I had other concerns as well such as "eat" and "don't get fuckin' cut by either your fellows or random crazies". I'd feel more positive about the experience if I wasn't on the verge of having to worry about that all over again. My rambling point is that one shouldn't feel like these stories have a finality to them. They might have a happily ever after, but they might wind up right back where they were. Because to get to the point of being homeless is to lack a social support structure. And once you've been homeless, it can be horribly difficult to get that back. Because the lack of such usually starts out with either an abusive family, or one you've seen die around you. And continues on to friends who wound up throwing you away when you most needed them. It's not easy to open yourself up socially again after something like that happens. It might not seem important, but that view only comes from within a life that hasn't ever really experienced it. People need people, it's just a fact of our species. And you get screwed up pretty quickly from the lack.
Everything will be taken away from you.
I recycle computers(laptops included) for underprivileged people, usually children but adults get a shot too, so count me as your first citation.
0x09F911029D74E35BD84156C5635688C0
sure, but nobody wants to list the top 10 business men that turned homeless because of the internet.
1996 called, it wants its internet back.
Did it also ask for its "[year/era] called, it wants its [subject] back" cliche back? :-P
"Slashdot - News and Chat Sites Deviant". (Click "homepage" link above for details).
Even being a youtube phenom isn't enough to be permitted to fly.
When information is power, privacy is freedom.
I'm 95% sure that the homeless man with the golden voice is a sociopath.
That seems to be a success rate rivaling lives saved by not giving food to the homeless and thereby preventing choking.
I happened to catch an interview with Ted Williams this morning, and to say "golden voice" is stretching credulity.
That's really odd because I made a point to fly without ID (a few years ago) to make sure we still had the right to do it, and I didn't have any problems aside from being searched more thoroughly. Have the laws changed? I was under the impression that a denial of that sort violated federal law.
Did you read the GP's post or just blindly assume I was talking about ALL homeless? Jesus Christ, understand context before you go off on somebody.
People like you sicken me.
If you aren't suspicious of your government's actions, you aren't doing your job as a responsible citizen.
It's against the law in many cities to throw computer equipment into the trash... it must be taken to a recycling depot.
File under 'M' for 'Manic ranting'
Yeah, divorced people totally deserve it ... and the gay too ...
Shoudn't it rathe rather be a reality show?
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Basic_income
Essentially, between welfare, social security, and schooling, the USA spends about US$800 per person per month. Why not just give that money equally to every citizen as a basic income? A family of four would earn enough to get by through homeschooling, or could send their kids to private school.
More ideas: http://knol.google.com/k/paul-d-fernhout/beyond-a-jobless-recovery#Four_long(2D)term_heterodox_alternatives
A 21st century issue: the irony of technologies of abundance in the hands of those still thinking in terms of scarcity.
Wow! World peace! End to hunger! No more war and taxes!
Sorry for my sarcasm. Mister X had a very nice dark voice indeed, but if until now 6 people have found a job this year, we're in SERIOUS trouble.
Not to mention people still steal each others land in name of god and the list goes on and on.
Privacy is terrorism.
And yet a large number of people still throw away their old computers that way anyway (along with a ton of other electronic equipment)...and it's naive to think otherwise.
http://books.google.com/books?id=hM_JDjq6V-kC
Dark Nights of the Soul: A Guide to Finding Your Way Through Life's Ordeals by Thomas Moore
A 21st century issue: the irony of technologies of abundance in the hands of those still thinking in terms of scarcity.
Just means that there's nothing else going on. I'd rather see this story than just hear about "OMG here comes another 1/2 inch of snow!!!"
Let's face it, Columbus news is kinda boring anyways. And no matter where this story showed up, it will be played out like a one hit wonder.
Karnal
Read the context of the post you dirty troll. It's only as bad as me saying you caused your own burns if you put your hand in the fire.
If you aren't suspicious of your government's actions, you aren't doing your job as a responsible citizen.
Yes... but in cities where it is outlawed, the person whose trash they are picking up will receive a fine... plus the trash won't be picked up.
File under 'M' for 'Manic ranting'
Maybe it's you who should read the context ...
Just go do something newsworthy and then they'll have something else to talk about.
Maybe get yourself some Lite-Brites.
Wow. + Informative, but very saddening. Thanks.
why there are homeless people in a 'first world' country in the first place.
and no, dont give me any ayn rand shit. im fresh out of my bullshit listening contingency today.
Read radical news here
That's why you don't put it out with your own trash. You drive around the corner and put it with your neighbors trash. It's not that hard to work the system.
There are lots of ways to get rid of things you don't need any more. Large commercial garbage bin that is left unlocked. Go by a construction site, lots of open bins there. Hell, if you really don't care you just go down some side road and dump it in the bush. As long as you don't throw out and identifying information, odds are next to zero of being caught.