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Hackers' Shutdown of 'The Interview' Confirms Coding Is a Superpower
theodp writes: The idea of programming as a superpower was touched upon by CS teacher Alfred Thompson back in 2010, but it became a rallying call of sorts for the Hour of Code after Dropbox CEO Drew Houston described coding as "the closest thing we have to a superpower" in a Code.org video that went viral. And if the kids who learned to code with the President last week were dubious about the power of coding, this week's decision by Sony to scrap the release of the satirical film The Interview after a massive hack attack should put aside any doubts, especially after new revelations that Sony had reached out to the White House for help and screened the film for administration officials back in June. White House press secretary Josh Earnest said Thursday that the Obama Administration is viewing the Sony attack as a "serious national security matter" and is considering a range of possible options as a response, which could turn things into a contest of U.S. Superpower vs. Coding Superpower. In case it wasn't mentioned last week, remember to always use your coding superpower for good, kids!
"Coding" had nothing to do with theaters dropping the movie. What made them drop the movie was a terrorist threat that spoked a bunch of bean counters.
Exactly. Sony was going to press forward with the release regardless of the intrusion. What shutdown the movie was the pastebin threat that caused a bunch of theater chains to shit themselves.
What the fuck does emailing a vague and rambling threat of violence have to do with coding and superpowers?
It was threats of violence that canceled the movie. Saying coding had anything to do with it is like saying you should be able to patent something that people have been doing for ages, because your implementation is 'on the internet'.
When someone says, "Any fool can see
...it was the legal liability incurred by Sony after the "hackers" threatened actual physical attacks on movie theaters. Sony simply couldn't afford the legal and financial risk that even one theater might be bombed or attacked. The hacking part of it had no bearing on that.
SJW's don't eliminate discrimination. They just expropriate it for themselves.
By this thinking, wouldn't threatening to plant a bomb would be a superpower?
Have pigs sprouted wings and started flying in your universe?
Telling people to use coding for "good" is a very subjective matter. Exposing corruption is a "good" thing, and when law enforcement and Government agencies ignore corruption or become complicit in the corruption, dumping this information to the public is one of few viable options.
Reading the summary (nope, I refused to follow these links) indicates that "good" from their perspective is maintaining the status quo and allowing the corruption to continue unchecked.
-The wise argue that there are few absolutes, the fool argues that there are no probabilities.
It looked like a middling movie, but now it's the most talked about picture of the year. I bet they'll clean up on DVD sales.
And superpowers? You act like breaking into somebody's computers, copying their private shit, then making bomb threats is something inspiring? No. It's not. It's criminal.
I am a little conflicted. I still can't say "good job" to people who break into somebody else's computers. Despite Sony trying to break into millions of computers. Sony is one of the most evil corporations on the planet. So it's kind of like get incensed that Sauron's ring got stolen and melted. I mean, it was his ring.
I'll channel Gene Wilder from Willy Wonka, in the scene where Violet Beauregarde is going to eat the gum that turns her into a blueberry and he mutters quietly to no one in particular, "No. Stop. Don't."
We don't have a state-run media we have a media-run state.
And yet, you post anonymously.
Mr. Hu is not a ninja.
I hate to quote celebrities, but George Clooney makes a good point:
"With the First Amendment, you're never protecting Jefferson; it's usually protecting some guy who's burning a flag or doing something stupid."
Log in or piss off.
The first amendment only says "Congress shall make no law..." but everybody understands you don't have much freedom of speech if you end up hanging from the nearest tree afterwards. Because the law isn't supposed to shield me from lawful retaliation like a boycott only retaliation that's already illegal you don't need a specific law for that. But everybody realizes that targeted action against those who exercise a particular freedom is trying to encroach on that freedom. Of course the government can just wash their hands and say we weren't the angry mob holding the rope, but it wouldn't be a very good government.
Any time you refrain from a lawful action because of the risk or threat of illegal action is a failure of the system of law IMHO. If I can't walk through a part of the city at night they're failing to keep the street safe. If they can't show this movie at the cinema without the risk of terrorism they're failing to keep the country safe. At least if it's a genuine risk and not chicken little screaming that the sky is falling, I mean you can't expect them to be everywhere and prevent every crime everyone's trying to commit. And I don't want to sell out all my rights in an attempt to make it so either. There could be a price for not caving but there's a price for caving too, the terrorists don't need to take away your freedoms if your too afraid to use them anyway.
Live today, because you never know what tomorrow brings
Just because some vague articles and politicos point the finger at North Korea doesn't mean that it's true. I'm not making any assertions about the truth at this point, but we should be careful before jumping to (potentially violent) conclusions based on hearsay.
http://www.wired.com/2014/12/e...
"But in their initial public statement, whoever hacked Sony made no mention of North Korea or the film. And in an email sent to Sony by the hackers, found in documents they leaked, there is also no mention of North Korea or the film. The email was sent to Sony executives on Nov. 21, a few days before the hack went public. Addressed to Sony Pictures CEO Michael Lynton, Chairwoman Amy Pascal and other executives, it appears to be an attempt at extortion, not an expression of political outrage or a threat of war."
Evolution: love it or leave it