Terry Childs, a 43-year-old computer network administrator in Pittsburgh, is in the midst of a legendary computer hack that has denied administrator access to San Francisco's new multimillion-dollar network. Apparently, Childs was recently disciplined at his job for poor performance and his supervisors unsuccessfully attempted to fire him. So, as an "insurance policy," he hacked San Fran's new Fibre Wan (Wide Area Network), "where records such as officials' emails, city payroll files, confidential law enforcement documents and jail inmates' bookings are stored." Childs has refused to divulge the real passcodes to the system even when faced with arrest and a whopping US$5 million bond.

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Oh LAN, it seems like it was only yesterday that your first commercial installation (ARCnet) was born at Chase Manhattan Bank in New York. We must give thanks to Harry Pyle and that meatball sandwich he was eating for providing the inspiration behind ARCnet all those years ago. Enjoy it while you can old friend, because the times are changing, and you may not live to see your 40th.

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