Thursday, November 6, 2014

Twitter in Classrooms


Last year, my High School teachers were required to get Twitter.  I did not understand the reasoning behind this, it seemed insane.  But after reading about the professional side of Twitter in the classrooms.  I was always a firm believer that social media in the classroom would create problems that aren't necessary.  But I'm slowly changing my mind.

When used professionally I now believe that social media sites can be used productively in the classroom by connecting with other teachers to use different materials in the classroom.  This can be useful to get instant answers from colleagues and get the information to students quickly.  As and Education major I can see where and ow this could be useful, but still think it should be used with some caution.

Wednesday, November 5, 2014

Microsoft Band

                 


As a runner, I am always in the market for a new watch.  Unfortunately, most running watches are as expensive and are only built for running only.  Recently, there has been a trend toward fitness bands that record information about a run.  More so than ever, these devices now have screens to display time which early models lacked.  This new breed of fitness bands has resulted in products like the Fitbit Surge which is priced at $249.99. This little device has a built-in GPS which many running watches only have via an uncomfortable armband with a GPS sensor.  Unlike many other fitness bands, this device also shows other health related information such as heart rate and workouts. It even displays text message and caller notifications.  This device comes very close to being a smart watch while still remaining a device intended for athletes.  What about an individual who wants a smart watch and a fitness band convergence device?
110314 microsoft band
New Microsoft Band
On Thursday, October 30, Microsoft announced the Microsoft Band.  Much like the Fitbit Surge fitness band, it includes a built-in GPS, notifications, a heart rate monitor, activities and workouts.  However, this fitness band starts to migrate into smartwatch territory.  The device also users to communicate back to their phone, use Cortana voice searches, and even look at their email and calendar. More importantly, this band allows for additional functionalities such as a method to pay for coffee at starbucks.  Unlike every Fitbit band, the Microsoft Band has a beautiful color display and an easy to use touchscreen interface with the modern Windows design philosophy.  It successfully mixes the best aspects of sleek fitness bands and nearly provides all the standard functionality of a full-blown smartwatch.



Microsoft Band
Customized Microsoft Band
In addition to a plethora of features unmatched by the competition, the price of the device is only $199.99 which makes it a steal for athletes looking for a running watch.  The added bonus of the Microsoft Band practically being in the same functionality category as smartwatches like Android Wear and the Apple Watch almost make this an unbeatable bargain.

Additionally, I think many people need to reevaluate their preconceived notion of what a smartwatch should be.  Most people imagine a device just like the Apple Watch when in reality wearable watches may become more popular and useful oriented like fitness bands.  I certainly plan on trying one of these devices out at my local Microsoft Store to see if a runner like me can really have a convergence device that provides the accuracy and minimalism of a fitness band with the functionality of a smartwatch.  I might have to add this to my Christmas list, especially if it will motivate me to workout more.

Hacktivists


So by looking at the title of this your probably wondering why I have a picture of a TV show that plays on the CW. Well I just got done watching the most recent episode of this and surprising it related to my Computer Science class!

The show you see here is called Arrow. This show follows the story line of the DC comic book hero, The Green Arrow. In this show he is a "vigilantly/hero" and protects his city from super villains and other sorts of bad guys that terrorise his home of Starling City.

In the most recent episode (season 3, episode 5, The Secret Origin of Felicity Smoak) the villains that are portrayed are called hacktivists. This instantly made me think of my computer science class, since this was a topic of discussion in the earlier part of the term. Without spoiling the hole entire episode for anyone reading this I won't go into too much detail but the one other part besides the "hacking" was when the super villain used Phishing. Now I've talked about this in my other blogs but throwout the episode there is a part where the villain uses phishing to gain information/ an upper hand on the arrow and his colleagues as you can guys this creates a pretty good twist within the show and makes it much more enjoyable than just the hero always winning at every point in the show.


Anyways going back to the reason for blogging about this, I found it was interesting how no matter what your doing things will always seem to make a full circle connection to something else in your life, even if the two seem completely unrelated.









Wacom Cintiq Companion


This right here is Wacom's most recent product they added to their line of drawing tablets. Wacom specializes in aiding graphic designers in the use of digital illustration and animation. They have the highest end drawing products on the market which are used by professionals in the field today. 

Their most recent product is the Cintiq Companion. This is a stand alone tablet with its own power supply and doesn't need to be connected to an already existing computer. It comes in two versions. The first one has a full Windows 8 operating system that can run anything your normal computer can such as any of the adobe suite products. The second version is a hybrid as Wacom calls it. It runs on the most recent 4.2 Jellybean Android software and can use any of the apps on the android market today. However because it is a "hybrid" it can be connected via HDMI to any computer and become a second display with full touch capability. With this you are then able to use any software your current computer has except with its fully touch capability. 





The first image you have here is the hybrid version that is running the android hybrid version of the Wacom Cintiq Companion tablet.







The second image here is the Windows 8 version of the Wacom Cintiq Companion tablet. This is a stand alone table with the full capability of being an ultra book all in itself. This one however can't be connected to your computer as an extra screen, although it can run anything a normal computer can.





Between these two products I have been up all night doing research trying to decide if I want to spend the money on them. This has always been something that I have been looking for. Before this they have always had Cintiqs which were screens just like this but were not portable what so ever and always had to be plugged into a computer such as any normal monitor. Being a graphic designer myself and loving to illustrate since I could remember really makes me what to take the risk and get one of these to try out for myself. I have had other drawing tablets that hook up to the computer but never one quite like this. This is truly remarkable and ingenuity at its finest.  


If you would like to see more I would highly recommend watching this video.



Saturday, November 1, 2014

iRing

iRing concept ring that controls iPod and iPhone media devices

While scrolling through Pinterest, because where else do I find my news other than social media, I found an article One iRing to Control All Your Apple Media Devices.  What made this article catch my eye, was the fact that I had just went through the process of searching for various wearable technologies for our presentation.

Basically, this ring would be able to link to any of your Apple devices to play, pause, or control the volume of your music.  The only catch is that this is only a concept and has been since around 2007.  If it was developed further, I'm sure there could be more possibilities than just simple music control, since technology and Apple have developed so much in the past 7 years.

Thursday, October 30, 2014

Valve's Virtual Reality Headset


Valve's virtual reality headset is the one that I found to be one of the more interesting ones. Even though they were very mysterious with the information they were willing to share they still gave out some good information about their device, plus with there companies background we can get a good guess on how this will turn out, not to mention what we hope for in the future from valve with the virtual reality headsets.

Valve's virtual reality headsets seems to be similar to oculus' with the 7 inch LCD dual lens display. Of course with the dual lens display it will be creating a 3D perspective for the viewer. Now although the product is still deep within the development stage there is still hope for what is to come with the invention of the virtual reality headsets.

Since were talking about Valve here, its safe to assume this will be working with their cloud gaming universe, Steam. With all of the games that are on the market today and sold in steam I'm sure valve will be trying to make deals with game developers to incorporate virtual reality into their games. Such as in my presentation when I talked about the Dota 2 demo.

When Valve created Dota 2, they decided to make it a MOBA, or better defined as a multiplayer online battle arena. It was a huge game and very popular running against other MOBA games such as League of Legends and Heros of Newerth. With this valve had a demo put up of it to work with their virtual reality headset which let you have your own personal world with the game being within a map on a computer generated table. With this you could walk up to the map and control more of what your surroundings are instead of just a flat image that shows only the game itself. Now some may say that that is all you need and the extra stuff is just....well extra. I think its interesting they are
trying go in a direction that is constantly pushing the boundaries. Valve has many other game titles
such as Left 4 dead one and two, Half-Life, Portal, and Team fortress that could all benefit from a product such as this. Also with all of the other products on steam and with the PS4 and Oculus I think gaming and virtual reality will definitely have a spot in the gaming world and even if it might be hard for people to accept at first I think it will grow on people and become the new generation of gaming.


Sunday, October 26, 2014

A Coding Curriculum


For ages, english, math, history, and science have been required in grammar schools and in the secondary education curriculum across the United States.  Recently, the city of Chicago has modified its public school curriculum to include code writing. According to Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel, in three years "you can't graduate from high school if you didn't take code writing and computer science."  This is a massive change to the default curriculums of most public schools.  This is all apart of Rahm Emanuel's five-year plan to improve computer science education in Chicago schools.  Unfortunately, many school do not offer a comprehensive coding or computer science curriculum.

The importance of a quality computer science curriculum cannot be understated due to globalized economies and the increasing reliance on computer system to control nearly every aspect of our lives. Computer science is a top paying college degree and one that will become only increasingly valued.

Rahm Emanuel is far from the only person advocating for an increased focus on computer science education.  Numerous high profile members of the tech community such as Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella and Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg support Code.org which is dedicated to teaching young students how to code.  This is a part of the Hour of Code which is a global movement to teach one hour of coding education to as many people across the globe as possible.


It will be interesting to see how much the curriculum in schools will focus on computer science in the future.  Will every student be able to code?  This is certainly a desirable goal for tech companies like Google and Microsoft.  Not matter what, computing will become only more important in the future and candidates with computer experience will stand far better in the job market than those who lack such skills.  This is why it is vital that more schools teach coding and focus more attention on computer science education.  And if that is not convincing enough, the late Steve Jobs once said, "Everybody in this country should learn how to program a computer... because it teaches you how to think." This is advice the American education system should not dismiss.



Tuesday, October 14, 2014

Window's Tablet Malfunction

Earlier in class we learned what malware was, but incase you forgot or you missed it, I'll give you a reminder. Malware is malicious code, which is software that is intended to damage or disable computers or computer systems.

You're probably wondering where I'm going with all of this. Well earlier today CNN had reported that Russians have been using Windows tablets to spy on Ukrainian government and a scholar who was living in the United States due to a Microsoft Windows bug. Apparently they have been using a bug that exists in Microsoft Vista, 7, 8, and the newest 8.1.  

Its said that Dallas' intelligence firm (ISight) first saw the hackers attacking back in mid August. They were sending emails with malware in the forms of PowerPoint attachments to spy on Ukrainian government officials by using a technique called phishing.

     Phishing: is a way to acquire sensitive information by pretending/acting as a trustworthy      software/program.

The fact that this happened is pretty amazing especially with a company such as Microsoft would allow something such as this to happen. Then again bugs are a part of computer programing and technology, so I can definitely see how this is a possibility. The reason this caught my interest though was because of how much interest I had in the surface pro 3. Although I doubt I would have any problem with this, seeing that I wouldn't be the one getting targeted. However it's still interesting to see that things like this happen even with reliable companies, such as Microsoft. Who's to say it won't happen to another reliable technology company.


Sign Language Translation

Language barriers are terrible, especially between those who can speak and those who cannot.  Students at Asia University have developed these Sign Language Ring Translators.  These are a set of six rings that are worn on three fingers per hand.  The rings follow the movement of the fingers of the wearer and translate them through a bracelet.  The bracelet translates the movements of the rings into spoken words so another person, who does not know sign language, can understand what the non-speaking person is saying.  The bracelet can also understand spoken word and display that speech in text so a non-hearing person may understand those who do not speak sign language.

I just think this product is so amazing, and can be put to many helpful uses.  They make me really excited for technological advancements and really wanted to share this concept.

Monday, October 13, 2014

Project Delorean

Picture of the Delorean from the Back to the Future Trilogy
                             
     With the advent of the internet, the world is ever more reliant on the power of the cloud. Quickly everything that was once process locally on a computer is now being processed in the cloud. The cloud is internet-based computing in which large groups of remote servers are networked to allow the centralized data storage, and online access to computer services or resources.  
              
Cloud Servers.  Not an accurate representation.
      However, there have been many barriers to taking advantage of this emerging technology.  One of the main culprits that is holding cloud computing back is latency.  Latency is the time between an end users input and the result from a server to return to the end user.  Application that are time sensitive and require immediate feedback have been difficult to offload to the cloud. One such example is cloud gaming. This is clearly the future of gaming evident by the Xbox One's focus on the cloud and the new Playstation Now cloud gaming service. Unfortunately, latency is preventing modern games from being processed in the cloud without lag. This is especially a problem for those who live far away from a server farm or have low bandwidth. When the time delay between a player and what appears on the screen is too long, the game is unplayable.
     Recently, Microsoft's research team has developed a new technology to deal with latency in cloud gaming.  It is called Project Delorean.  This system predicts what a player is going to do.  This can cover up to 250ms of latency. It does this by processing multiple actions a player may choose before the player make a choice.  It then sends all of the possible options to the player's console early.  Then when a player chooses an action, the console would choose the correct option out of the multiple options that were processed.
Advertisement for the Cloud Powered AI in Forza Motorsport 5.
                      
   This invention indicates that we are very close to the age of cloud gaming.  Certainly, this new technology will make its way into Microsoft's PC and Xbox video games.  However, this technology might even translate into other programs and applications that are cloud based. Any application can benefit from the same system.  Even non-time sensitive applications can benefit by completely eliminating latency.   The benefits of the cloud will only continue to grow as similar systems to Project Delorean are implemented.  The potential uses are limitless.  With the power of the cloud, the sky is the limit.

Monday, September 22, 2014

Antikythera Mechanism: The Ancient Computer Found

Antikythera Mechanism

Recently I found an article linked from iflscience on my Facebook feed saying that an ancient computer had been found in a shipwreck.  After reading this article I learned that this ancient computer was name the Antikythera Mechanism and was probably traveling with an important woman who was traveling to Rome to be married.  This, along with the other valuables were probably destined to be a wedding present.

This computer was made out of bronze.  It is very thin, mounted in a wooden frame, with a couple thousand characters inscribed in it.  It was thought to have the ability to predict the movement of constellations.  Through X-rays, scientist have discovered there are over 30 gears.  This is all very impressive considering it was estimated to have been created around 87 B.C.

Ingress Across the Globe

Ingress players in Seattle.
In a world where video games, particularly casual games, are common place among the masses thanks to the advent of the smart phone, there seems to be a new gaming fad every few months.  Most recently we have had Angry Birds and Flappy Bird games sweep across mobile platforms.  Like most mobile games, the location where you play the game is largely irrelevant.  Location agnostic games are about to get a dose of serious competition from augmented reality mobile games.

Mobile gaming may be on the verge of a revolution.  Ingress is an augmented reality game developed by Google for Android and iOS.  It is a game which requires that you ally yourself with the Resistance or the Enlightened.  Next, you use your Ingress app to find nearby portals(selected sites in the real world).  You must physically travel to a portal which is usually located at major locations in a town or city.  Then you can find two other nearby portals and visit them to make a triangle called a control field.  Then you must defend your control field from other players to earn points.
 
Local Ingress Battle
The longer one is able to control their field, the more points they earn.  The amount of points are increased if the population is high.  For example, cities like are prime location to rack up copious amount of points yet it is a location where one is more likely to be attacked.  Thus, these population dense areas are harder to control.
 
Snapshot of the global game of Ingress.
Some players have become so competitive that they are willing to travel hundreds of miles to control new locations.  One man bought a plane ticket just to fly to a remote outpost in Alaska to control a portal in Ingress. 
 
The real question here is how far are augmented reality games like Ingress going to develop and how popular are they going to become.  Ingress already has a considerable following that is likely to grow as the game expands to more platforms.  This appears to be the dawn of a new age of video games that actually requires players to get off their couches and go outside.  Most likely this will lead to new friends for players as well as new enemies. 
 
Personally, I would love to download this application, but I might become too competitive and end up buying a plane ticket to remote locations in Alaska for a few extra outpost to control.  Though if I had the money and the free-time, this sounds like a fantastic experience that encourages people to travel to places that might not have visited before.  The impact of games like this could lead people to find new areas of their towns and cities that might not be familiar with.  Businesses might even begin to encourage Ingress or other augmented reality games to add their businesses as a portal to control.  The potential benefits and impacts of such a game are absolutely limitless.
 

Tuesday, September 9, 2014

Taking The Extra Step to Protect Your Online Privacy


Perhaps you may have already heard the latest news, but hackers have recently attacked Hollywood's most beloved Celebs!  Top celebs including Jennifer Lawrence (Hunger Games Series) and Kate Upton (Model) were two of the many celeb victims whose most private of photos were compromised to the world via hackers. What!? How could this happen you ask? Well... What is estimated to have happened to these unlucky celebs is that the unknown hacker or hackers successfully discovered the celebrities iCloud accounts, a cloud or internet/network storage system provided by Apple inc., and hacked into them with the intent of obtaining nude celeb photos.  These photos were then shared anonymously and dispersed throughout the web for all to see Huffington Post.  It is assumed by tech experts that the app "Find my iPhone" was the key tool used by the hackers. Although it is still unknown how exactly these photos were hacked, it ultimately raised awareness of the overall security of iCloud and thus new security measures have been taken to by Apple Inc. to protect its iCloud users.


So What?...
If this can happen to celebrities it can happen to anyone! This news story brings up the bigger question of how aware are you of your online privacy? As technology is fast expanding in our lives it is important to recognize the importance of taking the extra step to protect your privacy. Simple practices as reading fine print, assessing your privacy settings, having passwords with multiple characters and numbers can protect you against possible cyber crimes such as this.

Click Here For Tips on How to Secure Your iCloud


Tuesday, September 2, 2014

Kevin Mitnick: Notorious American Hacker


Kevin Mitnick is most recognized as the "World's most renowned hacker". A Hacker is defined as a “Technically proficient person who breaks into a computer system”.  Shortly after the rise of the personal computer in the late 1970’s, Mitnick's initial interest of hacking took hold.  He realized that his skill of hacking gave him power and recognition among his peers, allowing him to make friends easily. His first successful hack was manipulating the Los Angeles transit system by figuring out "how to obtain free bus passes at the age of 12".  He did this through the practice of social engineering, or "Social interaction that preys on human gullibility, sympathy, or fear to take advantage of the target, for example, to steal money, information, or other valuables-basically a con".

 Some hackers are motivated by greed, rather Mitnick ultimately hacked for the challenge, or "fun of it". He quotes his motives for hacking as "Intellectual curiosity, pursuit of knowledge and seduction of adventure"Huffington Post.  He developed an addiction for this challenge of hacking which led him to committing numerous cyber crimes and thus having to later suffer legal consequences.
Mitnick's hacking crimes were so intense that he became an inspiration for the well known movie War Games after hacking into the Pentagon, the headquarters of the U.S. Department of Defense. He later became one of the FBI's ten most wanted criminals during the 90's.  "The FBI claimed that Mitnick cost companies and institutions millions of dollars by stealing their software and altering computer information" 2001Throughout Mitnick's extensive history of hacking, he has been charged and arrested for such crimes as,
1981: Manipulating and breaking into phone company networks, such as Pacific Bell for the purpose of stealing technical manuals
1982: Breaking into the U.S. Pentagon's (the National Headquarters of United States Department of Defense) computer system from his computer while at the University of Southern California
1987: Stealing computer software from California software company Santa Cruz Operation
1989: "Illegally downloading source code from Digital Equipment Corporation (DEC)"

1992: Stealing software from companies such as,  "Motorola, Nokia, and Fujitsu"

1995: Mitnick is finally captured and arrested in Raleigh, N.C. for crimes of illegally breaking into corporate computer networks and stealing software


Today, Kevin Mitnick has now been out of prison for 14 years (Released in 2000, after serving five years) and owns his own computer security firm called Mitnick Security Consulting http://mitnicksecurity.com/, in which he offers a variety of services to help protect valuable assets of organizations.  

In addition to his business he is also an author of numerous book titles including, Ghost in the wires: My Adventures as the Worlds Most Wanted Hacker (2011), about the true story of his hacking adventures. In the book he describes his experience as the FBI was closing in on him, saying he already knew they were watching him because he "broke into the local cell phone network, allowing him to detect when agents were near his apartment"  He then says "When they were close, he removed evidence but left behind a box of donuts in the refrigerator, labeling them "FBI donuts" to annoy his pursuers" 2011

Although Mitnick's cyber crimes were deemed illegal and punishable by law, I would consider myself a Mitnick supporter in that his crimes brought recognition of the seriousness of computer security and thus introduced changes in how people secure themselves.  Overall he successfully turned his love and skill for hacking into a useful trait to help others!

"Works Cited"

Anderson, Greg, David Ferro, and Robert Hilton. Connecting with Computer Science. 2nd ed. Boston: Course Technology, 2011. Print.
Freeman, Edward H. "The Legend and Legacy of Kevin Mitnick." Information Systems Security 10.2  (2001): 5-6. Acedemic Search Complete. Web. 01 Sept. 2014.

Smith, Gerry. "Kevin Mitnick, Former Fugitive Hacker, Laments How The Game Has Changed." The Huffington Post. TheHuffingtonPost.com, 16 Aug. 2011. Web. 01 Sept. 2014. 





Monday, September 1, 2014

Stuxnet and the Iranian Nuclear Program

     In November 2007 and numerous times since then, the United States has attacked Iran's nuclear program via a computer worm known as Stuxnet according to Symantec Corporation.  Recently, Symantec Corporation, which provides internet security, uncovered this young version of the virus.  Prior to this recent discovery by Symantec, the earliest case of cyberwarfare against the Iranian regime was thought to have been launched in 2009. 
     Symantec revealed even more information regarding this virus stain.  They found evidence of early versions of the virus dating all the way back to 2005.  The virus was created to "attack the Natanz facility by opening and closing valves that feed uranium hexafluoride gas into the centrifuges, without the knowledge of the operators"(Finkle).  This method of disruption was very similar to how the United States attacked Iran's facilities a few years later.  The 2005 version of the worm was created when the construction of the Natanz facility in Iran was completed. 
     The preemptivness of the United States to attack the facility is surprising.  At the time, and even today, it is still not very clear to whether Iran is developing nuclear weapons.  It was considerably more unclear back then.  Due to the instability in the region, it is very possible that Iran is building nuclear weapons to protect itself from its enemies.   If the United States has strategic interests that are threatened by a nuclear Iran, then proactive measures are certainly ethical.  There is no doubt that a nuclear Iran would disrupt the Middle East as the balance of power would shift heavily in favor of the Iranians.  In addition, the virus only damaged  centrifuges and did not cause any bodily harm to any Iranian.  This is a far better strategy than launching a military invasion of a nation to prevent the enrichment of weapons grade uranium.  However, if Iran is using these centrifuges for nuclear power, then the cyberwarfare attacks launched by the Untied States are unethical as they prevent Iran from providing much needed electrical power to its people. 
     These engagements in cyberwarfare are undoubtedly indicative of the future of warfare and international politics.  Governments and its people are heavily reliant on computer systems.  Computer systems have become the optimal target for attacks.  Certainly, this is better than warfare where men and women are killed on the battlefield.  However, viruses can be used by governments to attack more than just governments.  Citizens rely on the internet and infrastructure of computer systems in the private sector and for personal use.  Attacks on civilians or even accidental attacks on civilians may become more common place as viruses are increasingly used to wage covert cyberwarfare.  In addition, the amount of individuals that could be affected by cyberware is extremely high due to the interconnectedness of the world thanks to the advent of the Internet.  It is possible many of us will experience first hand the effects of cyberware first hand in our lifetime.



Works Cited

Finkle, Jim. "Researchers Say Stuxnet Was Deployed against Iran in 2007." Reuters. Thomson  Reuters, 26 Feb. 2013. Web. 01 Sept. 2014. <http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/02/26/us-cyberwar-stuxnet-idUSBRE91P0PP20130226>. 

What is Buffer Overflow?

To answer this question one must know what a buffer is. A buffer is memory storage that serves to temporarily store data while it is moving it from one place to another. Now that we have an idea of what a buffer is I can explain what buffer overflow is. Buffer overflow is when a program has too much data to process at once which in turn causes the program to shut down. It shows flaws in code that causes buffers to hold more information in their memory than they can handle. Once the information gets into the server/computer it can be specific data that instructs the computer to harm itself such as destroy or damage user’s files and data. These are types of viruses that can attack computers, which in turn make the computer vulnerable and weak.

An example of buffer overflow was when Microsoft Outlook and Outlook Express were targeted in 2000, when an attacker sent a virus threw their email. Even though nobody ever opened it, it was still able to access the computer once downloaded off the server due to bad coding.  It was said that Microsoft had a very hard time fixing this issue but eventually they were able to create a patch for it.

Hacker's Manifesto

When I first read the Hacker's Manifesto it was far from what I expected.  What I had expected was a couple lines stating why or when someone should hack, what I got instead was this.  The Manifesto turned out to be more of what I would consider a poem, rather than a statement, detailing the life of a kid who strongly identifies with the rest of his generation.  After doing a quick read-up on the Wikipedia page, I learned the Hacker's Manifesto was written by Loyd Blankenship after he had been arrested.

After reading it I gained a greater sense of why people would want to hack, especially if it is their forte.  The Manifesto explains how to this person, and the generalized group that are hackers, feel when they hack.  It gives a sense of freedom and revenge.  Freedom from the social constricts that come with other humans.  With a computer there is no guessing how it will react if something doesn't go its way.

"I made a discovery today. I found a comupter. Wait a second,
this is cool. It does what I want it to. If it makes a mistake it's
because I screwed it up. Not because it doesn't like me...
Or feels threatened by me...
Or thinks I'm a smart ass...
Or doesn't like teaching and shouldn't be here..."

The sense of revenge comes in part from those who say all kids are alike. How adults see all kids as good, for nothings who send all their time on the computer.  

Now, while I do understand the appeal of dealing with something that isn't constantly changing its mind or making me insecure. And I do oppose how most of the older generation generalize any young person who constantly uses a computer as good-for-nothing I still don't know if I believe the Hacker's Manifesto justifies the act of hacking.  It helps me to better understand why they do this, but it also has negative affects on others.   So, no, I do not believe there are necessarily ethical reasons to hacking.