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(7/27/01)
We cast our net to find the latest odd tech tales to hit the Net: a teenage law whiz who bests the best of them; an anonymous 29-year-old lothario who reached new heights in vanity; and killer robots that definitely don't just want to be loved.
A case for anonymity on the Net
In summer 2000, Justin Anthony Wyrick Jr., who used the handle LawGuy1975, began giving legal advice on AskMe.com, a popular "knowledge-sharing" site created in 1999 by former Microsoft employees. He quickly shot up to the No. 3 ranking, eclipsing the for-pay lawyers who trolled the site like sharks.
But Anthony Wyrick Jr. was no lawyer. He never attended to law school, didn't graduate from high school, and, as it happened, his name wasn't even Anthony Wyrick Jr. LawGuy1975 is really a 15-year-old prodigy named Marcus Arnold who deadpans that he developed his legal chops by watching Court TV and legal thrillers. It's a fine example of the true value of the Net: delivering information, without the billable hours.
Faking it: The Internet revolution has nothing to do with the Nasdaq
The New York Times Magazine (free registration required)
"Gorgeous guy" legend in own mind
Taking on new identities online is one thing, but taking on new identities to praise your old one is a whole new beast. Last month, a flurry of e-mails appeared on the Craigslist Missed Connections message board about a certain "gorgeous guy" who waited for a bus every day at a San Francisco street corner. Who is he? Is he married? Isn't he soooo gorgeous?
Apparently, the curious took to the streets in search of the hunk and reported back to the board. The press caught wind of it and profiles of the lucky man--a 29-year-old named Dan Baca--appeared in USA Today, the San Francisco Bay Guardian, and on CNN. But Dan Baca had a secret: he made the whole thing up. All the messages gushing about Baca were, in fact, from Baca's own none-too-humble pen and sent from the legions of e-mail addresses he kept. Why? "Boredom," Baca told USA Today.
Internet "gorgeous guy" admits hoax
CNN.com
Bang, you're deactivated
The robots in A.I. may have been a cuddly bunch, but some of their counterparts being dreamed up in the non-Spielberg world don't want to be loved; they want to kill. Robotics company RoboTrix recently unveiled Gladiator and Spike, two robotic prototypes to be used in military missions. Instead of having soldiers take the lead in a hot zone, a bot would serve as point man. "These little robots are kind of like kamikaze warriors," said George Osgood, founder of RoboTrix.
Once the bot brigade is ready for action, the military believes that carbon-based soldiers will no longer fight on the front lines. "We're looking at transforming the entire organizational structure of the Army's fighting force," said Curt Adams, a vehicle researcher at the Army's Tank, Automotive, and Armaments Command in Detroit. Chores such as guarding ammunition dumps would likewise be handed over to robots.
Robot soldiers for future battlefields
ONE News
