---- START NEW MESSAGE --- Received: from cherry.ease.lsoft.com [209.119.0.109] by dpmail10.doteasy.com with ESMTP (SMTPD32-8.05) id ADF97F901B4; Thu, 29 Jan 2004 01:10:17 -0800 Received: from PEAR.EASE.LSOFT.COM (209.119.0.19) by cherry.ease.lsoft.com (LSMTP for Digital Unix v1.1b) with SMTP id <2.00CC262F@cherry.ease.lsoft.com>; Thu, 29 Jan 2004 3:54:57 -0500 Received: from MITVMA.MIT.EDU by MITVMA.MIT.EDU (LISTSERV-TCP/IP release 1.8e) with spool id 9310 for PICLIST@MITVMA.MIT.EDU; Thu, 29 Jan 2004 03:54:52 -0500 Received: from MITVMA (NJE origin SMTP@MITVMA) by MITVMA.MIT.EDU (LMail V1.2d/1.8d) with BSMTP id 3194; Thu, 29 Jan 2004 03:53:33 -0500 Received: from linda-1.paradise.net.nz [202.0.58.20] by mitvma.mit.edu (IBM VM SMTP Level 430) via TCP with ESMTP ; Thu, 29 Jan 2004 03:53:32 EST X-Comment: mitvma.mit.edu: Mail was sent by linda-1.paradise.net.nz Received: from smtp-2.paradise.net.nz (smtp-2a.paradise.net.nz [202.0.32.195]) by linda-1.paradise.net.nz (Paradise.net.nz) with ESMTP id <0HS800FKKU19RJ@linda-1.paradise.net.nz> for PICLIST@MITVMA.MIT.EDU; Thu, 29 Jan 2004 21:53:34 +1300 (NZDT) Received: from Paradise (202-0-40-99.adsl.paradise.net.nz [202.0.40.99]) by smtp-2.paradise.net.nz (Postfix) with SMTP id F03B39E244; Thu, 29 Jan 2004 21:53:32 +1300 (NZDT) MIME-version: 1.0 X-MIMEOLE: Produced By Microsoft MimeOLE V6.00.2800.1165 X-Mailer: Microsoft Outlook Express 6.00.2800.1158 Content-type: text/plain; charset=iso-8859-1 Content-transfer-encoding: 7bit X-Priority: 3 X-MSMail-priority: Normal References: <4018C6B9.1EE8FC43@UALBERTA.ca> Message-ID: <003b01c3e645$7b429980$7b01a8c0@Paradise> Date: Thu, 29 Jan 2004 21:54:16 +1300 Reply-To: pic microcontroller discussion list Sender: pic microcontroller discussion list From: Russell McMahon Subject: Re: [OT:] On Capitalism, freedom & democracy To: PICLIST@MITVMA.MIT.EDU Precedence: list X-RCPT-TO: Status: U X-UIDL: 371856236 > I wonder if someone will monkey with the code so that a vote for > 'none of the above' chalks up 1000 votes for Bush? Long long long ago (in the days of "programmable calculators" when computers were a distant dream for business use )(only 30 years ago :-) ) I wrote a program for the corporate I worked for that calculated the cash make up for each pay packet. Cash payment was the rule then. The idea of a Russell paypacket trapdoor was much joked about. A head office engineer (apparently)(there is only one person that it could have been) actually wrote a trapdoor into the code for the NZ international telex exchange - this ran on a pair of PDP11's. Telex used pulse dialling like a telephone for access. The exchange was physically 500 odd mile north of the head office. By dialling 11 pulses as the first digit (not possible with normal dials) it gave him secret free international access. The tech who found this simply removed it without official comment. RM -- http://www.piclist.com hint: The PICList is archived three different ways. See http://www.piclist.com/#archives for details. .