BYTING BACK

Yes, futuristic ideas and technologies need to move ahead as far as they can (“The Face of Cyber Chaos,” Sept. 12), and maybe I’m out of touch and out of date. But the lack of humanity, the lack of touch, the lack of warmth that seems to be the attitude of these cyberpunks is bone-chilling.

The whole movement seems to be anti-social, agoraphobic, lonely and addictive, but hey, that’s what they say about every new trend. As the joke goes: “My dad is so old he used to get up to change the channels.” I guess for my generation the line will be: “My dad is so old he actually had sex in bed, not in his head.” What do they call that? Actual reality?

Thanks for the overview. And how about the fact that I got the information through a newspaper that I bought at an archaic vending machine.

DAVID RUBENSTEIN

Los Angeles

Cyberspace reminds me of the neighborhood dogs. They’re stuck in back yards and never meet. But every moon or so, one starts barking and the others join in. They all have a good howl together. They seem happy.

RICHARD GLEAVES

San Diego

I was impressed at the length of an article describing the misadventures of a common thief (“The Last Hacker,” by Jonathan Littman). For that’s all Kevin Poulsen is. Prisons are full of bright, talented individuals who think they do not have to follow society’s rules.

What do you think Poulsen would have said had he installed a well-advertised system, booted it up, then found that the equipment was trash--the software non-functioning, the monitor burnt out, the keyboard half-broken--all because an employee of a faceless company had decided to rip off the originals and allow detritus to be sold. He would have ranted about “the system,” when in reality he would have just met himself.

STEPHEN C. ACOSTA

Torrance

As the 21st Century takes shape, the American people will realize what their government and Kevin Poulsen already know: The world of the computer is the next economic frontier to be plundered. It’s fast and it’s seductive, and once you begin to need it, there is no going back.

Soon, most of the information we depend on will come to us through a computer terminal. As we become more dependent on them and place more of our faith in those that will control the information networks, we will have to ask ourselves, as Poulsen’s favorite comic book asks: “Quis Custodiet Ipsos Custodes?” (“Who watched the Watchmen?”)

CHRIS GOSSETT

Toluca Lake

I was mentioned, though not by name, in Littman’s article as Ron Austin’s girlfriend. Littman says Poulsen is now an outcast, “abandoned by fellow hackers, friends and the family he never had.” How would Littman know? He seems to have limited his interviews to police, prosecutors and prosecution witnesses.

STEPHANIE SCHIFF

Los Angeles

It’s unconstitutional to make an example of one unlucky soul, my brother Kevin Poulsen, who would never harm a fly, yet faces hard prison time that’s longer than some violent criminals serve. Our family is incomplete without his wit, intelligence and creativity. What a shame that such rare traits contradict the norms of a society that silences such brilliance. He is not normal, not dull. He is exiled.

I admired Kevin as we grew up. We’ve lost the best years of our lives together. I fear that we may not be young anymore when we meet again.

I pray for you, Kevin. You are the last gentle genius, the only brother I will ever have or want.

DEBRA POULSEN

Northridge

I read with great interest “They Call It Cyberlove,” by Margo Kaufman. I appreciate the magazine’s interest in the current phenomenon, but Kaufman’s thinly disguised scorn was annoying.

As an educated, mature, computer-literate Angelena, I recently met a young man over the wires; we conducted an e-mail correspondence, followed by a week of intense telephone conversations that led us to believe that we might have a future together.

Conveniently scheduled to be in the same city over Labor Day, we arranged a meeting. It was certainly positive, but we had the sense to part early and postpone earnest negotiations until the next morning. In the cold light of day and reality, we determined to be good friends and nothing more.

This encounter taught me powerfully and swiftly much about myself that I could not have learned under normal circumstances. Furthermore, I have nothing but respect for the way our minds and emotions carry us through cyberspace romance, even at the risk of being turned temporarily into endorphin-drugged, lovesick adolescents. Not all of us regard the opportunity to meet new friends in cyberspace as a “one-way ticket to a life as a shut-in.”

NANCY L. BERMAN

Van Nuys

Regarding “Hard Drives” by James Fallows, I would like to dispute his claim that computers are time wast-. . . .

Excuse me! Darn this font. I wonder if it would look better in 12 point. Let’s see--what’s taking this thing so long? Must be my SMARTDRV configuration in my AUTOEXEC.BAT. Damn! Wait a minute--should I go into DOS from Windows?

Gotta go . . . .

JUAN CARLOS COTO

Los Angeles