It seems to me that one of the big points of contention with SR4 is the fate of our beloved "deckers". I've been a cyberpunk fan since I first picked up Neuromancer back in 84. BUT I am completely hooked on the concept of augmented reality. I've even written some cyberpunk short fiction where AR is a central theme.

It occurs to me we ned a compromise. A term to keep Deckers as the elite intrusions specialists that they are, while doing away with references to the old cyberdecks of yesteryear. And without reference to the controversial and atavistic term "hacker". (thats a can of worm i'll bet the design team didn't know they were opening.) so I suggest...

AUGERS

It alludes to Seers, as well as System penetration. And it encapsulates Augmented Reality as well.

Thoughts?

(edited)

Yeah. You should have put that bold tag the other way around.

If you ask me, I prefer the name Scrier.

But then, if it becomes Scrier, then I'll be looked upon as some noob who ripped his name straight from the book.

Also keep in-mind that hackers are supposedly the marriage between Deckers and Riggers (according to rumors, anyway).

So, in that spirit, how about Diggers or Reckers?

Or, if datajacks continue to be in use, how about Jackers?

Don't see why they would still use Datajacks.

Though I would like to see the Cyberdeck stay in usage, but it's more logical to have a wireless connection implant and proggies stored on that. Though a wireless connection from one's cyberdeck would be cool.

i don't see why they wouldn't still use datajacks. datajacks offer a cleaner, deeper, faster connection than trodes. trodes are dialup; datajacks are broadband.

Because the thing is wireless? They don't need a direct plug into their heads anymore.

just because everything uses wireless technology doesn't mean that everyone will have that technology installed as cyberware. i'm picturing a palm-sized wireless uplink unit that you plug into your datajack, and carry around in a pocket. or, hell, maybe a wireless plug that fits into your datajack.

I'm talking datamobiles, or celljacks, or mobilejacks, or datennas, or something. They will likely keep datajack though and just call them wireless datajacks like induction datajacks. <sigh>

Godmods, gridhacks, slicers, scanners, mentats, deviants, raiders, glitches

Freelance Admins?

Yeah, but we can use wireless technology for that now, in fact, that's already how pocsecs and such work.

If it didn't work such that the decker was broadcasting from within their head, there might as well be minimal difference.

I'd be expecting that if the matrix was going wireless, that there'd be some simsense advances to support the ability to transmit directly from internal headware.

I'm sure, but that doesn't mean most people will get them. Even if I could have a wirless datajack, I'd still route my 'trix connection through my pocket computer. It's easier to keep that SotA than an implanted one.

True, but if matrix abuse was my trade, I'd be rushing out to pick one up.

I wouldn't. What's the point? Wires give you security and reliability.

~J

Personally, I'd want to avoid the usage of the term "Hacker" if at all. Too much spammail generation from it. "Jackers" brings out the evil perv in me. I just think each group is gonna have their own term. Sounds kinda like a "matrix gang" thing to me anyway. Just look at the list of terms everyone here is coming up with and then think of all the other terms we've all seen/heard/used in our own games.

Why not just stick with "Users" for the games books. It reflects the attitudes of the people who "live in the 'trix" or "surf the 'net" (dare it to not be called addictive) and still reflects on what the people who "use the technology" really are. It's something we all are, how good our individual reps are is ultimately what might determine the actual "title" we come up with.

wires also keep you locked in one place. they also keep you from doing all the cool wireless stuff.

So where's the difference between that and beaming it into your headware? Other than connection, there really isn't a difference.

Ahh. Hadn't taken signal jamming of the matrix into account in this brave new world of wireless.

Remember, barrage jamming is just letting everyone know how much you love them.

~J

It's a brave new world of DDoS.

ahh, okay. i'm with kage, then--wired connection to wireless devices is the only christian way to access the Matrix.

Wow, the anti-computer folks will have a whole new ally in their insane struggle. The rating 6 signal jammer.

heh. after their shenanigans in 2065, i'm not sure how effective they'll be, anymore. they'll have cost a lot of people a lot of money--but not enough people enough money that there won't be plenty of corps left that will be more than happy to hunt the computer-blower-uppers down like dogs at every opportunity.

Yeah, but if you jam someone's signal, all you're doing is denying them a connection, you aren't breaking their wetware.

right, but a) jamming is painfully easy to triangulate, and b) anybody disrupting Matrix connectivity on nearly any scale is going to draw a lot of attention, especially after the massive disruption in 2065.

true, so you set them up on random timers across a city block. it'll take a long time to find them if you do it right.

i dunno. given the number of wireless devices running around, you should be able to pinpoint the jammer's location by just tacking failed connections on a map. you could put it in a vehicle, i suppose, but i'd imagine traffic cameras in 2070 have internal storage--once you pinpoint the jammer location to the carpool lane on 5th ave, you'd just have to find a traffic camera that was watching that sector and determine which vehicle was doing the jamming.

besides, Winternight--if that's who the terrorists were--doesn't seem interested in minor inconveniences. they basically did nothing to hamper the Matrix from the time they were introduced until 2065--and when they finally did act, it was a massive blow probably intended to end the Matrix completely.

I do hope it wasn't Winternight. Doomsday cults have a natural limit on the number of intelligent people they can have working for them, usually rather small.

~J

Winternight is different. it could be just one guy, for all we know--one guy controlling lots of other guys through the magic of BTL brainwashing. it doesn't need lots of smart people who are true believers; it just needs a few smart people who are adept with mind-influencing technology, who can then controll smart non-believers.

If you set out an array of smaller jammers, such that their area of jammed coverage would look the same as one large jammer, except triangulating would lead to nothing in the middle. That'd work.

that'd be... difficult. jammers work in a spherical radius. you'd have to put out enough jammers, equally spaced, that the edges of the spheres intersect closely enough to look like a single sphere. moreover, you'd have to space them vertically as well as horizontally, which would be difficult at best. moremoreover, all you'd have to do would be to monitor two recievers in the area, monitor their inputs for triangulation, and then use that to locate each jammer. slightly slower, but still relatively easy.

well, I wasn't talking of using them permanently, just for demonstrations, diversions, etc.

true.

Best use I ever had for a jammer was a compound that had auto-targeting guns and the guards wore Safetarget badges.

I did not see that

~J

Winternight? Dude that would so make my day, you have no idea...s'cuze me while I sit here and giggle...

actually, wireless-enabled clothing is a really cool idea. "not only is my shirt Armani, it adds 50Mp/s to my uplink speed!"

Augers...boring...there's a pun in there somewhere.

-Siege

wireless clothing...great now the idea of a long tail ski cap emblazoned with flames as someone's firewall is stuck in my head...