Daring Fireball blogger John Gruber has been among the most vocal critics of the alleged Wi-Fi hack perpetrated by Dave Maynor and Jon Ellch. Being the upright fellow that he is, Gruber has offered to put his money where his mouth is: if Maynor and Ellch can hack a brand new, out of the box MacBook, then the notebook is theirs to keep. If not, they pay the price of the computer.
The terms of the bet include a number of clauses, such as not allowing the hackers to install extra hardware or software, the entire operation being videotaped, and the default state of the machine. The hackers will be allowed to keep their method secret. The challenge will be decided by whether or not the hackers can delete a file that Gruber creates on the desktop. If the hackers manage to crash the login session or machine, the contest will be a draw, with Gruber keeping the computer and Maynor and Ellch not having to pay for it.
Gruber admits that he doesn’t expect to lose the bet because he doesn’t expect Maynor and Ellch to respond—not because they don’t have the guts, but because they simply can’t do the hack. I think Gruber’s right—if Maynor and Ellch have in fact discovered a viable exploit, then this bet is a sure thing for them; they have nothing to lose, and a brand new MacBook to gain.
