That is terrible logic. That's like saying that because people break the law, we need to break the law to show them their ignorance. Firesheep is thus a hypocritical tool - demonstrate to people that their information is easy to get by stealing it and making the tool available. Yes, let's protect people's information by making the tool easily and readily accessible for everyone.
You’re right about one thing; this is all about user ignorance. But your understanding of my logic is flawed. Firesheep is good as a “thing” because it raises awareness; the simple fact that it allows anyone to do payload inspection out of a web browser indicates a deeper underlying issue. If anything, it’s about the nature of socially constructed understanding rather than a technology limitation, it just happens to use technology as a delivery method. I think the technologist sees this viewpoint.
As for you 6string, bravo, the TheAntiM indeed implies Anti-Mac. Before you quickly jump to label me (as I have done with many users), you need to understand my dislike for Mac/Apple has formed over many years of working with the technology and the people! Call me a purest, but I’ve watched the technology grow from a workhorse developed with a niche target market, running on an advanced platform (POWER), to a withering GUI orientated system. The modern day mac is designed to do nothing more than capture market share from a population of users that cannot see beyond the desktop. Apple spends most of their time developing UI improvements and packaging to meet this population rather than the essence of what real technology innovation is about. This is clear as day in the typical MAC (PC) vrs Windows (PC) argument is which focuses on aqua vrs Desktop Windows Manager (BTW for all those fanboys reading this MAC IS A PC, MAC HAS ALWAYS BEEN A PC, if you believe otherwise you’ve been brain washed by the marketing machine that is Apple). As for the people, I don’t have to go into detail about fanboys and other forms of ignorant users, who will blindly defend the platform without understanding both the underlying technology and the competitors’ products or innovations (one cannot truly claim to understand any phenomena in the world when viewing it from a single lens). Another side of the people element is a little more personal, as a purist and technologist; I have particular expectation of my peers, which in my experience with many so called “mac experts” and members of the “professional service” teams has been dismal at best.
With all that aside, there are many valid use cases for mac. I do know of many educated Apple users (however none are purely Apple users) who have a specific requirement to use a mac.