Also, this is another "right time right place" story - his code wasn't just good, it was one of the few solutions at the time. Had he tried to do it a few years after that, I doubt the results would have been the same.
Why would bad things happen due to that? Are there roving gangs of thieves desperately searching the internet for the addresses of people to rob?
I really doubt things have much in this regard, and one likely could do this just as easily (and with the same relative safety) as in the past. OTOH, it tends to be far less useful/necessary now.
Almost all types of crime are down. Crimes towards a kid (if people even knew that) included.
The news has made you afraid. There is nothing to worry about that they tell you to worry about.
There are problems in the world: the vast majority are avoidable with some care and a bit of thought.
Nowadays you'd just get some kids on the internet explaining how them using your product for free is doing you a favor, "exposure" and the such.
> "Had he tried to do it a few years after that, I doubt the results would have been the same."
Isn't that besides the point? The point seems to be that there is always an ache that needs to be filled - often not needing a great deal of technical ability, just product insight.
If he came around a few years later, there'd be just as many things computer users wanted solved.
She got money to the tune of 6-figures by asking people to buy her music if they liked it.
Take home message: if you want to build consumer products and make money, target adults, not teenagers.
Back in 1999 when I first started using AOL, adults would always ask young people for help. Most adults didn't see the value in it, and kids didn't need to see the value in it. The result was a very young population of people using the internet.
Most people over the age of 50, even after 15 years are still so far behind people 30 an younger.
This "right time" exists always and forever, in history and the future. There will never be a lack of problems to solve for money. In hindsight, it's all easy and obvious.