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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Abstruse" data-source="post: 6158274" data-attributes="member: 6669048">Actually, they're covered in 4th Edition too, where wireless was introduced. It's not explicitly stated, but it's HEAVILY implied that a lot of the storage on commlinks is actually in the cloud. On top of that, the very function of a commlink is supposed to be closer to our modern day cell phones. Imagine that your cell phone also doubled as your ID, your bank card, your driver's license, your badge to get in/out of the office, etc. Now put it in Airplane Mode and see exactly how much you'd actually be able to do with it.And I'm making an assumption here that you yourself are not a hacker or a computer security professional. Otherwise I wouldn't need to explain the horrific vulnerabilities cell phones tend to have - especially Android phones that aren't updated regularly (and when was the last time you updated the firmware on your phone?) But have you personally ever had your phone hacked? Not like those Facebook "LOL I hackd U! <3" posts, but actually had the security of your phone compromised by someone with malicious intent? Probably not, so you don't worry about it. Because only people who really follow the current exploits and read the code are able to do it, and those people are few and far between (I'm sure as hell not one of them, and I've worked IT for the Department of Homeland Security). So most people in the 2070s world don't even pay attention and assume that their automatically updated Aztechnology-Norton Firewall v4.2 is going to protect them so long as their subscription fee is paid up.Oh god yes. Well, not skinlinks as even I don't remember those (unless you're talking about induction datajacks or trodes...maybe you're thinking Cyberpunk 2020?), but datajacks actually came back in a big way in SR5 compared to SR4A. There's an issue with wireless called Noise. It can be a variety of things - usually just the same stuff that prevents you from using your phone now, like thick walls, being too close to an in-use microwave, spotty coverage due to hills/buildings, too many people on the network. Add in problems like Spam Zones (imagine walking through a shopping mall where every single store and card has a pop-up ad for their most recent sale and all of them come up as soon as you're within 20m...that's a Spam Zone). Noise acts as a dice penalty on Matrix actions. On top of that, the device you may be trying to hack may be slaved to a stronger host/server/commlink. Either of these are a good example of why you would WANT a direct connection when trying to hack. Here's an example.HALO XXII's pre-launch is on Thursday at midnight, so you've cased out the Stuffer Shack to try to steal their shipment from the back room and beat them on the black market (netting a very good mark-up over retail for the people who couldn't wait a fraggin' DAY to play it). All you have to do is get past one maglock and the storage room is yours. So you try to remotely access it (in case the cameras are around) and find out that the McHugh's next door decided that 3AM was the PERFECT time to pre-nuke that morning's soysausage biscuits. So you grumble to yourself as you walk over closer to the lock. When you examine it on the Matrix, you see that it's slaved to the store's central computer, even though it's a cheap lock just meant to keep out the thrillgangers. So you pull out your universal cable and directly plug your deck into the lock. No more Noise, no more server, you just have to brute force the lock. Looks like Christmas is coming early for a pallet full of nerds on the black market!</blockquote>

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