Mei-Lin Chau grew up in a quiet, suburban neighborhood where the kids played outside until dusk and nobody locked their doors. But Chau longed for the excitement of the big city. No one understood her desire for the fast moving, bright light culture, and in this isolation, Chau became a bit of a technophile, spending all of her free time learning the ins and outs of computers. She taught herself basic programming, and by age 16 she was already involved in the "Haxor" scene of computer hackers and techno-modifications.