OK, here goes: 1. computer programming -- what a program looks like (e.g., structured text), the difference between source and object code (and the erosion of the difference), how computers execute code (i.e., by making copies), the difference between executibles and data (and the erosion of the difference); open source v closed; benefits of and barriers to interoperability in a market characterized by path dependency and network effects. 2. the internet -- it's a language (TCP/IP), not a network; the layers; end-to-end; it's not just the Web; how the basic apps work (email, IM, web, P2P, VOIP); where ISPs fit 3. crypto, the foundation of everything -- public key, private key, use for privacy, use for lockdown 4. mal-ware, a taxonomy -- viruses, trojans, worms, spyware, zombies and the differences between them (and why the white hats and black hats depend on the same techniques). I think O'Reilly has a great book about this. 5. Application of concepts: how do you know what your machine is doing? how does Hollywood know what your machine is doing? the "trusted computing" problem 6. Application of concepts: reverse engineering for interoperability (bnetd)