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Hardware Hacking
The authors' explanations of many of the terms and concepts used in the book are very good. For example, the description of "power" on page 20 is the best description of the term that I've ever heard or read. From first-hand experience trying to explain this concept to others I wish I'd known such a lucid explanation -- it explained the concept much better than longer, dryer text would have.
Another positive point to this book is the pace and order of the book. It starts with part one, which is an overview of working with hardware; part two is a collection of hacks that one can do on different devices. If, like me, you never really did any thing with the Atari, you could skip those chapters and still proceed with the book. This book is easy to carry because there the authors frequently provide directions to other resources rather than trying to cram everything into this one book.
Like I said, I'm not too interested in Atari hacking, but the idea presented in this book (in an Atari-centric context) for a standard power connector is good for other things too. This is one of the biggest strengths of this book: The examples themselves are highly specific, but the thinking behind them can easily be generalized.
The first part of the book briefly explores tools that are going to be used later in the hacks and how to use them. However I found it a bit odd that the authors tell you to use a heat gun and heat-shrink tubing, but do not list these items in the tools section.
The fun really begins in part two with the actual hardware hacking. I have never really done anything with hardware before. It seems like whenever I took something apart I could never get it back again, and that those times that I did get something back it would never quite work as it should again. Those experiences have taught me to not mess with things I shouldn't and, this is why I think it's great that part two begins with the ubiquitous and cheap CueCat. I had a couple of these lying around and didn't really care about them so I jumped right in, following the many clear explanatory photos.
Starting with something like this gave me the confidence that I can take stuff apart, and if I'm careful, it will go back again.
The order of chapters seemed a bit odd in part two, though. A book must be arranged in some type of order, and my gut feeling is that it should be by order of difficulty. The second part started off great, going over tools and then the CueCat, but then it seems like the chapters that follow are tossed in at random. This could be from my lack of hardware experience, or that the chapters were designed to be random. This fact really didn't distract from anything though. Just don't expect a linear progression.
I was able to appreciate the integration between the hardware and the software. Hardware Hacking also goes over the software side of the hardware involved.
One of the areas I wish they had given more attention to was in the chapter on the Macintosh where they are hacking a CRT monitor. I believe that the safety warning should probably be a bit bolder, especially considering the earlier, prominent advice about static energy and grounding.
The authors have used part three as a technical reference, including some frank talk about Linux vs. Windows in chapter six. Sure, many people like Linux better, however you have to take into consideration who will be using the system. In a system the whole family uses, it has to be user-friendly enough for the whole family to use.
If changing hardware to better suit your needs sounds like something you would like to try, but you don't know how and are worried about what might happen, then this book may just be able to convince you go for it, along with enough information to make your next warranty-voiding attempt a success.
You can purchase Hardware Hacking from bn.com. Slashdot welcomes readers' book reviews -- to see your own review here, read the book review guidelines, then visit the submission page.
I might just have to pick it up and brush up on my electronics skills. I'm sure it would come in handy someday.
Well.. maybe. Or Maybe not. But Definitely not sort of.
You do not need to be an electrical engineer to understand how computer hardware works
I'm sorry, but that's just bull. Sure, you may attain some elementary level knowledge about hardware without a good solid educational foundation (some-thing on the level of Tom's Hardware), but you will never understand the low-level functions, optimizations and important design decisions without it.
Come on, I know you're trying to sell a book here, but lets not openly lie (like some).
Sample chapter here if you're interested (.pdf). That's Joe's intro chapter. I did the HTPC chapter (the Linux vs. Windows Chapter 6 mentioned.) :)
this review needs more specific info on the different hacks
Work * Time
Yup, that's an elusive one all right.
Here's a great hack for fixing a broken mouse
Tcd004
If for nothing else, this book is good because the authors mention heat shrink tubing. Good lord do I hate electrical tape. As a "tool" it's a shitty one.
.. same book, but reviewed by someone different. I didn't read today's review and I'm too lazy to do a search (Slashdot's search engine sucks), but wasn't this same book reviewed by someone else not too long ago?
But you're right, it is a pretty big leap to expect people to grasp what the "heat gun" does...
When I saw the word "hacking" in the title, I should have guessed Kevin Mitnick would be involved in some way :)
While it's always good to learn some of the basics, the real hardware hackers have a drive that most people don't have. You have to be willing to break a few things beyond repair while making mods. Also, the creativity of some of the hardware hacks I've seen is outstanding. You can't learn the truely unique hardware hacks from a book. The unique ideas are often the hardest part.
--
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Like I said, I'm not too interested in Atari hacking,
Who wants to hack an Atari. They are so hard to come buy that if you screw it up you'll be kicking yourself for months. Trust me, I know.
Evolution or ID?
'in order to make it "heat"'
Should of course be: 'in order to make it "shrink"'.
Another positive point to this book is the pace and order of the book. It starts with part one,...
That struck me as kind of funny. I'd hope that all books start out that way. God help us when books start at part two.
I seen his name, instinctivley picked the book up, and read a few chapters, spent nearly an hour leaned up against the shelf and Barnes and Noble. I guess they have chairs there for a reason...
It's a pretty good read, but it's not quite for the 'Tech TV' crowd, it's actually kind of advanced and detailed.
Hardware hacking of all kinds is cool, but as I more intimately familiar with mechanical engineering and know that I have to take electrical engineering courses beginning next year perhaps this book will help. Can anyone second the review?
An Education is the Font of All Liberty
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/1932 266836
From what I heard, this book came out right before O'Reilly's did and they're sufficiently different to own both.
I had to take a shower after handling this book at my friendly Bookstar, so dirty I felt just from reading these recipes for being an ILLEGAL COPYRIGHT and PATENT violating criminal! I see nothing but wicked intructions on violating the legally and rightly conferred DMCA rights of the benevolent corporations of this country. I will be referring this unholy tome to the proper authorities so that this matter is handled promptly.
A review should tell me why I might want this book; this review did not.
If all this should have a reason, we would be the last to know.
/. is now featuring Paris Hilton pr0n
then I read the Article, and all hopes were dashed. Thanks alot :(.
This book has appeared before!
Who screwed up?
It's bad enough bad stories get posted and good ones get filtered, but repeats shouldn't get posted, either.
Thanks to Blaine for the no-nonsense review. It's nice to hear people's thoughts without being sugar-coated.
:)
For what it's worth, the full title of the book is "Hardware Hacking: Have Fun While Voiding Your Warranty".
As for the real mindset of a (hardware) hacker, true, that cannot be taught. But, it doesn't mean that more mainstream readers are not curious about tinkering with hardware. Getting people to think outside of what they are normally taught is the important thing and hopefully they'll benefit from the book.
I wanted to try and include something for everybody in this book. So, the introductory EE, coding, and OS chapters are for people who might not have a sense of those things (to tell you the truth, I use the EE chapter, which I wrote, as a reference guide all the time). The hacks range from easy (changing the LED in a Macintosh mouse or Atari 7800 Power indicator) to complex (Marcus Brown's Playstation 2 Independence Day hack). And, there's a wide range of hardware to play with, too.
I'd like to think there is something for everyone (well, almost everyone). You don't have to have extreme hardware skills or have an engineering degree to enjoy the book and rip your products apart. The worst you can do is break something, but that's part of the fun!
Joe
PS - PDFs of the TOC, Foreword, and Introduction can be found here.
How much did Kevin contribute or did they put his name on it for a % of the cut - just to help sell the book?
It's not the first time a publisher adds someone's name as "sales bait". (e.g., he wrote the intro?)
But is there a chapter on Hacking your dead badger linux box?
I know, I know, I brought it up again... So kill my karma.
I've been a long time OS tech, working my way up since the days of DOS and BBS's, etc. After I took a 6 month course in the basics of electronics and TV/VCR/Computer repair back in the early 90's I've found that diagnosing and/or understanding how the underlying hardware works helps greatly. I'd definately recommend to all you puter techs out there to learn the basics of electronics, if it be via this book or a cheap course at the local CC. (of course my best advise for aspiring techs is to learn the scientific method and good troubleshooting skills)
Jonah Hex
Horror & SciFi Erotic Nudes
He looked at me, pointed at a chip and said "See that? Those cost $100 apiece. I have 4 of them, and they take 3 weeks to order. I can't afford to blow it up." And went back to his work.
I always remembered that as the best demonstration of the difference between hardware geeks and software geeks. Software geeks abide by neither the laws of physics nor economics.
www.HearMySoulSpeak.com
he died in afghanistan, not iraq. moron.
bush sucks, kerry in 04!
So which Atari hacking are we talking about? Arcade PCBs, 2600s, home computers, Atari Calculators, Atari UNIX boxes [!]. what?
Regarding hardware hacking in general, I think one of the best ways to get started is with a BASIC Stamp, like from parallax. It really lets you expore the interface between software and hardware.
I kind of wish the review gave me a better feel for the book. I'm getting better in my hardware, but I'm not beyond a good textbook to lean on for some things.
Totally positive review. Only a small area or two which says, "...odd...". Aside from that, there's nothing negative about the book. Why is that? Is the book perfect? Is the reviewer out of their realm and isn't qualified to review it?
I'm leery of any reviews which are completely positive. A reviewer should sit down and make a list of topics they expect should be in a book based upon what's presented on the book's cover and introduction. How high|low should the skill level be? How about themes|elements in each project? Even if it's cheesy; e.g., [Title]stuff [Goal] stuff [Hardware Needed: stuff, [Steps] stuff, [Testing] stuff, Confirming it works [suff], Debugging stuff. What types of topics (book level) should be covered? Are the topics [which are] presented progressive - i.e., do the have the things everyone learned in Freshman Comp: a beginning, a middle, an end? Are the topics consistent with an expected skill level? To be blunt, the review sucks. There's nothing to truly indicate whether I'd be willing spend my money on this book.
From the Publisher:
Which makes me ask, is there a chapter on your potential liability under the DMCA? --
Drinkers Purgatory
Only Women Bleed (Sex, Sharia remix)
Will this book be banned under the DMCA? Will the author be held without trial or media attention? Will the new European DMCA laws mean even Europe can't read it? find out in next weeks exciting episode of "When Fucking Corporate Asswipes Dictate Stupid Laws to Corrupt Senators!"
This comment does not represent the views or opinions of the user.
Problem with wetware hacking is if you screw up? You're so FUCKED. Screw up your hardware, you're just out the money, and the gadget.
I suddenly have this mental image of Wile E. Coyote standing over an open monitor, covered in black soot, smoke swirling off of his head...
Proud neuron in the Slashdot hivemind since 2002.
My favorite site when it comes to learning debugging, software or hardware.
"I always remembered that as the best demonstration of the difference between hardware geeks and software geeks. Software geeks abide by neither the laws of physics nor economics."
Oh I don't know. One can always write books about the consequences. That's abiding by the laws of economics. But basically you understand the basis of the whole "if skyscrapers were built like software..." metaphor.
Check this out some time: XGameStation.
This may have been posted to Slashdot before, but it is worth bringing up again since its been at the "Pre-Orders Coming Soon!" stage to quite some time now.
This is Andre LaMothe's little project (little?), that when it comes to fruition will be a bad-assed tutorial on not only hacking together your own computer but all the neat programming that goes into getting it up and running as a fully functional console game system.
Anyway, I can't wait to get my hands on one (not that my apartment floor is an ideal workspace to build one), so hopefully the more eyeballs that go to the site will perhaps play a small part in getting the very ambitious project out the door.
I guess, the book reviewed here will be a great way to gain a foothold on the skill necessary for the XGameStation.
Thanks for the calm, rational and respectful reply. Did more research. Turns out that, at least as far as Sony is concerned, the presence of a "mod chip" is not necessary to allege a violation of the DMCA. Indeed, as noted by Prof. David S. Touretzky at Carnegie Mellon University, merely publishing information aiding circumvention of a copyright protection or management system can cause Sony to assert a DMCA claim:
Victor Matsuda, Vice President, Entertainment Robot America, Sony Electronics Inc. stated in his letter of October 24, 2001:
This leads to the obvious question. Will Sony assert that the book Hardware Hacking violates the DMCA? Think this isn't possible? Then consider when HP used the DMCA to quash a vulnerability publication.
Only Women Bleed (Sex, Sharia remix)
..the quote you have to love.
I'd *love* to see a nice, step by step explination as to how to mod my PS2, speaking of hacking. As is, I had to ship it to a guy who did it (and he did a perfect job putting in a DMS3 chip), but I would've liked to be able to do it myself. As is, there's virtually no information on how to solder those little tiny connections yourself out on the web that I could find.
if this is the book im thinking of, it will tell you how to hack a "furby". pretty slick. turn your furby into funzo!
|plastic....or gasoline?|
this from amazon.co.uk:
"Hacking in this sense refers to modifying these devices to perform in a manner not originally intended; not compromising the security of the devices"
shame that Amazon assume that people will immediately read "Hacking" as "Cracking"
Ummm.. how the hell did the "Linux vs. Windows" argument come up in this book? It's called "Hardware Hacking", not "Typical OS-related Arguments"...
Am I the only one getting sick of hearing about "Mac OS vs. Windows" or "Linux vs. Windows" constantly, with the same old, dry, overused points being stated over and over? *sigh*...
Had the author's name been Paris instead of Blaine then the title would have a completely different meaning....
Four year olds can use Linux easily. But Windows frustrates four year olds as much as the rest of us. I sincerely hope this chapter discloses this hard truth...
And now I wait to be modded -1, Troll...
How am I supposed to fit a pithy, relevant quote into 120 characters?
he was just another sheeple
eat shiat and bark at the moon
REAL men didn't have shrink tubing or heat guns, no sir! WE had to skin badgers with our teeth, use that, wrap it around the circuitry, then hold our hands in active lava tubes for it to cure!
And we LIKED it!
When you list a multimeter as a tool for "Hardcore hardware hackers only", well that when my interest for the book drops from 5 to 0.
I've often noted that it's only relatively wealthy people like JS Mill - who don't have to fight in the wars themselves - that say stuff like that. Think it's just a coincidence?
...wearing a skin-tight topless leather jumpsuit, with cutaway buttocks and transparent crotch panel.
is this lamented personality, for the benefit of clueless Australians who can't be bothered googling the phrase and dealing with the increasingly crappy news sites?
Real stupidity beats artificial intelligence every time.
-- Terry Pratchett, Hogfather
To be honest, I quickly skimed the writeup because I was in a rush to see if I could manage to get a fp. At least I didn't troll. I was actually suprised I wasn't modded down. In any case its not the best review. I also went down to B&N and reviewed the book myself. Its not good. The Cue cat is "hacked" to remove the unique identifier. The Atartis are "Hacked" to modify their controllers ( 2600 is rotated 90 for lefties, they modify a nintendo (NES) controller to work with it, make a 5200 paddle wheel, and replace a red led with a blue one. Other chapters are equally disapointing. The one on Tivo replacements is a simple myth tv howto and a section on doing the same on windows. The Terrabyte drive was by far the coolest hack, but I wouldnt' consider it very cool simply because of the high cost of the supplies. For some unknown reason the last chapters are on Operating system archetecture ( where they reveal that drivers are used to control hardware!) and an intro to programming (variables are used to store data in memory!). Craptacular. On the front their is a quote from mitnik that makes absolutely no sense he's quoted to the effect "If I had this book ten years ago, the FBI never would have caught me". WTF? Was he captured using the UID of the Cue Cat? Or maybe it was because he couldn't use the right handed 2600 controler! So unless you want to build a terrabyte firewire raid drive, I wouldn't reccomend it.
Well.. maybe. Or Maybe not. But Definitely not sort of.
Whether you agree with the war in Iraq or not (for the record, I was in the US Army once myself and I do not support the war), the invasion of Afghanistan was based on solid evidence of terrorist activity and was approved by the UN BEFORE we invaded.
All that aside, you really can't help but respect a man who decides that he can make a personal contribution to something that he believes in and then does it with no interviews to the press explaining his decision or expectation of personal gain, indeed, he wound up giving up everything for that.
I'd like to see you have the balls to make that kind of a decision.
1 is a cool number. who doesn't want to be #1? I admit it is childish, but you know if we all acted like adults .... well, I don't know what would happen, but I would predict it would be something not as cool as whatever it is like when we don't all act like adults. Thats for sure. Speaking of which why does everyone call it the first post? I thought this was a place for computer nerds! it should be zeroith post!
Well.. maybe. Or Maybe not. But Definitely not sort of.
Electrical Engineer? I wasn't aware that my computer had any household wiring in it. Perhaps you mean Electronics Engineer? ;)
biopowered.co.uk - catalytically cracking triglycerides for home automotive use since 2008. Just say no to big oil!
It really doesn't matter.
I picked up the book recently and was disappointed by it. It really doesn't provide the indepth knowledge anyone would be looking for.
All in all I would say if you never touched electronics before, then go for this book. If not, your just gonna take it back like I did.
"Imagination is the only weapon in the war against reality." -Jules de Gautier
Im so sick of answering that question when i lable things these days.. i just shug and say
"i felt like it"
You have 5 Moderator Points!
Which Helpless Linux zealot/MS basher do you want to mod down today?
War, what is it good for?
Teaching American Geography.
You have 5 Moderator Points!
Which Helpless Linux zealot/MS basher do you want to mod down today?
The only not family friendly is your ignorance in setting up a linux box. Tonight I saw a black rolls royce. Then I realised it had the "LINUX Live Free or Die" license plate on the front. I was astounded. I will likely not ever use MS product for the remaining duration of my life. Some of you crow about the USA K-12 being so bad. MS does its part to keep the USA dumb as a brick consumer society -like the dweeb who wrote this article. Somebody buy him a tractor, a grease gun, and some Craftsman tools.
If you hate them, do it properly and hate them fully.