Slashdot Mirror
Hardware Hacking In The WSJ
NaDrew writes "The Wall Street Journal has an interesting piece called "So Your Roomba Vacuums ... Does It Also Take Pictures?" (No reg. req.), profiling a couple of hardware hackers. Phillip Torrone has modified a laptop-brained robot to follow his Segway, which he is modifying to follow a pink ball. He's also modded his Roomba with a built-in Webcam. The article goes into a bit of the history of hardware hacking, from the CueCat to Andrew 'Bunnie' Huang's Xbox hacks."
He hacks apart Segways because he has the money. I hack my TuneCast FM transmitter, that certainly puts things in perspective.
I could only dream of OWNING a Segway (which is awesome to ride if you have never done so) and he risks destroying them.
I do a search on the article, and it doesn't mention spying, big brother or anything like that. Paranoia, paranoid and such aren't mentioned either. So where do you get this stuff?
So you haven't read the article. Not that I expect slashdotters to do that. Don't dismiss the article because of what articles might have gone before. It is actually a pretty positive article, not that you'd know, because you didn't read it.
The article even has a nice picture of a wok skimmer operating as a parabolic antenna.
These people do not act on behalf of a 'hacker community', they do stuff because they want to. Are you seriously suggesting that someone somewhere should stop their hobby because you are afraid it will somehow, lord knows how, reflect indirectly on _you_?
To be honest, to the extent that there _is_ a 'hacker community' to which you belong, it's more likely to be given a bad image by Slashdot postings from tinfoil hatted eccentrics with extreme self-image issues.
Whence? Hence. Whither? Thither.
Juvenile? I can see the valid point, pretty much everyone wants privacy, but I think the hardware hackers have done a very good job of differenciating themselves from the negitive images of software hackers (specifically crackers) and the prankster images like revenge of the nerds.
People are facinated with hardware hacking, and that's the first step in preventing the legions of tin foil hats from marching. There's a string of books out there on the subject, a few magizines on modding, and its poping up on TV. Combine that with the intenet and you've got a new sensation.
The analogy is heavily used but todays electronics geeks and hardware hackers are a side step from the car tuners of previous generations. Just about anyone can associtate with that.
What do you define as a "greater purpose?" Can't someone hack a Big Mouth Billy Bob Bass Singing Fish just for fun? Do you not appreciate hacking for the sheer joy of it?
Consider some of the shows that are popular on TV these days. Shows like Orange County Choppers, This Old House or Curb Appeal. (OK, popular may be a strong term, but they do have a following.) Even Trading Spaces is about people modifying everyday objects for artistic or even frivolous reasons. Although though none of those shows are about "computer" hackers, they're all about hacking everyday objects into new and interesting forms. I'd say hardware hacking has gone mainstream, even though most people might not call it that.
I personally consider this form of hacking to be an art form. It may not be "art" in the "hang-on-the-wall-in-a-gallery" sense, but art has always been defined by the artist (and to a lesser degree the patron) and not necessarily by Webster. I think there's already plenty of greater purpose here, and I don't think this is as off-putting to as many people as you might think.
John
Come on, the guy is hacking for the joy of it. So he comes up with a cool toy. What if in his hacking he comes up with an idea that can be turned into a prosthetic arm control for the handicapped? Or a bomb-disposal robot, or a street sweeper, or perhaps even a Roomba with enough suction to actually clean a part of the house instead of rearranging the dust?
And you even admit it would be funny to watch. Cut him some slack, he's not hurting anyone, and it's his time to spend how he wants.
John
I'm a bit confused. Why do people that mod their vacuums reflect negatively on you? Of course it's another thing if they're breaking into the IRS or something, because most people don't distinguish crackers from hackers.
"...altered the hardware to such an extent that paranoia regarding the hardware is necessary."
What extent would that be? You're modding it yourself. Why in the world should you be scared then? Only a scriptkiddie wouldn't know what's going on inside his own "creation".
"...hackers in general become more and more externalized from society."
Right, because only a hacker can look at a Roomba that takes pictures and think "Hey, that's pretty neat."
What pranks were discussed? In the article they talk about guys that bypassed intrusive marketing schemes, put a lock on a refrigerator (a very cool one at that), and made a profit undercutting prices on drives that a company was making a killing on. Where are the sophomoric pranks (also the cams in sororities)?