bgrier
on - last edited on by
ElizabethS
The term(s) have several related meanings in the technology and computer science fields, wherein a "hack" may refer to a clever or quick fix to a computer program problem, or to what may be perceived to be a clumsy or inelegant (but usually relatively quick) solution to a problem, such as a "kludge".
The terms "hack" and "hacking" are also used to refer to a modification of a program or device to give the user access to features that were otherwise unavailable, such as by circuit bending. It is from this usage that the term "hacking" is often used to refer to more nefarious criminal uses such as identity theft, credit card fraud or other actions categorized as computer crime.
So, we have a framework for the term ‘hack’, we understand it, let’s explore it.
In my case, I”ve always been looking for ways to do things with what I had ...or enhance the functionality beyond what the designers intend.
Part of it is me taking a look at things in a new way -- it could be something simple as using that inexpensive green velcro plant tie strips on my technology to keep cables tidy. Cheaper than the retail ‘cable ties’ you can buy, and just as effective.
Another simple one I mentioned earlier was this use of a photo tripod as an iPad stand. Since I carry the tripod with me everywhere anyway, why carry a stand when this will do the trick?
Software and firmware hacks -- these are riskier, as you could ‘brick’ your hardware (brick - the result of a bad hack that renders your expensive hardware inoperative -- a brick). The most famous of these recently was the one-click iPhone Jailbreak:
On August 1, 2010, Comex released the first publicly available jailbreak for the iPhone 4 (and all other iDevices except all first gen iDevices) called JailbreakMe 2.0 (also known as 'Star'), the jailbreak is downloaded and activated by visiting a web page (JailbreakMe.com) on the device's web browser. The jailbreak is applied onto the iOS device right from within the Safari browser.
But firmware hacking has a long tradition including PDAs, mobile phone platforms, video games and mobile game devices.
Ultimately, the goal of hardware hacking is to get more use out of your device be it converting one functanother another (tripod/iPad stand) or ‘enhancing’ functionality increasing the hard drive size on your original Xbox and adding Xbox Media Centre software to it.
One of the more interesting sites I've seen is hackaday.com -- and yes, they have some pretty involved or esoteric hacks.
So what’s the coolest hack you’ve done recently? The iPad stand still wins for me 
