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Thursday, August 28. 2008Hacking the real world
Hacking has traditionally been an activity whereby people tried to break into computer systems and networks. They either did this with malice(to steal credit card information) or good intentions(to improve the security of the system or to lean how it works). The former spawning the term black hat and the latter spawning the term white hat. Hacking initially started with phone phreaking and went via the era of Kevin Mitnick to the script kiddies of today. Kevin Mitnick himself by the way went from a hacker who was imprisoned to a well respected security consultant and speaker with probably the world's coolest business card pictured above.
Hackers were brought to us through such cinematic gems as 'The Net' and 'Hackers.' The former should be especially entertaining if watched now. Ever notice how the movies and TV always seem to get computers wrong? Look at this nails on the blackboard cringing clip from CSI New York for a good example. Of course there were good hacker movies too, such as the impeccable true to life portrayal presented in War Games. Despite this computer hacking culture is very much alive and well today present in such awesome things as the Black Hat Conferences.
The term hacking is now however under threat. From all sides it is being stretched into all directions much like Oprah's pants. Sites, such as LifeHacker give you tips on how to make your life more efficient. Other sites show you how to hack every day objects such as coke machines. Hacking is now turning into a term that means, “experimenting playfully with technology.” It is becoming a synonym for make. Even though many “hacking sites” now talk about Hacking Furby rather than the intricacies of computer security the spirit of hacking is still alive in them. A curious group of pioneers exploring, learning about and experimenting with new technology: hacking if you will.
People are even hacking Ikea, with this niche instructional post Hack-a-Lack, a tool for people who have to put together a lot of Ikea Lack tables. A World of Warcraft treadmill, so you walk as much as your avatar walks anyone? The original hardware lifehacker was of course MacGyver and here is a complete list of problems solved by MacGyver, oh wikipedia font of knowledge will you never cease to amaze me. (via Kottke.org) Ever wanted a touch screen PSP? Or want to see a Roomba being controlled by a Wii balance board? Photo credit: Nathan Y under Creative Commons share alike. Comments
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Hi,
fun post! Especially the CSI bit  I would like to add that the mix up started with the fact that there are actually two phenomena that are often mixed up: - Hacking, the "art" of slapping code together - Cracking, the well euhmmm of getting access to computers without permission The first is now being extended to other domains than the computer domain. The confusion starts when media started to confuse hackers (coders) with crackers. Peter
You have the dichotomy in use of the word 'hacking' down, but the order is off. Originally the term was applied in the general sense of tinkering, especially with technology, but later was misunderstood by the media and thus general public as applying only to "breaking in" to computers. While an artful break-in may be termed "hacking", the vast majority of computer security breaches are not and the usage of the term by those such as LifeHacker is in fact more appropriate to the original meaning.
More details at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hack_(technology_slang) and http://www.catb.org/jargon/html/H/hacker.html Sincerely, eMansipater
eMansipater, thanx for that!
Yeah, I guess hacking really meant "artful" and perhaps what people in the "make" community are doing now is more true to "hacking's" origins than the 80's depection of hackers in movies. |
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