Over the years, I have enjoyed modifying many things to suit my needs. The term "hacking" typically means exactly that, to modify anything from it's original purpose in order to serve a new one. People tend to confuse hacking to mean other things.
Of course, there is the movie style hacker, banging away at his keyboard and mystically gaining access to top secret government sites in 3 seconds flat. While I can't say that it's impossible, the simple thought of what the hacker is doing is asinine. Firstly I would imagine that gaining access to high security data would take at least 4 seconds. Secondly, why the hell is he typing so much? There are many other times the term is used in vain, but that is not the point of this post.
The point is that hacking into something, tearing it apart and rebuilding it in a different way, can be a lot of fun. But what is the point? Why put so much effort into making a toaster that puts Darth Vader imprints on your toast? Why mess with anything to change what it's suppose to do?
The basic answer is simple.... because we can! Some of us just want to see if we can do it. We were the kids that took the watch or the toaster apart.... and never put them back together. The inner workings of everything around us never ceases to amaze us.
There are logical reasons for hacking things too. One reason is because we can add new features to something. People modify smart phone firmware in order to gain access to things that the manufacturer didn't want us to get to. We can create new interfaces that far surpass what is currently available to us. Smart phone manufacturers even seem to take notice and "magically" incorporate new features in the next model that were only previously available in older modified models.
We can also breath new life into an old machine and give it a new purpose. What was once an old laptop is now a multimedia server or a full featured firewall. An old payphone that serves no current purpose has been radically transformed into a fun retro interface to your Skype account. It beats adding more stuff to the landfill, right?
The great thing about the digital age is that anyone can perform these modifications, thanks to the vast communities of enthusiasts that provide walk-throughs, tips & tricks and even pre-made kits, in order to give everyone the opportunity to build what they built.
Today, hacking is starting to lose the villainous luster that it did in decades past. People are starting to understand the true underlying meaning of hacking and have become constructive and non-evil hackers themselves. If you have never truly modified anything you should really try it. It is fun, educational, exciting and gives you that great feeling of accomplishment once you're finished... after many hours of pure frustration and anger while you are trying to figure it out. In the end, even if you do fail, you won't be any worse off than when you started and you will probably better off in some way if you succeed.
