Hardware hacker
Encyclopedia
In home computing, a hacker is a person who heavily modifies the software or hardware of their own computer system. It includes building, rebuilding, modifying, and creating software (software cracking
, demo scene) or electronic hardware
(hardware hacking, modding
), either to make it better, faster, to give it added features or to make it do something it was never intended to do. Hobby home computer hacking originated around the MITS Altair.
Internet
capabilities to a number of vending machine
s and coffee makers
during the late 1980s and early 1990s.
Hackers who have the ability to write circuit-level code, device driver
s, firmware
, low-level networking, (and even more impressively, using these techniques to make devices do things outside of their spec sheets), are typically in very high regard among hacker communities. This is primarily due to the difficulty and enormous complexity of this type of work, and the electrical engineering knowledge required to do so.
Hardware
hacking can consist of either making new hardware
, or simply modifying existing hardware (known as "modding"). Real hardware hackers perform novel
and perhaps dangerous modifications to hardware, to make it suit their needs or simply to test the limits of what can be done with certain hardware.
by hacking on technology
as an artistic medium
. Such artist
s may work with graphics
, computer hardware
, sculpture
, music
and other audio
, animation
, video
, software, simulation
s, mathematics
, reactive sensory
systems, text, poetry
, literature
, or any combination thereof.
Dartmouth College
musician Larry Polansky states: "Technology and art are inextricably related. Many musicians, video artists, graphic artists, and even poets who work with technology—whether designing it or using it—consider themselves to be part of the 'hacker community.' Computer artists, like non-art hackers, often find themselves on society’s fringes, developing strange, innovative uses of existing technology. There is an empathetic relationship between those, for example, who design experimental music software and hackers who write communications freeware
."
Another description is offered by Jenny Marketou: "Hacker artists operate as culture
hackers who manipulate existing techno-semiotic
structures towards a different end, to get inside cultural systems on the net and make them do things they were never intended to do."
A successful software and hardware hacker artist is Mark Lottor (mkl), who has created the 3-D light art projects entitled the Cubatron, and the Big Round Cubatron. This art is made using custom computer technology, with specially designed circuit boards and programming for microprocessor
chips to manipulate the LED
lights.
Don Hopkins
is a software hacker artist well-known for his artistic cellular automata. This art, created by a cellular automata computer program, generates objects which randomly bump into each other and in turn create more objects and designs, similar to a lava lamp, except that the parts change color and form through interaction. Says Hopkins, "Cellular automata are simple rules that are applied to a grid of cells, or the pixel values of an image. The same rule is applied to every cell, to determine its next state, based on the previous state of that cell and its neighboring cells. There are many interesting cellular automata rules, and they all look very different, with amazing animated dynamic effects. 'Life
' is a widely known cellular automata rule, but many other lesser known rules are much more interesting."
Some hacker artists create art by writing computer code, and others, by developing hardware. Some create with existing software tools such as Adobe Photoshop
or GIMP.
The creative process of hacker artists can be more abstract than artists using non-technological media. For example, mathematician
s have produced visually stunning graphic presentations of fractal
s, which hackers have further enhanced, often producing detailed and intricate graphics and animations from simple mathematical formulas.
Software cracking
Software cracking is the modification of software to remove or disable features which are considered undesirable by the person cracking the software, usually related to protection methods: copy protection, trial/demo version, serial number, hardware key, date checks, CD check or software annoyances...
, demo scene) or electronic hardware
Electronic hardware
Electronic hardware refers to interconnected electronic components which perform analog and/or logic operations on received and locally stored information to produce as output and/or store resulting new information and/or to provide control for output actuator mechanisms.Electronic hardware can...
(hardware hacking, modding
Modding
Modding is a slang expression that is derived from the verb "modify". Modding refers to the act of modifying a piece of hardware or software or anything else for that matter, to perform a function not originally conceived or intended by the designer...
), either to make it better, faster, to give it added features or to make it do something it was never intended to do. Hobby home computer hacking originated around the MITS Altair.
Hardware modifier
Hardware hackers are those who modify hardware (not limited to computers) to expand capabilities; this group blurs into the culture of hobbyist inventors and professional electronics engineering. A sample of such modification includes the addition of TCP/IPInternet protocol suite
The Internet protocol suite is the set of communications protocols used for the Internet and other similar networks. It is commonly known as TCP/IP from its most important protocols: Transmission Control Protocol and Internet Protocol , which were the first networking protocols defined in this...
Internet
Internet
The Internet is a global system of interconnected computer networks that use the standard Internet protocol suite to serve billions of users worldwide...
capabilities to a number of vending machine
Vending machine
A vending machine is a machine which dispenses items such as snacks, beverages, alcohol, cigarettes, lottery tickets, consumer products and even gold and gems to customers automatically, after the customer inserts currency or credit into the machine....
s and coffee makers
Coffeemaker
Coffeemakers or coffee machines are cooking appliances used to brew coffee without having to boil water in a separate container. While there are many different types of coffeemakers using a number of different brewing principles, in the most common devices, coffee grounds are placed in a paper or...
during the late 1980s and early 1990s.
Hackers who have the ability to write circuit-level code, device driver
Device driver
In computing, a device driver or software driver is a computer program allowing higher-level computer programs to interact with a hardware device....
s, firmware
Firmware
In electronic systems and computing, firmware is a term often used to denote the fixed, usually rather small, programs and/or data structures that internally control various electronic devices...
, low-level networking, (and even more impressively, using these techniques to make devices do things outside of their spec sheets), are typically in very high regard among hacker communities. This is primarily due to the difficulty and enormous complexity of this type of work, and the electrical engineering knowledge required to do so.
Hardware
Hardware
Hardware is a general term for equipment such as keys, locks, hinges, latches, handles, wire, chains, plumbing supplies, tools, utensils, cutlery and machine parts. Household hardware is typically sold in hardware stores....
hacking can consist of either making new hardware
Hardware
Hardware is a general term for equipment such as keys, locks, hinges, latches, handles, wire, chains, plumbing supplies, tools, utensils, cutlery and machine parts. Household hardware is typically sold in hardware stores....
, or simply modifying existing hardware (known as "modding"). Real hardware hackers perform novel
Novel
A novel is a book of long narrative in literary prose. The genre has historical roots both in the fields of the medieval and early modern romance and in the tradition of the novella. The latter supplied the present generic term in the late 18th century....
and perhaps dangerous modifications to hardware, to make it suit their needs or simply to test the limits of what can be done with certain hardware.
Hacker artists
Hacker artists create artArt
Art is the product or process of deliberately arranging items in a way that influences and affects one or more of the senses, emotions, and intellect....
by hacking on technology
Technology
Technology is the making, usage, and knowledge of tools, machines, techniques, crafts, systems or methods of organization in order to solve a problem or perform a specific function. It can also refer to the collection of such tools, machinery, and procedures. The word technology comes ;...
as an artistic medium
Media (arts)
In the arts, a media or medium is a material used by an artist or designer to create a work.-Architecture:In the art and science of architecture, the design and construction of buildings and interiors, infrastructure and other physical structures are created...
. Such artist
Artist
An artist is a person engaged in one or more of any of a broad spectrum of activities related to creating art, practicing the arts and/or demonstrating an art. The common usage in both everyday speech and academic discourse is a practitioner in the visual arts only...
s may work with graphics
Graphics
Graphics are visual presentations on some surface, such as a wall, canvas, computer screen, paper, or stone to brand, inform, illustrate, or entertain. Examples are photographs, drawings, Line Art, graphs, diagrams, typography, numbers, symbols, geometric designs, maps, engineering drawings,or...
, computer hardware
Computer hardware
Personal computer hardware are component devices which are typically installed into or peripheral to a computer case to create a personal computer upon which system software is installed including a firmware interface such as a BIOS and an operating system which supports application software that...
, sculpture
Sculpture
Sculpture is three-dimensional artwork created by shaping or combining hard materials—typically stone such as marble—or metal, glass, or wood. Softer materials can also be used, such as clay, textiles, plastics, polymers and softer metals...
, music
Music
Music is an art form whose medium is sound and silence. Its common elements are pitch , rhythm , dynamics, and the sonic qualities of timbre and texture...
and other audio
Sound
Sound is a mechanical wave that is an oscillation of pressure transmitted through a solid, liquid, or gas, composed of frequencies within the range of hearing and of a level sufficiently strong to be heard, or the sensation stimulated in organs of hearing by such vibrations.-Propagation of...
, animation
Animation
Animation is the rapid display of a sequence of images of 2-D or 3-D artwork or model positions in order to create an illusion of movement. The effect is an optical illusion of motion due to the phenomenon of persistence of vision, and can be created and demonstrated in several ways...
, video
Video
Video is the technology of electronically capturing, recording, processing, storing, transmitting, and reconstructing a sequence of still images representing scenes in motion.- History :...
, software, simulation
Simulation
Simulation is the imitation of some real thing available, state of affairs, or process. The act of simulating something generally entails representing certain key characteristics or behaviours of a selected physical or abstract system....
s, mathematics
Mathematics
Mathematics is the study of quantity, space, structure, and change. Mathematicians seek out patterns and formulate new conjectures. Mathematicians resolve the truth or falsity of conjectures by mathematical proofs, which are arguments sufficient to convince other mathematicians of their validity...
, reactive sensory
Sense
Senses are physiological capacities of organisms that provide inputs for perception. The senses and their operation, classification, and theory are overlapping topics studied by a variety of fields, most notably neuroscience, cognitive psychology , and philosophy of perception...
systems, text, poetry
Poetry
Poetry is a form of literary art in which language is used for its aesthetic and evocative qualities in addition to, or in lieu of, its apparent meaning...
, literature
Literature
Literature is the art of written works, and is not bound to published sources...
, or any combination thereof.
Dartmouth College
Dartmouth College
Dartmouth College is a private, Ivy League university in Hanover, New Hampshire, United States. The institution comprises a liberal arts college, Dartmouth Medical School, Thayer School of Engineering, and the Tuck School of Business, as well as 19 graduate programs in the arts and sciences...
musician Larry Polansky states: "Technology and art are inextricably related. Many musicians, video artists, graphic artists, and even poets who work with technology—whether designing it or using it—consider themselves to be part of the 'hacker community.' Computer artists, like non-art hackers, often find themselves on society’s fringes, developing strange, innovative uses of existing technology. There is an empathetic relationship between those, for example, who design experimental music software and hackers who write communications freeware
Freeware
Freeware is computer software that is available for use at no cost or for an optional fee, but usually with one or more restricted usage rights. Freeware is in contrast to commercial software, which is typically sold for profit, but might be distributed for a business or commercial purpose in the...
."
Another description is offered by Jenny Marketou: "Hacker artists operate as culture
Culture
Culture is a term that has many different inter-related meanings. For example, in 1952, Alfred Kroeber and Clyde Kluckhohn compiled a list of 164 definitions of "culture" in Culture: A Critical Review of Concepts and Definitions...
hackers who manipulate existing techno-semiotic
Semiotics
Semiotics, also called semiotic studies or semiology, is the study of signs and sign processes , indication, designation, likeness, analogy, metaphor, symbolism, signification, and communication...
structures towards a different end, to get inside cultural systems on the net and make them do things they were never intended to do."
A successful software and hardware hacker artist is Mark Lottor (mkl), who has created the 3-D light art projects entitled the Cubatron, and the Big Round Cubatron. This art is made using custom computer technology, with specially designed circuit boards and programming for microprocessor
Microprocessor
A microprocessor incorporates the functions of a computer's central processing unit on a single integrated circuit, or at most a few integrated circuits. It is a multipurpose, programmable device that accepts digital data as input, processes it according to instructions stored in its memory, and...
chips to manipulate the LED
LEd
LEd is a TeX/LaTeX editing software working under Microsoft Windows. It is a freeware product....
lights.
Don Hopkins
Don Hopkins
Don Hopkins is an artist and programmer specializing in human computer interaction and computer graphics.He inspired Richard Stallman, who described him as a "very imaginative fellow", to use the term copyleft. He coined Deep Crack as the name of the EFF DES cracker, and built "AJAXian"...
is a software hacker artist well-known for his artistic cellular automata. This art, created by a cellular automata computer program, generates objects which randomly bump into each other and in turn create more objects and designs, similar to a lava lamp, except that the parts change color and form through interaction. Says Hopkins, "Cellular automata are simple rules that are applied to a grid of cells, or the pixel values of an image. The same rule is applied to every cell, to determine its next state, based on the previous state of that cell and its neighboring cells. There are many interesting cellular automata rules, and they all look very different, with amazing animated dynamic effects. 'Life
Conway's Game of Life
The Game of Life, also known simply as Life, is a cellular automaton devised by the British mathematician John Horton Conway in 1970....
' is a widely known cellular automata rule, but many other lesser known rules are much more interesting."
Some hacker artists create art by writing computer code, and others, by developing hardware. Some create with existing software tools such as Adobe Photoshop
Adobe Photoshop
Adobe Photoshop is a graphics editing program developed and published by Adobe Systems Incorporated.Adobe's 2003 "Creative Suite" rebranding led to Adobe Photoshop 8's renaming to Adobe Photoshop CS. Thus, Adobe Photoshop CS5 is the 12th major release of Adobe Photoshop...
or GIMP.
The creative process of hacker artists can be more abstract than artists using non-technological media. For example, mathematician
Mathematician
A mathematician is a person whose primary area of study is the field of mathematics. Mathematicians are concerned with quantity, structure, space, and change....
s have produced visually stunning graphic presentations of fractal
Fractal
A fractal has been defined as "a rough or fragmented geometric shape that can be split into parts, each of which is a reduced-size copy of the whole," a property called self-similarity...
s, which hackers have further enhanced, often producing detailed and intricate graphics and animations from simple mathematical formulas.
See also
- Firmware upgrading
- Operating system swapping
- ElectronicsElectronicsElectronics is the branch of science, engineering and technology that deals with electrical circuits involving active electrical components such as vacuum tubes, transistors, diodes and integrated circuits, and associated passive interconnection technologies...
- Case moddingCase moddingCase modification is the modification of a computer chassis , or a video game console chassis. Modifying a computer case in any non-standard way is considered a case mod...
- Make (magazine)Make (magazine)Make is an American quarterly magazine published by O'Reilly Media which focuses on do it yourself and/or DIWO projects involving computers, electronics, robotics, metalworking, woodworking and other disciplines...
- Blue boxBlue boxAn early phreaking tool, the blue box is an electronic device that simulates a telephone operator's dialing console. It functioned by replicating the tones used to switch long-distance calls and using them to route the user's own call, bypassing the normal switching mechanism...
- OverclockingOverclockingOverclocking is the process of operating a computer component at a higher clock rate than it was designed for or was specified by the manufacturer, but some manufacturers purposely underclock their components to improve battery life. Many people just overclock or 'rightclock' their hardware to...
- Art.NetArt.NetArt.Net is a non-profit web-based artist collective of more than 450 artists, poets, musicians, painters, sculptors, animators, hacker artists, and other creative people from around the world, aimed at helping artists share their works on the World Wide Web...
- Burning Man Festival
- Computer artComputer artComputer art is any art in which computers play a role in production or display of the artwork. Such art can be an image, sound, animation, video, CD-ROM, DVD-ROM, videogame, web site, algorithm, performance or gallery installation...
- Computer musicComputer musicComputer music is a term that was originally used within academia to describe a field of study relating to the applications of computing technology in music composition; particularly that stemming from the Western art music tradition...
- Digital artDigital artDigital art is a general term for a range of artistic works and practices that use digital technology as an essential part of the creative and/or presentation process...
- DemosceneDemosceneThe demoscene is a computer art subculture that specializes in producing demos, which are non-interactive audio-visual presentations that run in real-time on a computer...
- Electronic artElectronic artElectronic art is a form of art that makes use of electronic media or, more broadly, refers to technology and/or electronic media. It is related to information art, new media art, video art, digital art, interactive art, internet art, and electronic music...
- Electronic art music
- ElectronicaElectronicaElectronica includes a wide range of contemporary electronic music designed for a wide range of uses, including foreground listening, some forms of dancing, and background music for other activities; however, unlike electronic dance music, it is not specifically made for dancing...
- Experiments in Art and Technology
- Generative artGenerative artGenerative art refers to art that has been generated, composed, or constructed in an algorithmic manner through the use of systems defined by computer software algorithms, or similar mathematical or mechanical or randomised autonomous processes....
- Internet artInternet artInternet art is a form of digital artwork distributed via the Internet. This form of art has circumvented the traditional dominance of the gallery and museum system, delivering aesthetic experiences via the Internet. In many cases, the viewer is drawn into some kind of interaction with the work...
- Robotic artRobotic artRobotic art is a broad term that encompasses a variety of sub-types of art, all of which employ some form of robotic or automated technology.Robotic installation art unifies Installation art and robotic technologies insofar as the works and installations often employ computers, sensors, actuators...
- Software artSoftware artSoftware art refers to works of art where the creation of software, or concepts from software, play an important role; for example software applications which were created by artists and which were intended as artworks. As an artistic discipline software art has attained growing attention since the...
Hacker Artists
- Don HopkinsDon HopkinsDon Hopkins is an artist and programmer specializing in human computer interaction and computer graphics.He inspired Richard Stallman, who described him as a "very imaginative fellow", to use the term copyleft. He coined Deep Crack as the name of the EFF DES cracker, and built "AJAXian"...
- web site - studio - Steve MannSteve MannSteven Mann , is a tenured professor at the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering at the University of Toronto.-Education:...
- web site - Pamela ZPamela ZPamela Z is an American composer, performer, and audio artist who works primarily with her voice and live electronic processing.-Music career:...
- web site - Karl SimsKarl SimsKarl Sims is a computer graphics artist and researcher, who is best known for using particle systems and artificial life in computer animation....
- web site - Richard StallmanRichard StallmanRichard Matthew Stallman , often shortened to rms,"'Richard Stallman' is just my mundane name; you can call me 'rms'"|last= Stallman|first= Richard|date= N.D.|work=Richard Stallman's homepage...
(rms) - web site - Brad TempletonBrad TempletonBrad Templeton is a software architect, civil rights advocate and entrepreneur. He graduated from the University of Waterloo....
- web site - Leonard H. Tower Jr.Leonard H. Tower Jr.Leonard "Len" H. Tower Jr. is a free software activist and one of the founding board members of the Free Software Foundation,where he contributed to the initial releases of gcc and GNU diff. He left the Free Software Foundation in 1997....
- studio
Hacker Artists
- Strata Chalup
- Lile Elam - studio
- Ed Falk
- Stig Hackvan
- Samia Halaby
- Chris Hull (nozefngr)
- Craig Latta
- Mark Lottor (mkl)
- Paul Slocum
- Ed Stastny
- Star (Heather Stern)
Hacker Art Projects
- Cellular Automata by Don Hopkins
- Genetic Art at Steike.Com
- More Genetic Art at Steike.Com
- Evolved Virtual Creatures
- Aural Gratification Ring
- Cubatron Cube 3D Light Sculpture
- Big Round Cubatron Round 3D Light Sculpture
- SITOSITOSITO is an online artist collective which began in January 1993, making it one of the oldest Internet-based art organizations. It was started by Ed Stastny and has been maintained by Stastny and a group of volunteers and supporters...
's Synergy / Gridcosm - SITOSITOSITO is an online artist collective which began in January 1993, making it one of the oldest Internet-based art organizations. It was started by Ed Stastny and has been maintained by Stastny and a group of volunteers and supporters...
's Synergy / Hygrid - SITOSITOSITO is an online artist collective which began in January 1993, making it one of the oldest Internet-based art organizations. It was started by Ed Stastny and has been maintained by Stastny and a group of volunteers and supporters...
's Synergy / Panic
Hacker Art Web sites
- Hacker Art
- Hacker Artists Studios on Art.NetArt.NetArt.Net is a non-profit web-based artist collective of more than 450 artists, poets, musicians, painters, sculptors, animators, hacker artists, and other creative people from around the world, aimed at helping artists share their works on the World Wide Web...
- Gallery of Computation
- Music.Yahoo.Com: The Hacker Artist
- Rhizome.Org Connecting Art & Technology
Hacker Art Mentions
- Ars Electronica Festival Archive "Vector in Open Space" by Gerfried Stocker 1996.
- Switch|Journal Jun 14 1998.
- Eye Weekly "Tag -- who's it?" by Ingrid Hein, July 16, 1998.
- Linux Today "Playing the Open Source Game" by Shawn Hargreaves, Jul 5, 1999.
- Canterbury Christ Church University Library Resources by Subject - Art & Design, 2001.
- SuperCollider Workshop / Seminar Joel Ryan describes collaboration with hacker artists of Silicon Valley. 21 March, 2002
- Anthony Barker's Weblog on Linux, Technology and the Economy "Why Geeks Love Linux", Sept 2003.
- Live Art Research Gesture and Response in Field-Based Performance by Sha Xin Wei & Satinder Gill, 2005.
- Cool Web Page Tools "Color Sequencer" by Paul Slocum, July 2005.