Hacking is a lifestyle

December 15, 2006 on 12:07 pm | In Computing |

Hacking is a lifestyle and I dare to say it’s the lifestyle of the future. Please note that by “hacking” I am not talking of somebody breaking into a computer system to commit a crime, I consider those people to be “crackers”.

Why is hacking the lifestyle of the future? On the one hand, because it’s a political attitude. Somebody has to question technology in the hand of governments if we want to make sure democracy is using technology and not the other way round. On the other hand, hacking can simply be fun and creat a vast field of rich ideas on what to do with a tool. Currently, the Wii controler is a perfect example.

Within days, the Wii remote has become a craze. My friend Genox considers to buy one even though he has no Wii gamestation; he just wants to bring it to game partys, store his avatar on it, etc. I assume Nintendo has really triggered a craze here that will cash into their pockets.

However, according to a story in Wired News, hackers have found ways to put other uses into the cool Wii controller; now it can be used as a lightsaber, as a drumstick, and a gamepad to play Halflife 2.

I sure hope Nintendo isn’t going to pull anybody to the court and let the phenomenon spread. Millions will have fun with this and Nintendo will enjoy looking at its sales figure.