Hardware Hacking Have Fun While Voiding Your Warranty
Book Review
Hardware Hacking
Have Fun While Voiding Your Warranty
Book Review
 By
Dale Farris, Vice PresidentGolden Triangle PC Club December 2004 General Overview Amorette Pedersen, Vice President of Rights and Marketing, Syngress Publishing, said of "Hardware Hacking," "This book has something for everyone---from the beginner hobbyist with no electronics or coding experience to the self-proclaimed "gadget geek." It shows readers how to take an ordinary piece of equipment and turn it into a personal work of art and how to build upon an existing idea to create something better." The book has been written by true hackers, and it speaks mostly to the class of hacks that address the need to adapt and improve on existing consumer solutions. Readers are cautioned to remember there is no guarantee of any kind, expressed or implied, regarding this book or its contents. In no event will the authors or the publisher be liable to readers for damages, including any loss of profits, lost savings, or other incidental or consequential damages arising out from the book or its contents. Also, readers are reminded that because some states do not allow the exclusion or limitation of liability for consequential or incidental damages, these limitations may not apply. You should always use reasonable care, including backup and other appropriate precautions, when working with computers, networks, data, and files. Hardware hacking today has hit the mainstream market, and computer stores now sell accessories to customize your desktop PC. Web sites are popping up like unemployed stock brokers to show off the latest hacks. This book has organized numerous nifty hacks classified into 4 categories, including personalization and customization, adding functionality, capacity or performance increase, and defeating protection and security mechanisms. For the hacks discussed, all the information you will need is in the book, and if a topic is not covered in intimate detail, the book includes references to other materials that do. If you just want to do the hack without worrying about the underlying theory behind it, you can do that, and the step-by-step sections include pictures and "how to" instruction. The details are in separate sections that you can skip right over and get to the fun part -- voiding your warranty! Readers are warned that these hacks will indeed void your warranty with whatever device is covered in the hack. If you are not willing to void the warranty on the device, then do not proceed to follow these instructions. You are reminded that once you void your warranty, you cannot send your hacked device to the factory for official repairs, because once you void the warranty, you own the device forever, whether the hack works or not. Hacks Discussed in the Book Don't toss your iPod away when the battery dies! Don't pay Apple the $99 to replace it! Install a new iPod battery yourself without Apple's "help." An Apple a day! Modify a standard Apple USB Mouse into a glowing UFO Mouse or build a FireWire terabyte hard drive and custom case. Have you played Atari today? Create an arcade-style Atari 5200 paddle controller for your favorite retro videogames or transform the Atari 2600 joystick into one that can be used by left-handed players. Modern game systems, too! Hack your PlayStation 2 to boot code from the memory card or modify your PlayStation 2 for homebrew game development. Videophiles unite! Design, build, and configure your own Windows- or Linux-based Home Theater PC. Ride the airwaves! Modify a wireless PCMCIA NIC to include an external antenna connector or load Linux onto your Access Point. Stick it to The Man! Remove the proprietary barcode encoding from your CueCat and turn it into a regular barcode reader. Hack your Palm! Upgrade the available RAM on your Palm m505 from 8MB to 16MB. Why hack? Joe Grand, lead author says, "It's a state-of-mind. For a lot of folks, it's snubbing authority. For others, it's a way to add a personal touch to usually impersonal technology." Table of Contents The fifteen (15) chapters are organized in three parts, and include the following titles. Part 1: Introduction to Hardware Hacking Ch 1: Tools of the Warranty Voiding Trade Ch 2: Electrical Engineering Basics Part 2: Hardware Hacks Ch 3: Declawing Your CueCat Ch 4: Case Modification: Building a Custom Terabyte FireWire Hard Drive Ch 5: Macintosh Ch 6: Home Theater PCs Ch 7: Hack Your Atari 2600 and 7800 Ch 8: Hack Your Atari 5200 and 8-Bit Computer Ch 9: Hacking the Playstation 2 Ch 10: Wireless 802.11 Hacks Ch 11: Hacking the iPod Ch 12: Can You Hear Me Now? Nokia 6210 Mobile Phone Modifications Ch 13: Upgrading Memory on Palm Devices Part 3: Hardware Hacking Technical Reference Ch 14: Operating Systems Overview Ch 15: Coding 101 Target Readers This is a fascinating, over-sized book that is filled with major hacks for various of today's computers and the more popular multimedia devices. The material assumes some degree of comfort with electronics and electrical engineering, although you do not of course have to be an electrical engineer to perform the hacks. You will need to be comfortable with working with integrated circuits, electrical assembly, soldering wires, and dis-assembling electronic devices. Of course, you will also need to be comfortable with possibly ruining beyond repair the discussed device, if you fail to successfully complete the described hacks. This is a highly specialized book that specifically targets a unique audience, namely those confident in their skills and abilities to follow the excellent hacking instructions and step-by-step "how to hack" photographs that are replete throughout this important book. Book Contents 576 pages; paperbound; acknowledgements; tons of close-up b/w photographs; tables; warning tips; need to know tips; figures; index Author and Technical Editor Joe Grand Featuring Kevin D. Mitnick Foreword by Andrew "bunnie" Huang Contributing Authors Lee Barken Marcus R. Brown Job de Haas Deborah Kaplan Bobby Kinstle Tom Owad Ryan Russell Albert Yarusso About the Author and Technical Editor Joe Grand is the co-author (with Ryan Russell) of "Stealing the Network," and the president and CEO of Grand Idea Studio, a product design and development firm that brings unique inventions to market through intellectual property licensing. Many of his creations, including consumer electronics, medical products, video games, and toys are sold worldwide. A recognized name in computer security and electrical engineering, Joe's pioneering research on product design and analysis, mobile devices, and digital forensics is published in various industry journals. Joe has testified before the U.S. Senate Governmental Affairs Committee on the state of government and homeland security, and is a former member of the legendary hacker think-tank., L0pht Heavy Industries. He has presented his work at numerous academic, industry, and private forums, including the U.S. Naval Post Graduate School Center for INFOSEC Studies and Research, the U.S. Air Force Office of Special Investigations, the USENIX Security Symposium, and the IBM Thomas J. Watson Research Center. Joe holds a BSCD from Boston University. Joe is the author of chapter 1, 2, 3, and 13 of the book. ISBN 2004 - First Edition 1-932266-83-6 List Price $39.95 $55.95 CAN About Syngress Publishing Syngress Publishing (www.syngress.com), headquartered in Rockland, Massachusetts, is an independent publisher of print and electronic reference materials for Information Technology professionals seeking skill enhancement and career advancement. Distributed throughout Europe, Asia, the U.S., and Canada, Syngress titles have been translated into twenty languages. The Company's pioneering customer support program, solutions@syngress.com, extends the value of every Syngress title with regular information updates and customer-driven author forums. Syngress books are distributed in the United States by O'Reilly & Associates. Amy Pedersen Syngress Publishing 800 Hingham Street Rockland, Massachusetts 02370 781-681-5151 amy@syngress.com About O'Reilly Media O'Reilly Media is the premier information source for leading-edge computer technologies. 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