Hardware Hacking for Geeks Author: Scott Fullam Pages: 331 Publisher: O'Reilly ISBN: 0-596-00314-5 Summary: A collection of fun and zany projects for the geek-at-heart Review Date: 27 May, 2004

Hardware Hacking Projects for Geeks, another in the enjoyable O'Reilly Hacks Series would likely appeal to anyone who as a kid took something apart, just to 'see how it works'. It's a book that encourages tinkering, experimentation, and a zeal to 'improve' the everyday gadgets and appliances that surround us.

The bulk of the book consists of 15 projects ranging from the useful (portable laptop power supplies) to the, well, interesting (automobile periscope). Each project includes a bill of materials, full schematics when applicable, and detailed instructions for completing the project. Often, each project will have a section near the end outlining ways to 'hack the hack', or ways to extend the ideas presented in each project. Also found is a list of useful resources that may be helpful during the course of the project. The first part of the book covers tools you might need, and a whirlwind tour of schematic symbols.

My only real complaint with Hardware Hacking is that it often glosses over details. In other words, if you don't have a degree in electrical engineering, you may find yourself scratching your head at some points in the book saying, "so how really am I supposed to get from step A to step B?" A lot of the details for some products (talking toys for example) are very specific to the exact model the author was working with, and without prior experience, one could easily become lost when trying it out on their own talking toy.

Despite that shortcoming I see the book as appealing to both the novice and the experienced. For the novice, the book is good 'imagination-fodder' to inspire experimentation with the everyday appliances and gadgets around us, and a good starting point for further learning. For the experienced, the book will serve as a good 'technical guide' for working with the various technologies covered. At any rate, the book does have a lot of good technical information, and offers pointers to numerous helpful resources for your own projects.

For myself, I found that many of the projects in the book just weren't 'useful' enough to me to justify the expense of pursuing any of them, or perhaps I just haven't found the need yet in my life for a building-size display, or a set of RC cars that play laser tag. Perhaps I'm just not geek enough. But it was a fun read nonetheless. O'Reilly does have a new title coming out in August of 2004, called Home Hacking Projects for Geeks, which looks a little more 'practical'. Must be my better half rubbing off on me :-).

Here's a list of the hacks found in the book:

• Portable Laptop Power Supply (a big chunk of batteries)
• An aquarium in a Mac Classic
• Hacking 802.11b Antennas (Go get Building Wireless Community Networks or Wireless Hacks instead if you're really interested in this stuff.
• PC Water-Cooling System (for all you over-clockers)
• Hacking a Furby and other talking toys
• A video Periscope for your car
• Building a DVR
• Building a building-size display
• Cubicle intrusion detection system (some folks are _really_ paranoid)
• Internet toaster
• Home Arcade Machine (the wonders of Mame)
• Remote Object Tracker
• RC Car Laser Tag
• Wearable Computers (if you're looking to build one, this chapter has lots of good info).
• Internet Coffeemaker

Overall Rating: 7/10