Gadgets getting transformed in hackers' hands
Ken Segler likes to fiddle with electronic gadgets in his
spare time. So when the i-opener promised Internet access without a
full-powered computer, he grabbed one and tinkered away.
Soon enough, he figured out how to add a hard drive for storage, turning the
$99 Internet appliance into a low-end computer that normally costs $1,000.
Segler posted instructions and sold upgrade kits over the Internet, earning
enough for a down payment on a home in Las Vegas. And he souped up six
more i-openers for himself. Now he can check e-mail and listen to digital
music from any room.
Segler is the digital era's version of the amateur mechanic. But instead of
souping up cars for power and show, he and his ilk prefer appliances that
depend on digital processors and software instructions.
With gadgets like game players and cell phones becoming more like
computers, Segler and other hobbyists aren't about to run out of targets.
"Everything I buy, I take apart," said Segler, 37, an electronics engineer by
profession. "It's fun. It's a hobby to me, an obsession."
Segler also took apart the CueCat, a mouselike device that links bar codes in
printed ads and catalogs with specialized Web pages.
Using an X-Acto knife, he disconnected a chip containing a serial number,
turning the free device into a regular bar code reader that he could use
without worrying about the potential for surveillance.
Other gadget enthusiasts have added storage space and high-speed Internet
connections to TiVo, a device that records television programs digitally onto
a hard disk for playback.
They have also tweaked displays for hand-held Palms and put new words
into Furby dolls' mouths. Questions of legality aside, they have altered game
machines and DVD players to bypass regional copyright controls, so that
discs from Japan work in the United States.
No matter that these alterations usually void warranties.
"If they can still receive the service, great for them," said Rebecca Baer, a
spokeswoman for TiVo. "If they can't ... it's their problem."
Jamie Shorey, a graduate student in electrical engineering at Duke University,
turned her 14-hour TiVo into a 91-hour one by adding a 60-gigabyte drive.
She and two roommates can now record shows all semester from a satellite
dish.
"Once you buy the product, it's yours," she said. "I should be able to add any
kind of part to it."
Such tinkering can have undesired consequences for manufacturers, however.
Netpliance Inc. sold the i-opener below cost and counted on recouping costs
through monthly Internet access fees. But by adding a hard drive, people like
Segler could choose a different access provider, depriving Netpliance of
revenue.
Gluing components
The company tried gluing on components to thwart such alterations, but
Segler said he bypassed it in 15 minutes.
Other companies decided not to bother fighting, treating hacking instead as a
source of cheap or free research.
Digital Convergence Corp., the distributor of the CueCat, is even launching a
Web site this month to encourage unofficial uses, such as cataloging CDs and
books through their bar codes or linking game cartridges with online cheat
sheets.
The company always assumed that hackers would try to alter the devices and
software, chief technology officer Doug Davis said, "and we decided we're
just not going to worry about that."
All the company is asking now, he said, is for hobbyists to limit alterations to
non-commercial uses.
Tinkering with gadgets is getting easier because manufacturers have turned to
standardized components as costs dropped, said John Gage, chief researcher
at Sun Microsystems Inc.
"Essentially, the cell phone, the Palm Pilot, the tape recorder and the video
camera are identical," Gage said. "They all have the same things inside them.
... This means I can change the functioning of what used to be a closed
world."
Manufacturers are also turning to common software platforms. In particular,
TiVo has been a popular target because it uses Linux, an open-source
operating system.
Cottage industry
A cottage industry has sprung up around unofficial upgrades.
For TiVo, 9th Tee Enterprises sells $385 storage-upgrade kits, complete
with screwdrivers. Souped-up units regularly appear on eBay. One site even
offers to do the work for $75, plus shipping.
David Beckemeyer added an Ethernet port to TiVo for high-speed Internet
connections. His techniques allow TiVo to obtain programming guides
without making phone calls. Some hobbyists are also trying to program their
TiVos from work.
"Ultimately, guys like me are all probably a sign of things to come,"
Beckemeyer said. Generally, he said, hackers come up with functions before
market demand justifies manufacturers adding them.
Having an Ethernet port could, for example, pave the way for file-sharing,
allowing TiVo users to find the "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" episode they
missed on the unit of another TiVo owner.
A California start-up called EnjoyWeb Inc. has developed ways to insert
software into TiVos and similar recording devices so that they can receive
shows on demand through the Internet.
Yangbin Wang, founder and chief executive of EnjoyWeb, said the company
would use it only with manufacturers it has partnered with and for content it
can legally distribute.
But he acknowledged that it would be simple for someone else to create
similar software.
Brad Hunt, chief technology officer for the Motion Picture Association of
America, said copyright holders are aware of the hacking potential and are
working with device manufacturers to improve protections.
Some hackers are already at work on ways to store TiVo files on compact
discs. Although they insist they only want to expand storage capacity for
personal use, the techniques could easily be adapted for piracy.
Such efforts, as well as suggestions for avoiding TiVo's subscription fees,
have been strongly denounced at TiVo underground bulletin boards for fear
the manufacturer would crack down on other hacks as well.
Beside self-restraint, imagination is the only limiting factor.
Digital Convergence's Davis links eight videocassette recorders with a
satellite system in his home, controlling taping from a computer. He's
exploring turning TiVo into a video security system.
EnjoyWeb's Wang knows of friends who, using low-power transmitters, are
able to view satellite TV on multiple sets in their homes without having to buy
more than one converter.
