The topic of hacking/jailbreaking has always been a fascinating subject for me. I've always been amused about the 'game' that is played between the hackers and the authorities. My curiosity led me to the point where I became a part of the hacker culture; not for profit, but rather knowledge. This course is all about the awareness and comprehension of the ever-growing new media, and the hacker culture definitely fits in that description. The certain concepts that we've discussed in this course like McLuhan's Medium Message, Borges' Labyrinth, and Burroughs' Cut-Ups all parallel with the hacker culture in that they're a part of the current medium that we knowingly or unknowingly live in. I am objectively approaching this topic from two specific sections: Mobile Phones Jailbreak and Video Game Modulators. I find these to be two of the most influential and fast-growing part of the hacker culture.
The main objective of this paper is to explore a minute, yet important part of the hacker culture. The essence of being a hacker is to always remain one step ahead of the authorities. As a sports fanatic, I link this towards the use of Performance Enhancing Drugs in major sports. Just like in hacking, the lawbreakers are always one step ahead of the authorities. When it comes to electronic lawbreaking, I always say that whatever security is created by a human will always be dismantled by another human. As a user of a jailbroken mobile phone, I got a first-hand glance at the immense levels of that particular part of the hacker culture. I learned about the benefits and side-effects of jailbreaks; and also about the methods of side-stepping the authorities. I've also been reading articles and speaking to first-hand users of modulated video game systems. I'm learning about the cons and pros of this action, as well as the step-by-step process in which it is achieved.
The concept of jailbreak and modulating are similar in that they are ways in which the public can circumvent the authorities while enhancing their product, illegally. In this paper, one of my goals is to discover the popularity of these sections of the hacker culture. As I’ve realized during the process of this course, there are a lot people unaware of certain aspects of the New Media. This led me to infer that the majority of current media users are uninformed about jailbreaking and modulating. Another goal I hope to achieve in this paper is to examine this topic from the side of the authorities. I’ve started compiling some articles about the steps that the authorities are taking towards enforcing laws against the hacker culture.
Some links:
No comments:
Post a Comment