Our Hack to School sweepstakes is in full swing. Check out a few of our favorites submitted so far here:
1. Taking a photo instead of notes of the whiteboard is faster and easier to share with classmates too
2. Use egg cartons to protect your legs from the heat of your laptop
3. Increase your font size by 2 or 3 depending on the length of the essay could save half a page or more of text
4. Use a sticky note’s sticky edge to remove dust from between the keyboard keys
5. Use a paperclip to eject a disc from a CD player when it’s off or broken
Hacks don’t have to be “bad.” Hacks can be smart ways to improve your life. A few of my favorites are simple things like clipping your keyboard wires with an office clip to tidy up your desk, or bending an expansion slot over to make a hanger for your headset on your cubical wall.
Hacking on TV
Another great show with hacking is Mr. Robot. I recommend watching a few episodes. They are actually doing a pretty good job explaining security and technology. While it’s not a perfect depiction, it’s been the closest to the principles of the hacker culture seen in media.
Hacking in Movies
Some movies have attempted and failed when it comes to grasping the nature of hacking. Movies, like the Net, Hackers, and recently Black Hat, often show weird login screens and strange interfaces that are more an attempt of the director to relay the Hacking experience to the big screen rather than anything else. While these aren’t the best examples, they do bring hacking to the front page and help people understand what it’s about.
Hacking in the News
Today, hacking is often portrayed as being on par with terrorism, usually with the classic image of a guy with a ski mask typing on a laptop. While its roots where simply getting access to networks and often cracking security systems for games and devices. Many of those simple hacks back in the day were to make free phone calls or get access to telephone test systems.
What’s Your Personal Experience with Life Hacks?
What hacks have you done that you’re proud of? Remember to keep it legal. If you have a great idea, we hope you entered it into our Hack to School contest. Voting starts 8/6/2015. Hack the planet.
