Hacking: the only way to be
The quotation in the title is from "Floating Anarchy,[ the only way to be] " from Planet Gong but just a few of you (dasnake? :) could get that.
BTW, here Codejunkie talks hacking and why we do it (Why mod your PSP?) and here, on the contrary, some dude from (some) Locksmiths Association explains us (thanks pal!) how evil is the hobby of lockpicking and assure us they're going to stop that kind of dangerous time waste.
[ "if you can't open it", CC licensed picture by genista ]
Some thinks after the jump!
So, in the codejunkie article the hacker describes some aspects of modding your PSP (or whatever else, it doesn't matter).
Principles
When you buy yourself a Ford Mustang, you can put in any seat covers you like, not just what Ford tells you; this seems obvious, but in electronics the vendors are increasingly locking you down. The public at large tends not to care since it is but a small thing, and they're getting used to it. But taken in the light of your car, it would be intolerable.
The essence of it is .. if you've bought something and fully own it, you can do to it what you like pretty much.
Practical
Sony artificilaly limits some aspects of the system, to be pricks. Consider -- video playback is low resolution and low quality, unless it is from officially purchased UMD videos.
Practical things
You can run homebrew, which is to say .. people release free applicatons, be they games, utilities or whatever, all the time. With the official firmware, you cannot run these. Sony is anal. This is the main treat ..
From the second article:
Hobbyists say they broadcast these feats to challenge lock makers to improve their designs.
Many professional locksmiths see it otherwise, arguing that hobbyists could be training thieves.
"This is a skill that can do a lot of harm," says Paul Bentley,
president of the Association of Ontario Locksmiths. "That's why we kind
of protect it."
If you wonder about the motto "if you can't open, you don't own it", here you can get a glue.