Difference between Mods an Hacks

I pretty much agree, although I consider the EV a mod as the software is already in the system and is available in Japan and Europe.

I consider cutting the speed sensor wires a hack, as well as the NAV override in the 2004-2005.

 

The terms were borrowed from computer programmers, hackers, and gamers, who deam a mod as something that changes the base functionality, look, or feel of an object, be it hardware or software. a hack is often misunderstood by the public, and really is the act of using existing code bases with slight modification to create something new. a much more common distinction (but slightly different than above) between them is hacks are software based, and mods hardware based.

Thus here a hack should refer to an item that utilizes existing features to create a different experience (like the seat belt defeat, which only involves a complicated series of actions to engage, or the 04-05 nav override), and not apply to those actions that weren't designed into the car. a mod would definately include items like subs, rims, PHEV mods. The grey area exists where you have to add some hardware (physically change the experience) in order to access the built in features. examples of this are the speed sensor switch and the EV mod. both are mods in that you physicially change the vehicle, but hacks in that you are simply allowing certain existing functionalities to be accessed.

so for the complete list (of what i can remember) as i see it:

Hacks:
Nav Override
seat belt and reverse beep defeat
any other purely software related changes (no cutting wires, or adding components)

Mods:
Subs
Rims
Tinting
XM/Sirius
General speaker/sound system upgrades
roof racks
side moldings

Grey area:
speed sensor defeat
EV mod
always on power outlet

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(eagle33199 @ Aug 16 2006, 01:28 PM) [snapback]304208[/snapback]</div>

In software, there's also the connotation that a hack is something 1) quick and dirty, ie. not a professional job, and/or 2) changes the behavior of something in a manner not intended by the manufacturer (adding extra lives to a video game for instance, or overriding a safety feature, like the nav lock-out).
Otherwise I agree with your post.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(nerfer @ Aug 18 2006, 11:57 AM) [snapback]305392[/snapback]</div>

Yeah, i felt those generally fell under the "misunderstood by the public" heading... Many people see hacking as something dirty, illegal, or illegitemately gaining an edge over the competition in games... for the most part, this is actually cracking, not hacking. Most professional programmers (especially web developers) do a certain amount of hacking on a daily basis... some of it is quick and dirty (generally as an easy way of data mining information of your computer), but most of it is simply the reuse of code you've previously writen (if you did it well, then it's in a library-type format) to perform a function. Think about it: why reinvent the wheel everytime you need to drive to the store?

Personally, my code base at home is about 2 gigs worth of code and libraries written over the past 15+ years i've been coding... now, none if it is entirely that old (languages change, etc), but some of it does have it's roots back to code from the beginning, it's just on revision 1 billion by now :-p

 

A hack is pulling a signal by jamming a paper-clip in next to the pin
where it sits in the connector, and leading the wire straight up
across the dash to a sloppy breadboard. A mod is the same thing
but with a nice slit-n-tap connection, taped up and dressed neatly
back into the harness, the wire run along a nice non-abrasive
path under the dash, and going into a neatly packaged display device
that's fastened down in a sensible, non-sightline-intrusive way and
becomes a permanent part of your car.
.
Both things work, but the latter is probably less likely to short
out and explode. But that's a risk you take during proof-of-concept
development sometimes.
.
My car's pretty much had a mix of both ever since I got it.
.
_H*

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Green Speed @ Aug 18 2006, 04:54 PM) [snapback]305582[/snapback]</div>

Yeah, two gigs of code... going all the way back to the first code i wrote on my elementry school's (then new) Apple 1's, all of the stuff i did for fun since then, the code i wrote for the cool CNC machine in my IT class in middle school, the two semesters of web design classes, two semesters of VB classes, and three semesters of C++ classes, including AP, in High school, 5 straight years of coding in everything from machine language, assembly, basic, C, C++, c#, VB, Java, PHP, HTML, ASP, and a few others i'm fogetting in College (Case Western Reserve University) to get my bachelors and masters. It's amazing how quickly this stuff piles up when you're a packrat like i am :-p I've got assemblers and compilers (writen up in pieces in library format) from class, advanced calculators, various neural networks, code for autonomous robotics, everything imaginable.

And hobbit, i starter reading your post, and could only think of McGuyver :-p

 

While we're on the subject, is it important to note that act of hacking, and hacks (the people who hack) also known as hackers, are people who write code, sometimes the term is used in the derogatory sense to mean code that is not very elegant, but works well.

Crackers are people that break into computer systems. The media and our illustrious government tend to get these terms confused, replacing cracker with hacker.

A Kracker is something else entirely, and is derogatory. ;-)

So, a hack might then be a mod that is not elegant, but works. For example, fooling the speed sensor of the Prius NAV to think you are moving very slowly would be a hack. Flipping over the rear view mirror for better auto-dim response would be a hack. Replacing the mirror with a better designed mirror would be a mod.

To me, it is a question of elegance. All hacks are mods, but not all mods are hacks. Importing pre-painted Signal mirrors from Japan is a mod. Sticking on self-adhesive signals and running the wire through the window is a hack.

If a hack is really inelegant, and not likely to stand the test of time, it is a kludge.

See definitions here:

http://www.outpost9.com/reference/jargon/jargon_toc.html

By the way, the New Hacker's Dictionary ought be required reading before anyone is issued a license to surf the Internet.

Nate