This article is so far off the mark. A better source is Richard Stallman's (often called the last hacker) on this: http://stallman.org/articles/on-hacking.html . An even better source is Steven Levy's Hackers: Heroes of the Computer Revolution http://www.amazon.com/Hackers-Computer-Revolution-Steven-Lev... . Either way, it's clear that hacking is related to computers but one need not be using computers to hack. In fact, the word hacker comes from modifying the system at the MIT Tech Model Railroad Club. While hacking is widely associated with computers, I think it is better described as a playful attitude towards objects and materials which takes into account the "hacker ethic." http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hacker_ethic