The Hardware Hacker: Adventures in Making and Breaking Hardware

389 Pages·2017·15.75 MB·English

by  Andrew ’bunnie’ Huang

PRAISE FOR
The Hardware Hacker
“Hardware, says bunnie, is a world without secrets: if you go deep enough, even
the most important key is expressed in silicon or fuses. bunnie’s is a world
without mysteries, only unexplored spaces. This is a look inside a mind without
peer.”
—EDWARD SNOWDEN
“A tour de force that combines the many genius careers of one of the world’s
great hacker-communicators: practical, theoretical, philosophical, and often
mind-blowing.”
—CORY DOCTOROW, AUTHOR OF LITTLE BROTHER AND TECHNOLOGY ACTIVIST
“bunnie lives in the world of hardware where the solder meets the PCB. He has
more practical experience and is a better teacher of how the ecosystem of
hardware works than any other person I’ve ever met, and I know a lot of people
in this space. He has rendered this experience and expertise into an amazing
book—a hacker’s-point-of-view bible to anyone trying to work in or understand
and work in the emerging and evolving world of hardware.”
—JOI ITO, DIRECTOR, MIT MEDIA LAB
“bunnie is the ultimate tour guide of hardware hacking as it stands today, with an
eye toward the sublime art of how things are really made. The Hardware Hacker
will take you on a journey through the factories of the world, covering both the
technical and ethical implications of the ‘stuff ’ we manufacture and buy.”
—LIMOR “LADYADA” FRIED, FOUNDER & ENGINEER, ADAFRUIT INDUSTRIES
“Curious how the devices in our daily lives come into being? Want to
manufacture your own project? In this well-written book, bunnie describes the
ins and outs of the manufacturing process in China. A very entertaining and
informative read.”
—MITCH ALTMAN, INVENTOR OF TV-B-GONE®
“The Hardware Hacker is, at its core, the primer for understanding the culture of
making something in China, how to build thousands of things, and why Open
Hardware works.”
—HACKADAY
The Hardware Hacker
Adventures in Making and Breaking
Hardware
Andrew “bunnie” Huang
The Hardware Hacker. Copyright © 2017 by Andrew “bunnie” Huang.
All rights reserved. No part of this work may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means,
electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage or retrieval
system, without the prior written permission of the copyright owner and the publisher.
20 19 18 17 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9
ISBN-10: 1-59327-758-X
ISBN-13: 978-1-59327-758-1
Publisher: William Pollock
Production Editor: Alison Law Cover and Jacket Design: Hotiron Creative Interior Design: Beth
Middleworth Developmental Editor: Jennifer Griffith-Delgado Copyeditor: Rachel Monaghan Compositor:
Alison Law
Proofreader: Emelie Burnette Indexer: BIM Creatives, LLC.
The images on the following pages are reproduced with permission: pages 58–59 © David Cranor; page
124 © m ss ng p eces; pages 216, 227–228 © Scott Torborg; page 248 © Joachim Strömbergson; pages 253
(bottom) and 254–255 © Jie Qi; page 256 (top) © Chibitronics; page 310 © Nadya Peek; page 326 (top)
from Eva Yus et al., “Impact of Genome Reduction on Bacterial Metabolism and Its Regulation,” Science
326, no. 5957 (2009), reprinted with permission from AAAS; page 349 © Sakurambo, used under CC BY-
SA 3.0.
The interviews on the following pages were originally published online and are reproduced with
permission: pages 190–204, originally published as “MAKE’s Exclusive Interview with Andrew (bunnie)
Huang – The End of Chumby, New” by Phillip Torrone in Make: (April 30, 2012),
http://makezine.com/2012/04/30/makes-exclusive-interview-with-andrew-bunnie-huang-the-end-of-chumby-
new-adventures/; pages 357–372, originally published in Chinese as “Andrew “bunnie” Huang: 开源硬
件、创客与硬件黑客” in China Software Developer Network (July 3, 2013),
http://www.csdn.net/article/2013-07-03/2816095; pages 372–382, originally published as “The Blueprint
Talks to Andrew Huang” in The Blueprint (May 15, 2014), https://theblueprint.com/stories/andrew-huang/.
For information on distribution, translations, or bulk sales, please contact No Starch Press, Inc. directly: No
Starch Press, Inc.
245 8th Street, San Francisco, CA 94103
phone: [phone]; [email protected]; www.nostarch.com
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Names: Huang, Andrew, author.
Title: The hardware hacker : adventures in making and breaking hardware /
Andrew “Bunnie” Huang.
Description: 1st ed. | San Francisco : No Starch Press, Inc., [2017]
Identifiers: LCCN 2016038846 (print) | LCCN 2016049285 (ebook) | ISBN
9781593277581 (pbk.) | ISBN 159327758X (pbk.) | ISBN 9781593278137 (epub)
| ISBN 1593278136 (epub) | ISBN 9781593278144 (mobi) | ISBN 1593278144
(mobi)
Subjects: LCSH: Electronic apparatus and appliances--Design and construction.
| Electronic apparatus and appliances--Technological innovations. |
Computer input-output equipment--Design and construction. | Reverse
engineering. | Electronic industries. | Huang, Andrew.
Classification: LCC TK7836 .H83 2017 (print) | LCC TK7836 (ebook) | DDC
621.381092--dc23
LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2016038846
No Starch Press and the No Starch Press logo are registered trademarks of No Starch Press, Inc. Other
product and company names mentioned herein may be the trademarks of their respective owners. Rather
than use a trademark symbol with every occurrence of a trademarked name, we are using the names only in
an editorial fashion and to the benefit of the trademark owner, with no intention of infringement of the
trademark.
The information in this book is distributed on an “As Is” basis, without warranty. While every precaution
has been taken in the preparation of this work, neither the author nor No Starch Press, Inc. shall have any
liability to any person or entity with respect to any loss or damage caused or alleged to be caused directly or
indirectly by the information contained in it.
To all the wonderful, patient, and accepting people who have
supported this eccentric hacker
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
Thanks to all the hard-working staff at No Starch Press for making this book
happen. In particular, thanks to Bill Pollock for conceiving and sponsoring the
effort, and thanks to Jennifer Griffith-Delgado for compiling, editing, and
arranging my writing into the form of this book.
brief contents
preface
part 1
adventures in manufacturing
chapter 1. made in china
chapter 2. inside three very different factories
chapter 3. the factory floor
part 2
thinking differently: intellectual property in china
chapter 4. gongkai innovation
chapter 5. fake goods
part 3
what open hardware means to me
chapter 6. the story of chumby
chapter 7. novena: building my own laptop
chapter 8. chibitronics: creating circuit stickers
part 4
a hacker’s perspective
chapter 9. hardware hacking
chapter 10. biology and bioinformatics
chapter 11. selected interviews
epilogue
index