Charging Hack Hammock
Oh how we mocked.
Then thought back to when we'd wished we knew this trick.
Even if it does make tripping over, screen breaks and burning down the building more likely.
The Hack has become a powerful concept this Century.
Hackathons prove popular events. Attracting not just the disrupters, but anyone to revel in fixing the as yet unfixed.
Hacktivities permeate many a corporate environment too.
Looking at restraints with fresh eyes.
The key to them, is output.
It's not a place to get stuck, bogged down in a mere talking shop.
You must produce something.
For me, Hack derives from finding a different route to achieve something.
The term Hackers referring to computer infiltrators builds on this well.
In less nefarious climes, a hack back in my cubrep Enterprise software days meant working out how to input, produce reports or navigate in a way (often easier) not described by the manual, nor even envisaged by the original coders.
At that time, such manoeuvre was labelled a 'frig'.
Beyond keyboard dexterity 'workarounds', phrases such as to 'cobble together', 'Heath Robinson', and one I picked up working in America, 'MacGyver' all cover the similar terrain of building something. Often though - and this is the crucial bit - of temporary, often one-use nature.
The most famous in tech perhaps being Nasa's Apollo 13 air filter hack.
Yet the point to make here, is that such efforts have limits.
When confronted with competition claiming their hack outsells your wares, you can happily state you alone are the tried and trusted.
Who wants to be known for buying a hack?
Without directly slating your opposition (for me, always a no-no), you can state what your approach does not entail. How about this pair, which I heard in-the-field recently on this very slant;
we're not bending spoons, &
we're not strapping together a herd of cats here.
The inference you hope takes hold, being that the way you design things is the unique way the prospect wants it. Which is what we understand, how we develop, and how we exclusively think too. Wouldn't anyone prefer to partner with someone steeped in how they want to work, rather than those who offer a hack in the hope of a chance kill?
In the above phone hack, I think we can all see the appeal, yet cower at the dangers.
If you're competing against such a 'hammock', then you are advised to point out your longer (extendable, even?) charging cable. One which perfectly allows phone to rest on the floor, safely against the wall. And that's before mentioning any wireless charging upgrade you may also unleash...