Most people hear the term ''hacker" and think of electronic vandals who break, enter, and destroy. But in the earliest days on the technology frontier, the term was a badge of honor given to those who proved themselves the most resourceful, creative, and determined in pushing boundaries ever further.

Today, a growing hacker culture is not only reclaiming the original meaning of the term but also applying its can-do ethic far beyond computer code to embrace everything from home electronics to home improvements. Just as the first hackers looked at behemothcomputers and rudimentary programs and insisted, ''We can make them better," so are modern-day hackers looking at a wide variety of products, services, and materials and saying, ''We can make these better, too."

By at Boston.com

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