I was under the impression that "hacker" came from "neat hack" used as a term
of approbation for a program, or a method, that achieved superior results
with nothing more than an improved algorithm. Supposed to have been used at
MIT by members of the model train club that got involved in computer (Stephen
Levy, _Hackers_).
Jargon dictionary says "originally, someone who makes furniture with
an axe"
http://www.catb.org/jargon/html/H/hacker.html
and then goes on to describe its use in computer culture starting
at TMRC.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hacker_definition_controversy
goes into more detail and suggests other origins.
Reguardless of its origin, "one skillful enough to make a chair
using an axe" captures the spirit of (one of the definitions of)
the word.
[The original poster asked why they would use the word "hacker" (implied
derogatory by the poster) to describe the people who got xp running on a
mac]
Karen Lofstrom
Tim Newsham
http://www.lava.net/~newsham/
