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A day at the Hacker Dojo (photos)

Road Trip at Home: Hacker spaces are all the rage. In Silicon Valley, the Hacker Dojo has become one of the hottest.

Daniel Terdiman
Daniel Terdiman is a senior writer at CNET News covering Twitter, Net culture, and everything in between.
Daniel Terdiman
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No magic

MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif.--Since August 2009, the Hacker Dojo in this heart-of-Silicon Valley town has been a place where techies and entrepreneurs have come to start businesses, code among friends, and build a community of like-minded geeks.

Hacker Dojo is one of a growing number of so-called "hacker spaces" popping up in the Valley and elsewhere that provide co-working and event space. And with 250 members paying $100 a month, Hacker Dojo is a serious player on that scene.

Already a few start-ups have "graduated" from the Dojo, meaning that they have outgrown the space available on site for working.

All around the building here are geek-friendly signs like this one.

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The Hacker Dojo

A look at the Hacker Dojo building in Mountain View, Calif.
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YourVersion

YourVersion, a start-up that is building an award-winning personalized content aggregation service, uses Hacker Dojo as its office space. Its five-member team shows up for work most days at 10 a.m. and saves money on office space while also benefiting from the overall expertise of the membership, as well as helping out visitors and new and existing members when they can.
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Hack Art

A stencil on the wall at the Hacker Dojo.
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Random Hacks of Kindness

Members hold all kinds of events at the Hacker Dojo, including the Random Hacks of Kindness fundraiser.
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Markers and Erasers

Much of the furniture and other objects in the space has been donated or bought on the cheap from former companies. This markers and erasers holder is just one such item.
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Chrome Frisbee

On the wall in the Hacker Dojo kitchen is this Frisbee, painted with a Chrome logo.
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Bugs

A sign at the Hacker Dojo urging members to clean up after themselves.
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VR camera

One member installed a virtual reality camera system that feeds 3D data on anyone inside a marked-off space into a video game platform housed on a nearby computer.
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3D printers

The Hacker Dojo has three 3D printers, each of which were donated by members.
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White board

The Hacker Dojo kitchen's white board, which usually has a logic problem on it for members to solve.
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The door

The front door to the Hacker Dojo is just one place of many in the building with humorous signs on them.
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Venture Capital book

This book, which lists venture capitalists, was left sitting in the Hacker Dojo library, a sign that members there are looking to get new businesses off the ground.
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Venture Pimp

This sign, from the "Venture Pimp," on the post-board at the Hacker Dojo is looking for start-ups to write about.
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Work space

One of two large rooms at the Hacker Dojo where members can set up shop and work. They must take everything with them at the end of the day.

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