Just wondering what others think of the camera in light of the new hidden functions?

The original D-Rebel/300D was a non-starter for me specifically as a result of the way they dumbed down the camera. If you can't adjust flash output, for example, you'll have no way of getting good pictures if/when your automatic flash exposure doesn't come out quite right (which, unfortunately, happens more often than you'd prefer).

The hacked D-Rebel/300D is something I would have considered more seriously against the Nikon D70. It's interesting to compare the approaches of both manufacturers. Canon dumbed down and cost reduced the 10D to create the D-Rebel. Nikon built the D70 that is, in many respects, better than the more expensive D100. A very interesting question is whether Canon would have done (or might still do) the hack themselves given the market pressures from their competition.

Another interesting question you might ask is whether to buy a Nikon D70 or a hacked Canon D-Rebel/300D. Assuming you don't already have an investment in lenses from either manufacturer and you're not planning to buy thousands of dollars of lenses in the immediate future, the real question is the Canon kit vs. the Nikon kit. At $999 vs. $1299, the extra $300 for the Nikon may well be the deciding factor for most people. There are many reasons why the Nikon kit is superior to the Canon kit, with or without the hacks, but budget often trumps features, and the extra Canon features with the hacked firmware probably won't change many buying decisions for consumers stepping up from point-and-shoots. On the other hand, there may be a noticable shift for people with a big Canon investment already who are looking for a secondary camera body. If somebody like Andy, with all his existing kit, wanted a backup body for any of a variety of reasons, the hacked D-Rebel/300D may be appealing to him in a way that it wasn't beforehand.