Needed faster internet access so I just canceled the account we had through the Mpls City-wide wireless internet. But now I have a $79 Ruckus wireless modem sitting idle, and before I offer it on Craigslist or something I thought I would ask how hard it might be to hack it? Can it be switched maybe to use with any unsecured WIFI source?

not really sure what you are getting at here can you be more specific because it sounds like you don't need to "hack" it at all.

To clarify, I replaced our Mpls wireless account with faster DSL, so I now have an Ruckus wireless modem that is not being used. It has a omnidirectional antenna with a longer range than my Mac, so I was wondering if it can be hacked to use as a "generic" WIFI antenna to access WIFI hotspots from a farther distance than the internal antenna in my iBook.

Unless they hardcode the info, it should be nothing more than reset it, and set a new password....

Now I have not seen that brand / model, make, but google should tell you what you have, you may have to crack the case to see what chipset it uses, and what manufacturer it is.

What you are need to search is a "wifi repeater"

The USIWireless node antenna that is closest to my house is almost 2 short blocks away so I know the modem has at least that long a range, so I figured if it is hackable it could take the place of a WIFI repeater.