This is interesting, and maybe hackathons are becoming overused, but I think the article missed something. The artificial constraints imposed by a hackathon have the effect of forcing participants to think in different ways about solving their problems, and the time constraint forces them to think creatively for a project that fits the time scale. This type of thing can create opportunities for ideas and creativity that wouldn't easily be possible outside of such constraints. Think of the examples from successful videogames, unexpected hits that rake in the revenue. Then their next project is so over-resourced it ends up a mediocre flop, partly because (I believe) that lack of constraints limits the ability to creatively overcome roadblocks. I'm not saying this is always the case, but plenty of my own best work that I'm most proud of comes from challenges where I had to "make do" and I nonetheless figured out how to get the job done. Hackathons are a way to manufacture that sort of work environment. Like anything, there should be a balance, but demonizing the whole endeavor seems too extreme.