There are some areas in the world that have "Dead Zones" where there is no matrix activity. Perhaps you could send the group there. I don't recall the exact locations but you could put them in more remote places such as some of the lesser developed rain forests or some other less civilized areas. There could easily be reason for people with guns and knives to be there and you wouldn't need a hacker.
But I think it's best to have a hacker. When I GM I tend to keep the hacker's tasks moving at a fast pace and try to make the hacker feel good about what he's doing. I give some nice description of what he sees but I move it along the moment it feels too slow. If a player tends to have success and look cool as a hacker, they might like it more. Not to say there shouldn't be challenges, but there should be times where the hacker just rolls over the system and it's all done within a few minutes of game time.
As for the rules, yes, they're terrible. As a house rule, we let the hacker add his logic to his rolls but the thresholds a bit higher. When we don't know a rule, we just wing it because otherwise you'll be reaching for your book every 10 seconds. Once in a while there will be stiff security and when that time comes I like to be as prepared as possible to keep things moving fast so the players don't get restless. Even if you had a player that dabbled in hacking a little it could still be a huge asset. Anyway, hacking is a lot of fun when it's smooth and fast. Give the new hacker some valuable files to find, put some serious nuyen in his pocket and he'll be itching for the next opportunity. You could even have Mr.Johnson pull someone aside and request them to hack. He would even give a free high end commlink+programs for whatever role playing reason you wish. If it's free, maybe they'll bite.
Tired as hell, just some ideas
