Privacy, Voting Computers, and Insanity

They actually didn’t cover the insanity part, but that just comes automatic.

I’ve never seen so many laptops in my life.

As one strolls the outside-conference environment, you may encounter the many different collectives of the Chaos Communication Congress. In this corner, with laptop and internet cable strewn everywhere, it’s the mesh network kids. Over there, below the wikimedia banner, a bunch of people are allegedly working for wikipedia. (maybe they can un-ban me, those bastards) Down the hall, its the Deck phone guys who do cool shit with phones. I can’t even get into the lockpickers, lego-robotics, RFID mapping, and solar robot creating corners. It’s all just too much. I get tired very quickly as the senses are overloaded with this creative energy that bursts from every corner.

If you come to a hacker conference.. one thing not to forget.. which I just happen to have… ethernet cable. Its important. Take that bit of wisdom with you, free-o-charge.

As the evening wound down, after a whole day of god knows what, I found myself in this room, (photo taken yesterday, tonight it was bustling with people), sitting next to Rop who just slammed home a presentation on the Dutch voting computer battle (which I covered in my podcast way back when), drinking ze beers with Catarina.. who taught me all kinds of hacker history and general communication factoids this evening. She also awarded me with a rare PRess Pass… yehaw.

All this is my excuse for not doing a podcast or a vlog tonight. Too much to tell.. too much to do.. and the night is almost over… so I’ll get on it tomorrow, at some point.

I’ve said it alot lately, but this conference is one of those things in life.. not to be missed and not likely to be forgotten.

bm125 Hackers, Freedom, and Tim from the Chaos Computer Club

In the public perception battle between hackers and the media, it is the hackers that have long been painted as criminals and dangers to society. However I now know of at least one area of the world where this is not the case, and the hacker community has remained creative, vibrant, and growing. Tim Pritlove of the world famous CCC was in Amsterdam this weekend, and this podcast features an interview with him on the topics of hacking, freedom, the CCC, and the future of the world in relation to access to technology.

AudioCommunique #125 (mp3)

Useful Links:

Chaos Computer CLub
Chaos Radio International
Tim’s Own Podcast with Me conducted on the Boat last friday.

Music:

Gogol Bordello – Lets Get Radical
Anti-Flag – Operation Iraqi Liberation (OIL)
Neil Young – The Restless Consumer

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