Last weekend I attended Hacking At Random 2009; a four-day open air hacking festival that is held once every four years under a different name somewhere in the Netherlands. The term hacking should really be taken in it’s broadest meaning: not just breaking into computer systems but any creative use or modification of technology beyond its original design and intent. Add to that some talks on the sociological aspects of the Internet, privacy, copyright and free speech issues and you get a bit of an idea of what HAR2009 was about.

So a few thousand enthusiast from all over the world gathered to experiment with quantum cryptography, remote controlled helicopters, blinking lights, analog synthesizers, 3d printers, lock picking and GSM hacking. Most of them in small tents with maybe a laptop in their luggage, others built an entire living room, club or office on the festival grounds, complete with servers, cooling, cocktail bars and entertainment systems. What amazed me most, though, was the collective achievement of a loosely organized group of volunteers. The essentially medieval camping grounds were brought solidly into the 21st century with a gigabit ethernet network covering the entire campsite, hooked up to the world wide web with a huge 10Gb fiber connection. Of course there was a wireless network as well, with wireless access points scattered over the area like sprinkles. Then there was a DECT phone network, 220V AC power and a mobile FM radio transmitter broadcasting festival news.

All of this was set up in about 4 days, only to be torn down again 4 days later. The combined dedication, intelligence and resourcefulness kinda blew me away. If we can do this, we can do almost anything. Why not?

This entry was posted on Wednesday, August 19th, 2009 at 16:35 and is filed under Events, Technology. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.