Slashdot Mirror

← Back to Stories (view on slashdot.org)

Crushing Experience

Posted by Hemos on from the odd-web-experiences dept.

sp00 writes "The Tsunamii.Net Crush Server is currently online live from the Millbank Gallery in London! Watch as the webserver counts itself down before it activates the industrial crusher attached to it, bearing 150-tonnes of brute force onto itself and terminating its existence. Check out the details on the Tsunamii.Net website or visit the webserver directly at http://195.195.81.5."

9 of 356 comments (clear)

  1. What a waste of hardware.... by oncee · · Score: 1, Interesting

    It's as bad as seeing rock starts smash guitars.

  2. I don't get it by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Interesting

    Can someone explain? What's the point of this?

  3. You're right by slamb · · Score: 2, Interesting
    Somone probably thought this was a great deep and meaningfull peice of modern art...but blahh. Big deal. I modded this down because I thought your comment was baseless, but then I saw this a couple links away from their counter:
    a moment in the web. alpha 3.5 is a webserver (click here for the server specs) which will crush itself, on 12 septmeber 1900 hours GMT.Although the act of crushing/destroying the computer suggests a Neo-Luddite reaction towards technology, it is only one facet of the work. The act of destroying the server brings up an interesting proposition: the physicality of the 'internet'. When the client computer fails to find the data from the server, the browser has an error - "cannot find server - xx", and a list of instructions, and reasons appears to rectify the problem. Interestingly, we know the reason why the server cannot be found but the client computer does not. This brings out another aspect of the internet: the physical relationship between the server and the client. Only when the data/server does not exist or fails to function, then the internet user is reminded of this relationship.

    They seem to think it's deep but indeed it's just dumb...

  4. Why time based? by EasyTarget · · Score: 3, Interesting

    If I was trying to do this, instead of making it time based (waiting for a clock to count down) I'd have made it page view based.

    After, say, 1 Million page views the server crushes itself, first come, first served, so to speak..

    PS: Yeah, yeah, make it completed page serves from unique and resolvable IP addresses, to try and avoid the usual trolls scripting page hits to try and crush it too early. Maybe something else, not sure..

    --
    "Oops, I always forget the purpose of competition is to divide people into winners and losers." - Hobbes
  5. Hacker Challenge! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Interesting

    Who can make this into a real statement?

    Someone 0wn this server. Then you could either crush it early, ("Destructive nature of Hackers") or disconnect the crusher ("Protective nature of Geeks").

    Clock is ticking,.....

  6. Re:Save Linux! by Hercynium · · Score: 5, Interesting

    What a cool idea for a contest...

    Most *real* old-skool hackers don't have enough funds to buy themselves a decent PC. :) We work just enough to buy ramen and pay for 'net access. *Really* dedicated hackers don't even pay for the net access! :p (Mountain Dew and Pop-Tarts are obtained in bulk from nearby vending machines, usually through non-orthodox means)

    Anyhow, my point, if I did have one in the first place would be that the contest would consist of a nice new box in the crusher and the hacker who gets in and saves it from destruction gets to keep it! It's like the cyber version of a game show!

    Okay well, *I* think it would be cool. :)

    --
    I'm done with sigs. Sigs are lame.
  7. Unproductive, minimal consumption vacations by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Interesting

    Let's rejoice in the concept of vacation without consumption. You know, a "vaction" doesn't need to involve expensive travel, accomodations, food, souvenirs, or really much consumption at all. There used to be a day when a family (or couple or individual) would take a drive, pitch a tent, go for a hike, relax, prepare inexpensive & healthy food for themselves. It's sad that today the most bragged about "vacations" seem to simply be consumption-oriented expensive trips to somewhere that charges you more to eat and sleep, while ensuring that you are well protected from the raw culture of the vicinity.

  8. Somewhat offtopic. by Restil · · Score: 4, Interesting

    An idea I had, prior to 9/11 anyway....

    My house has numerous wired appliances, to be controlled and observed via the internet. Something I thought of doing was to rig up a mock nuclear bomb, movie style, with the keypad and readout on it, something similar to what was used in "Broken Arrow". The idea is, people could set the timer and start the countdown, and anyone watching could abort the timer. If, for any reason, the timer managed to reach 0 while someone was watching, that person would get automatically added to the firewall rules and wouldn't be able to access the site anymore. For all practical purposes, the entire network would "disappear".

    At least, I thought it would be a clever prank that might worry someone for a few minutes anyway. And I'd be sure to put enough casual disclaimers around that it wasn't real. However, after 9/11, even the perceived threat of something like that was likely to result in a lot of "shoot and ask questions later" approaches by your favorite law enforcement agencies, so I just trashed the idea.

    -Restil

    --
    Play with my webcams and lights here
  9. Re:If it were a Windows machine... by electroniceric · · Score: 4, Interesting

    Yeah, but entertainment doesn't have to be gratuitously wasteful (key word in bold). It's likewise entertaining to blow up your house, run your car off a cliff, or piss in your toaster to see what color the steam is.

    Amazingly, it's also fun to read a book, write a program, or hell, write a book. Yeah it's a drag to _always_ avoid doing the stupid, wasteful shit that gives you the pleasure of being reckless, but it seems like people have lost the ability to make this a once-in-a-while pleasure rather than an every other day pleasure.