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MIT Hacks XKCD Talk With AACS key

Posted by kdawson on from the hacking-101 dept.

Reader Hanji alerts us to a hack pulled off when Randall Munroe, author of the popular webcomic XKCD, spoke at MIT by invitation of the Lab for Computer Science. MIT hackers dropped hundreds of labelled playpen balls onto the audience from hatches in the ceiling. The labels bore XKCD's logo as well as the recently discovered 16-byte AACS processing key. At another point in Munroe's talk he was stalked by remote-controlled mechanical velociraptors; but fortunately he had been supplied with a squirt gun full of grape juice.

7 of 161 comments (clear)

  1. Re:Some notes by Shabbs · · Score: 2, Interesting

    They're a student group that shows movies No doubt with the express permission of the MPAA. ;) Is it me or is it totally hilariously ironic that they have "Like free movies" written on the chalk board? Couple that with the AACS processing key attack and it's pretty funny. Indeed.

    Cheers.
    --
    Mark
  2. Re:Americans demand tougher sentencing for hackers by dreddnott · · Score: 3, Interesting

    What was the name of that Internet "law" (more like an observation) that once you reach a point far enough to the political right, your viewpoint becomes indistinguishable from satire?

    I assume you posted this in honour of the late Jerry Falwell.

    --
    I may make you feel, but I can't make you think.
  3. Re:Not to be contrarian, but by k3vlar · · Score: 2, Interesting

    I might consider hiding hundreds of labelled playpen balls in the ceiling and dropping them on the lecture a clever use of engineering and ingenuity. It's not everyday that happens...

    --
    Unlike porn, which yada yada rimshot hey-ooh!
  4. Re:Americans demand tougher sentencing for hackers by Thundersnatch · · Score: 3, Interesting

    Extremisim in any form is pretty tough to distinguish from satire. For instance, it's hard to tell if the thousands of the inane "OMG Linux+OOo+Beryl rocks M$ is the sux0r!" posts here are satire or not. I hope at least some of them are.

  5. Re:thats better than by trianglman · · Score: 2, Interesting

    I think the AACS has more to worry about than happy fun balls: link.

    (thanks to the Ronald from http://sla.ckers.org/)

    --
    Clones are people two.
  6. I say =) by Cervantes · · Score: 4, Interesting

    Having only recently been introduced to xkcd (and having read the entirety of the strip in one sitting) I have to say this entire thing is quite amusing. The balls, the raptors... obviously the folks who pulled this have read and understood the strip.

    If you haven't read it yet, I highly recommend it. Geek humour at it's finest (and sometimes most touching)

    Hey Rob, where's my 20 questions with the xkcd author???

    --
    If I knew the wedgies I gave you back in 6th grade would have resulted in this . . . I might have taken a moments pause.
  7. Re:enough already! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Interesting

    So go do something worth mentioning at your school.

    The students at University of California Santa Cruz (Go Slugs!) did the bit with post-its and got blag coverage just fine.

    boingboing
    /.
    digg
    (and in the blue)

    Parent should stop whining on /. and go actually DO SOMETHING!

    --
    But to spit on the very act of creation is cheap nihilism.
        -Metafilter