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DARPA Network Challenge Lasts All of 9 Hours

Posted by timothy on from the now-they-can-buy-more-warm-clothes dept.

stillnotelf writes "A team based at MIT has won the DARPA Network Challenge. DARPA notes: 'The Challenge has captured the imagination of people around the world, is rich with scientific intrigue, and, we hope, is part of a growing "renaissance of wonder" throughout the nation,' said DARPA's director, Dr. Regina E. Dugan. 'DARPA salutes the MIT team for successfully completing this complex task less than 9 hours after balloon launch.' PDF with (scant) details. Hit the first link above for a map with the locations. How many did your team find?"

19 of 129 comments (clear)

  1. That was pretty fast... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0, Funny

    But I bet that team couldn't beat me to first post.

    1. Re:That was pretty fast... by maxume · · Score: 4, Funny

      How many times has that guy had angioplasty?

      --
      Nerd rage is the funniest rage.
    2. Re:That was pretty fast... by MadFarmAnimalz · · Score: 5, Funny
      What's DARPA?

      Right. Get off slashdot. Now. Thank you.

      --
      Blearf. Blearf, I say.
    3. Re:That was pretty fast... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Funny

      I sure do hope there's some irony in your post I'm not caching.

      Irony typically has a short TTL; you're better off not caching it.

    4. Re:That was pretty fast... by theangryfool · · Score: 2, Funny

      And obviously slashdot has readers who don't know about TCP/IP.

    5. Re:That was pretty fast... by Abstrackt · · Score: 4, Funny

      And obviously slashdot has readers who don't know about TCP/IP.

      So that's how the Internet works! I always thought it was a series of tubes.

      --
      They say a little knowledge is a dangerous thing, but it's not one half so bad as a lot of ignorance. - Terry Pratchett
    6. Re:That was pretty fast... by passion · · Score: 5, Funny

      sarchasm - the gulf between the author of sarcastic wit and the person who doesn't get it.

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      - passion
    7. Re:That was pretty fast... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Funny

      whooosh - the sound made by someone rushing like the wind along a sarchasm.

  2. Re:how by Shadow+of+Eternity · · Score: 2, Funny

    They asked Fark for help.

    --
    A bullet may have your name on it but splash damage is addressed "To whom it may concern."
  3. How many did your team find? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Funny

    We found them all within fifteen minutes but we sold the information about this secret DARPA project to China for $400,000. I'm posting anonymously for obvious reasons.

  4. 99 Luftballoons by tylersoze · · Score: 3, Funny

    Come on, couldn't they have a least made it 99 red balloons? Was DARPA afraid they might accidently start a nuclear war?

    1. Re:99 Luftballoons by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 4, Funny

      nah, the RIAA would have sued them

    2. Re:99 Luftballoons by inflame · · Score: 2, Funny

      which basically would have been nuclear war between two major factions of the US. The DoD and the corporations

  5. Re:Interesting results by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Funny

    Have you tried hiding a big, red, floating Bin Laden somewhere in the US and let some geeks loose to find it ?

  6. Re:What's DARPA about it ? by MonkeyOnATypewriter · · Score: 2, Funny

    It required communication between different members of a group, to cover a bigger area.

  7. Re:how by Lumpy · · Score: 3, Funny

    MIT used the pyramid scheme. You don't have to find a balloon, just get 5 people under you to find 5 people and so on.

    It's not MIT tactics... It's AMWAY tactics...

    --
    Do not look at laser with remaining good eye.
  8. Re:What's DARPA about it ? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Funny

    Seeking out insurgents or terrorist cells might be a practical military application of this technology.

    Damn, who'd have though those groups would invade by balloons!

  9. Wait a second... by pongo000 · · Score: 2, Funny

    ...but wasn't this a joint DARPA/MIT project? And an MIT won the challenge? How does this apparent conflict of interest satisfy the "rich with scientific intrigue" tag? This is a non-starter, and I'm disappointed that DARPA would even have wasted their time with this.

    As a teacher, my level of concern continues to rise with what passes for "science" these days, especially from institutions that should know better. This wasn't a science experiment. It was an advertising gimmick. Shame on DARPA, and shame on MIT. (No shame on /., because after 12 years, I've come to expect this type of editorial slackness.)

  10. 99 Red Balloons by wooferhound · · Score: 2, Funny

    That was too fast . . .
    I think they should use more balloons to make it harder
    99 Red Balloons would have been better
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=14IRDDnEPR4

    --
    We are Dead Stars looking back Up at the Sky