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142 Comments
- Ascendant, on 10/12/2007, -14/+55pretty damn cool- would have been cooler if they had put messages that weren't so smug and humorless.
- PathDaemon, on 10/12/2007, -3/+39I'm waiting for the tutorial.
- phrak, on 10/12/2007, -14/+33@vinbot
There are far better ways do promote a message or political viewpoint. Vandalism and namecalling aren't typically effective avenues. Instead of calling North Americans stupid, you could support a compromise or viable solution? Diplomacy is what wins wars. - Ascendant, on 10/12/2007, -5/+24My point was, I think that the act of hacking an LED construction sign is a brilliant anarchistic act that thumbs its nose at all the sheep with sticks up their asses in a society where everyone thinks there's only one right way and preaches codescendingly to those who don't believe it yet.
Unfortunately the slogan is obviously the words of a sheep with a stick up his ass, who thinks his way is the only right way and preaches condescendingly to those who don't believe it yet. - inactive, on 10/12/2007, -15/+32It would have been funnier if they had put "Man Gets Trillion $$ Phone Bill" instead of such cliche environmental themes.
- Lewie, on 10/12/2007, -6/+22I don't think most environmentalists care about those vehicles used for work. However, I doubt most of the SUVs I see driven and parked in our (SE Michigan) suburbs are used for work (especially with their 24" spinners). What a waste of resources (and their SUVs suck, too).
Just an FYI: The H2 is based off the SUBURBAN platform. It is not a Hummer. The only people who should be driving Hummers are military personel, maybe construction workers, and mountain people. - zslootsky, on 10/12/2007, -1/+16I'm not so sure this was a hack. I go to U of T, and there is no construction on St. George (the street the sign is on) and there is no reason to believe that the people didn't just aquite the sign themselves.
- phrak, on 10/12/2007, -7/+19Yes and vandalising a system designed to streamline traffic and, ironically, reduce emitions is a great reason to go to jail. Especially when holding a sign on a street corner would be just as effective.
- yknott, on 10/12/2007, -2/+13There was a similar hack like this about a year ago. But instead they wrote "I'm Rick James Bitch"
http://www.digg.com/links/UDOT_Road_Sign_Black_After_Hacker%E2%80%99s_Prank - roeboedog, on 10/12/2007, -1/+11It would be great if they stood by close enough to personize the message to people as they pass - Hey lady in the blue car - quit beating that mug of yours and drive!
- CharlesDarwin, on 10/12/2007, -1/+10A Darwin Award is awarded for a death caused by the recipients own stupidity, not a death caused by the stupidity of others.
- cramd, on 10/12/2007, -0/+9We did this while on at a conference in Orlando FL. You would be surpised by how many of these a) are not locked b)have the password in grease pen inside the cover.
We found onese that did not have the passowod on them were easily guessed. Things like the machine number (writen on the side of the equiptment). I don't think that security has been a major part of the design of these..
I can't drive by these now without wanted to pull over and have a go at it.. lol - dclowd9901, on 10/12/2007, -3/+12Whoever said caring about your environment is a political thing? Liberal, conservative, I don't think it matters. You're still a big ***** drain on resources.
- spoid_, on 10/12/2007, -4/+12It isn't a hack, the signs are designed to be programmable. Physically breaking into the control box doesn't count.
- DoctorWhohaa, on 10/12/2007, -2/+10Yeah, they should be doing this in Hamilton instead.
- Praetorian42, on 10/12/2007, -2/+10First off they're not LEDs, they are small incandescent light bulbs that actually get quite hot.
Secondly, I wouldn't really call it "Hacking." I've done it several times. Each of those things has a cabinet with a device inside of it that looks kinda like a Speak-n-Spell, where you go through the options of the menu and, ultimately, put in the text to be displayed on the signs. Further, every single one of those that I've looked at (dozen+) has had the instruction manual inside of it.
A friend of mine took pictures, I'll see if I can get him to upload any. - MASamson, on 10/12/2007, -1/+8What would of been great is if they could of hacked one of those giant LED signs that they use for like advertising, kinda like the ones you can see in Time Square.
- kidlinux, on 10/12/2007, -3/+10The reactions to this remind me of the reactions to the theatre that banned/jammed cell phones. People think they have a right to their SUVs, and that they can and should consume as much as possible.
You're all too damn busy doing all the things you can do but never take the time to *think* about whether or not you should.
As for the possible "danger" lying beyond the sign, it's been pointed out that those signs generally aren't used to warn of danger. Think about it - an electronic sign marking danger - what if it fails? There would most certainly be redunancy in non-changeable signs (short of spray paint.)
Those messages on the sign are less about anti-SUV. They're anti-consumerism ideals aimed at the spoiled gluttons of the world that refuse to grow up. - Protagoras, on 10/12/2007, -2/+9You use your S.U.V for work? From my experience in larger cities the majority of people owning these vehicles are normal bussinesfolk. Unless you need it for heavy equipment/hauling there is really no need to own a vehicle this size, they really provide nothing to the driver, safe for one who needs compensation.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SUV#Safety (in case you think you are safer, you are not) - spiderland, on 10/12/2007, -0/+7How about some direct links, please?
http://www.treehugger.com/files/2006/04/subversive_road.php
http://spacing.ca/wire/?p=675 - phrak, on 10/12/2007, -0/+7@cramd
A lot of these signs in the Dallas area are permanent fixtures and typically say "Drive friendly" or "Wear your seatbelt". I think the only time people actually pay attention to them is during rush hours when they function like the signs at the beginning of amusement park lines (i.e. "Wait is 2 hours from this point") - n8han, on 10/12/2007, -3/+9But... I thought people bought SUVs because they are so useful, safe, and just plain cool?
- xerox, on 10/12/2007, -0/+6http://www.i-hacked.com/content/view/141/94/ (tutorial)
im thinking something similar if not exactly the same as that. - VipeNess, on 10/12/2007, -0/+6now that it has made it way on the frontpage, someone is going to get in trouble. lol
- foolfromhell, on 10/12/2007, -0/+6Just a warning, the Site is not formatted properly, some of the text is behind Pictures and Lists or Table of Contents
Highlight Text to see completely - SoccerBoy, on 10/12/2007, -9/+15For the size of Toronto it is a very clean city. Nice to see that there are people there that want to keep it that way.
FYI from living there, those SUVs are also from T.O. - blugu64, on 10/12/2007, -1/+7There is:
http://okbanlon.com/notes/highway.html - inactive, on 10/12/2007, -10/+15I hate enviromentalists. They are so hyprocritical. Watch penn & teller *****.
- tokachu, on 10/12/2007, -1/+6Yes, 2600 did print an article on how to change highway signs. It was in the Winter 2001/2 issue under the title "Hacking The Highway". This prank has been pulled far too many times for it to be funny.
What would be funny is if the signs misdirected traffic to some poor guy's house, or caused enough chaos for a national emergency. How THAT'S humor. - Ahnteis, on 10/12/2007, -2/+7If they really wanted to get their message across, they'd all pony up the money for a billboard.
Instead they pull a childish stunt. Yeah, like that's gonna impress anyone to change their behaviour. - LiquidPenguin, on 10/12/2007, -6/+10Environmentalists are a funny bunch. I was up in Oregon at a miners meeting once when a woman stepped up to the podium during open debate to complain about the silt going downstream from the private mining operations along the river. Essentially her argument was for the push of zero mining operations. Being about 12 years old at the time, I really didn't know any better, but I stepped up to the podium as well. I pointed out that the woman who complained earlier wore earrings made out of metal and gemstones, the car she had had all sorts of materials directly attributed to mining operations, even the clothes she wore and the leather purse all indirectly existed because of mining. Even the home she lived in, built by the very same silty river, existed because of mining. By the time I was done, I had the miners howling in laughter and the so-called environmentalists scowling with beet red faces.
But I learned an important lesson there. For the most part, environmentalists go to extremes with their so-called "solutions" without offering any tangible solutions to work with. Miners, on the other hand, are usually happy to work with the environment by improving overall mining operations for benefit of the environment. After all, their kids have to inherit the Earth too.
I'm sorry, but riding bicycles in freezing rain or at night doesn't appeal to me. Driving a piece of ***** hybrid that has almost no capacity to drive up the mountain, in the snow, in the dark, has no appeal to me either. I own a 4x4 pickup because that's what I *need*. I already compromised by buying a smaller truck with a four banger, how about the environmentalist compromise by building me a distribution network that gives me easy access to ethanol, used peanut oil, or even the methane from the environmentalist bean induced farts? - Joe_rigby, on 10/12/2007, -21/+25I have an SUV and I use it for work. I'm liberal as hell, but you can't fit very much in your average ***** hybrid car.
- clickwir, on 10/12/2007, -0/+4PennDOT uses ones that have a small LCD and keyboard built right in. Some have an old serial interface, any old laptop can be used on it.
pdot for password is pretty obvious. But then again... the workers aren't going to be IT security professionals that use triple password with hard token logins. That and something like that would be way overkill... people drive by them all the time but how many people do you really see on the side of the road playing with them. - B111, on 10/12/2007, -0/+4intersting, but without the how, not much of a story.
- culbeda, on 10/12/2007, -2/+5Typical Fox News watching, SUV driving response. Had someon put "God Bless America" on the sign, you'd all be shouting: "DAMN RIGHT!".
And as for all the comment about better ways to get your message out... How many people do you think protest this DAILY. Now exactly how many of those got widespread attention for it?
Anyone who sees one of those signs assumes that some construction is ahead. And the cones pretty well tell you what something is up. Of course, if bcore is right, the point is moot. - deltalima, on 10/12/2007, -1/+4This sort of 'hack' is pretty old. 2600, Issue 18:4, article beginning on page 40.
- MSIGuy, on 10/12/2007, -0/+3Its hardly a hack when the default password is ABCD.
- bf01, on 10/12/2007, -1/+4The "Don't Drive" sign looks more like a photoshop edit than a hack. The D is at a strange angle compared with the other letters.
- kacymartin, on 10/12/2007, -0/+3This isnt really that hard. My dad works for ODOT and he said that you just open the panel and theres a keyboard with a simple screen and you just basically type in what you want the sign to say. They are password protected but the password is written on the inside of the panel. The user's manual is also inside. So basically all you really need to hack is the lock with a crowbar or bolt cutters (or just simply open it if it isnt locked).
- generalleoff, on 10/12/2007, -0/+3There is a big one of these signs on an over pass over I75 near my old house north of Detroit. It actually has a small control room behind the sign where you have to climb over the railing of the bridge to a platform with the door. Doors always unlocked and on the inside is a metal case with a LCD screen and a keypad for entering text on the sign or proly doing other maintenance.
I went in and checked it out but never changed the text on the sign. The reason I didn't touch it beyond the obvious stupidity of changing the sign is here in the US the interstate system is federal. I'm pretty sure if I got busted messing with it I wasn't going to go to some comfy minimum security state prison. I would proly go to federal "pound me in the ass" prison. No thanks. - woodge, on 10/12/2007, -5/+8lol vinbot the last person Mark Twain would want to be in the company of is you.
- stevenb, on 10/12/2007, -0/+3How many people want to bet that 8 out of 10 motorists didn't even notice the signs?
People don't pay attention to ***** when they are driving these days. - jimmiejaz, on 10/12/2007, -6/+9Don' t they realize someone's going to have to drive back out and fix them?
On a serious note, just hope no one gets into a wreck because of this. - twisterX, on 10/12/2007, -7/+10Nice idea but dumb signs. I wanted to see something funny like HURRICANE GET OFF HIGHWAY!
- bshep, on 10/12/2007, -0/+3Are you sure its not 12345, just like my luggage?
- digitaltodd, on 10/12/2007, -0/+3I hope they were the solar powered signs and not the diesel generator powered ones.
- zslootsky, on 10/12/2007, -0/+3the required "it was photoshoped" comment. Original.
- digitaltodd, on 10/12/2007, -2/+4I would buy a hybrid or even all electric if they made one that equaled the power I got out of a regular gas engine and was the same price. The economy revolves around oil so I don't think that's about to happen soon.
- TheWalkingDude, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2I like it - it's urban artistic expression - I just wish they hadn't dissed Detroit. Wasteful use of fossil fuels isn't unique to the US. I've lived on five continents and I've always walked or biked (in any weather and for long distances), while people of all nations buzz by me and yell ignorant insults from their SUVs and sports cars. Some people need cars, but most are just lazy or lack the confidence to be uncool.
- ggko, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2If it was Photoshopped it would've said "ALL YOUR BASE ..."
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