Adam Simon
Sneaker Seed
SneakerNet utilizes the proliferation of open wifi access points in the city to reshape underground markets by enhancing the availability of fringe media, all the while disguising itself as a traditional sign of rebellion in the urban environment.
As more of our lives shifts from atoms to bits, accessible anywhere, anytime, the necessity of living in dense urban environments is eroding. What can that density provide that would be valuable to the exchange of bits? What gives the city an edge over suburbia? One answer is near-ubiquitous wifi; the density of people creates a density of access, making it possible to be connected almost anywhere.
Piracy also takes advantage of the density of cities. Physical piracy of movies and music, which still outstrips digital piracy by a wide margin, takes advantage of urban density and anonymity to create an underground marketplace for media.
BitTorrent takes advantage of the density of bits, a density that is purely item-based, not location-based. In this case, a density of bits created an underground market. But BitTorrent also mirrors the primary disadvantage of physical piracy - it reinforces the popularity of what is already popular.
SneakerNet takes advantage of the abundance of wifi and anonymity of the city to seed obscure media torrents over open wifi networks. Every SneakerNet node is seeding the same content simultaneously to increase download speed.
Each node is made up of a hacked wifi router, running Linux and a BitTorrent client locally, with onboard flash memory storing the files for seeding. Along with a battery pack, the routers are each hidden inside an old pair of sneakers, and then tossed over phone lines near open wifi access points, re-appropriating a traditional symbol of rebellion in the urban environment for the digital age.
Piracy also takes advantage of the density of cities. Physical piracy of movies and music, which still outstrips digital piracy by a wide margin, takes advantage of urban density and anonymity to create an underground marketplace for media.
BitTorrent takes advantage of the density of bits, a density that is purely item-based, not location-based. In this case, a density of bits created an underground market. But BitTorrent also mirrors the primary disadvantage of physical piracy - it reinforces the popularity of what is already popular.
SneakerNet takes advantage of the abundance of wifi and anonymity of the city to seed obscure media torrents over open wifi networks. Every SneakerNet node is seeding the same content simultaneously to increase download speed.
Each node is made up of a hacked wifi router, running Linux and a BitTorrent client locally, with onboard flash memory storing the files for seeding. Along with a battery pack, the routers are each hidden inside an old pair of sneakers, and then tossed over phone lines near open wifi access points, re-appropriating a traditional symbol of rebellion in the urban environment for the digital age.