Editing Project Blinkenlights (section)

{{Short description|Light installation in Berlin}}
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{{More citations needed|date=March 2012}}
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{{Use dmy dates|date=May 2019|cs1-dates=y}}

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[[File:Blinkenlights_CCC_at_22C3.jpg|thumb|Blinkenlights at the 22nd [[Chaos Communication Congress]] in Berlin]]

'''Project Blinkenlights''' was a light [[installation art|installation]] in the [[Haus des Lehrers]] building at the [[Alexanderplatz]] in [[Berlin]] that transformed the building front into a giant [[display resolution|low-resolution]] [[monochrome computer screen]]. The installation was created by the German [[Chaos Computer Club]] (CCC) and went online on 11 September 2001 as a celebration of the club's 20th birthday.<ref name="Blinkenlights"/> Some novel uses of the screen are for people to call a number and play [[Pong]] via mobile phone or display animations sent in by the public.

{{anchor|Arcade|Stereoscope}}Similar installations were created by the CCC for the [[Bibliothèque nationale de France]] in [[Paris]] in 2002 (called [[Arcade game|Arcade]])<ref name="Arcade"/> and for two towers of the [[Toronto City Hall|City Hall]] in [[Toronto]] (called [[Stereoscope]]). Both installations feature higher resolutions and eight shades of grey.

Similar monochrome and color displays have been done on MIT's [[Green Building (MIT)|Green Building]] since at least 1993, when the building's 9x17 array of windows displayed a monochrome [[VU meter]] for the traditional [[Fourth of July]] concert of the [[Boston Pops]] orchestra.<ref>{{Cite web |title=The Green Building VU Meter |url=http://hacks.mit.edu/Hacks/by_year/1993/green_bldg_vu_meter/ |access-date=2025-01-24 |website=MIT IHTFP Hack Gallery}}</ref> More recent displays have been in color.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Tetris on the Green Building |url=https://hacks.mit.edu/Hacks/by_year/2012/tetris/ |access-date=2025-01-24 |website=MIT IHTFP Hack Gallery}}</ref>

{{anchor|Matrix}}The electrical engineering and computer science students of the [[Budapest University of Technology and Economics]] turn their Schönherz Dormitory into a giant display ("the Matrix") at their annual Schönherz Cup competition, where amongst others, teams compete to create the most interesting and funny animations.

A similar display, featuring three colours, [[:pl:Potężny Indeksowany Wyświetlacz Oknowy|is annually created by students of Wrocław University of Technology]]<ref name="PIWO"/> and the [[University of Bordeaux]], who have released [[open-source software]] to create interactive architectural displays.<ref name="Arbalet"/>

Independently, an installation displaying the message "{{lang|de|FERTiG}}" (German for "FINISHED") was shown at the completion of the [[Elbphilharmonie]] in Hamburg in 2016.

In August 2023 a new Installation was shown on the CCCamp in Mildenberg. It was called Polychrome and used RGBw LED which have been calibrated as Tim Pritlove shown in a Talk about the Project on Aug. 16.

The term "[[blinkenlights]]" originates in [[Hacker (programmer subculture)|hacker]] humor. One of the CCC installations is depicted in the [[Golden Boy (artist)|Golden Boy]] and [[Miss Kittin]] video for their song "[[Rippin Kittin]]".<ref name="Kittin"/>

<gallery mode=packed heights=150px>
Project-blinkenlights-aerial-view.jpg | Aerial view of Project Blinkenlights in Berlin
Elbphilharmonie ist fertig.jpg | The {{nobreak|Elbphilharmonie}} "Fertig" message
Project Pressure Voices For The Future. Photo Klaus Thymann.jpg | [[Project Pressure]] ''[[Voices For The Future]]'', 2019
</gallery>