C-base
Encyclopedia
c-base e. V. is a non-profit association
of about 300 members located in Berlin, Germany. The purpose of this association is to increase knowledge and skills pertaining to computer software
, hardware
and data networks. The association is engaged in numerous related activities. For example the society has had stands at large festivals, such as Children's Day
, where they introduce young people to topics like robotics
and Computer-aided design
.
The association's headquarters, c-base station, is also used by other initiatives and groups in and around Berlin as an event location or as function rooms, for example the wireless community network
freifunk.net, the Chaos Computer Club
and the Berlin Wikipedia
group. Any group that identifies themselves with the purpose of the c-base are also welcome to use the premises for meetings and events. Wireless LAN
is available for all guests.
s or to give concerts. Since 2004 the premises of the c-base association are also used in cooperation by transmediale
.
c-base is recognized as one of the first hackerspace
s in the world. It, along with Metalab
, directly influenced the creation of hackerspaces in the US.
and Jugger
, the rules of which supposedly were gained through analysis of files on c-beam, the main computer in the c-base station. Once a year, @c-terra, an event organised by the c-base association, gives an overview of all activities offered.
The premises of the c-base association host a lot of different events (parties, presentations, theatrical performances, concerts and art exhibitions), such as Cosmic Open Stage.
The c-base society is also present at events of the Chaos Computer Club like the Chaos Communication Congress
or the Chaos Communication Camp
.
From September 14–16, 2006 the fourth Wizards of OS
conference was held in cooperation with c-base.
scientists. Other evidence, such as the multifunctional space station module, which ejected during the crash, is now under intense research and makes up the current premises of the c-base association.
There is currently only a printed edition of the collected knowledge about the space station, known as the "space almanack" (Ger.: Allmanach). A project, called "c-pedia", is currently underway, attempting to make this knowledge available on the internet. There is also a reconstruction of station artifacts taking place.
The inner ring, core, provides a nonterminating supply of energy produced by a Möbius strip
generator. The central computer of the c-base, "c-beam", is also located there. The second ring, com, harbours the space ports, hangars and communication devices including the interstellar communication module recently identified as Blinkenlights
by the Chaos Computer Club. The following three rings, culture, creactiv and cience, host devices serving culture, creativity and science. The latter ring is also the location of the Arboretum
. Accommodation for station crew members are found on the carbon ring. The outer ring, clamp, stabilizes the station.
Episode 430, "Tödliches Labyrinth" and
Episode 691 "Tod einer Heuschrecke" of the German television series Tatort
was filmed at c-base.
The Wikipedia local chapter has met at c-base regularly since 2004.
Non-profit organization
Nonprofit organization is neither a legal nor technical definition but generally refers to an organization that uses surplus revenues to achieve its goals, rather than distributing them as profit or dividends...
of about 300 members located in Berlin, Germany. The purpose of this association is to increase knowledge and skills pertaining to computer software
Computer software
Computer software, or just software, is a collection of computer programs and related data that provide the instructions for telling a computer what to do and how to do it....
, hardware
Hardware
Hardware is a general term for equipment such as keys, locks, hinges, latches, handles, wire, chains, plumbing supplies, tools, utensils, cutlery and machine parts. Household hardware is typically sold in hardware stores....
and data networks. The association is engaged in numerous related activities. For example the society has had stands at large festivals, such as Children's Day
Children's Day
"Children Day", as an event, is celebrated on various days in many places around the world, in particular to honor children. Major global variants include a Universal Children's Day on November 20, by United Nations recommendation...
, where they introduce young people to topics like robotics
Robotics
Robotics is the branch of technology that deals with the design, construction, operation, structural disposition, manufacture and application of robots...
and Computer-aided design
Computer-aided design
Computer-aided design , also known as computer-aided design and drafting , is the use of computer technology for the process of design and design-documentation. Computer Aided Drafting describes the process of drafting with a computer...
.
The association's headquarters, c-base station, is also used by other initiatives and groups in and around Berlin as an event location or as function rooms, for example the wireless community network
Wireless community network
Wireless community networks or wireless community projects are the organizations that attempt to take a grassroots approach to providing a viable alternative to municipal wireless networks for consumers....
freifunk.net, the Chaos Computer Club
Chaos Computer Club
The Chaos Computer Club is an organization of hackers. The CCC is based in Germany and other German-speaking countries.The CCC describes itself as "a galactic community of life forms, independent of age, sex, race or societal orientation, which strives across borders for freedom of...
and the Berlin Wikipedia
Wikipedia
Wikipedia is a free, web-based, collaborative, multilingual encyclopedia project supported by the non-profit Wikimedia Foundation. Its 20 million articles have been written collaboratively by volunteers around the world. Almost all of its articles can be edited by anyone with access to the site,...
group. Any group that identifies themselves with the purpose of the c-base are also welcome to use the premises for meetings and events. Wireless LAN
Wireless LAN
A wireless local area network links two or more devices using some wireless distribution method , and usually providing a connection through an access point to the wider internet. This gives users the mobility to move around within a local coverage area and still be connected to the network...
is available for all guests.
History
Seventeen people founded c-base e. V. in the autumn of 1995. In the years 2002 and 2003 the BerlinBackBone project was launched to make available and promote free public access to the internet via wireless community networks. Also in 2003 the c-base association began staging weekly meetings of musicians, called Cosmic Open Stage, thus providing a platform for well known or unknown musicians to hold jam sessionJam session
Jam sessions are often used by musicians to develop new material, find suitable arrangements, or simply as a social gathering and communal practice session. Jam sessions may be based upon existing songs or forms, may be loosely based on an agreed chord progression or chart suggested by one...
s or to give concerts. Since 2004 the premises of the c-base association are also used in cooperation by transmediale
Transmediale
transmediale is an annual festival for media art and digital culture taking place for one week in February in Berlin, Germany. The festival engages in reflective, aesthetic and speculative positions in between art, technology and culture...
.
c-base is recognized as one of the first hackerspace
Hackerspace
A hackerspace or hackspace is a location where people with common interests, often in computers, technology, science, or digital or electronic art can meet, socialise and/or collaborate...
s in the world. It, along with Metalab
Metalab
The Metalab is a hackerspace in Vienna's central first district.Founded in 2006, it is a meeting place of the Viennese tech community, hosting events from culture festivals to user groups....
, directly influenced the creation of hackerspaces in the US.
Activities
Apart from the main purpose of the c-base association the members are also engaged in many other activities, for example GoGo (board game)
Go , is an ancient board game for two players that originated in China more than 2,000 years ago...
and Jugger
Jugger
Jugger is a sport that was inspired from the 1989 movie The Salute of the Jugger, released in the USA as The Blood of Heroes. The writer/director David Webb Peoples invented Jugger especially for that movie. The original transformation of the movie game into a real sport was done in two places of...
, the rules of which supposedly were gained through analysis of files on c-beam, the main computer in the c-base station. Once a year, @c-terra, an event organised by the c-base association, gives an overview of all activities offered.
The premises of the c-base association host a lot of different events (parties, presentations, theatrical performances, concerts and art exhibitions), such as Cosmic Open Stage.
The c-base society is also present at events of the Chaos Computer Club like the Chaos Communication Congress
Chaos Communication Congress
The Chaos Communication Congress is an annual meeting of the international hacker scene, organized by the Chaos Computer Club. The congress features a variety of lectures and workshops on technical and political issues....
or the Chaos Communication Camp
Chaos Communication Camp
The Chaos Communication Camp is an international meeting of hackers that takes place every four years, organized by the Chaos Computer Club ....
.
From September 14–16, 2006 the fourth Wizards of OS
Wizards of OS
Wizards of OS is a Berlin-based conference.Its topics are the cultural and political potentials of free software, software technology, digital networks and media, and more generally information freedom and open cooperation in the creation and proliferation of knowledge...
conference was held in cooperation with c-base.
Mythological self-image of the c-base
The location for c-base is accompanied by a myth. This myth says that there are remnants of a space station called c-base underneath the city centre of Berlin. The space station's antenna is the Fernsehturm Berlin, a large spire with a mirrored ball near the top and a distinctive landmark nearby.History of the space station
According to the stories of the members of the c-base, the space station crashed due to unstable conditions in its orbit after exiting a time warp. At that time there was a number of highly technological advances and heretofore undiscovered lifeforms aboard the station. Much evidence of its existence is said to be in and around Berlin, including the aforementioned antenna, which was (according to stories) unmasked by East German and SovietSoviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
scientists. Other evidence, such as the multifunctional space station module, which ejected during the crash, is now under intense research and makes up the current premises of the c-base association.
There is currently only a printed edition of the collected knowledge about the space station, known as the "space almanack" (Ger.: Allmanach). A project, called "c-pedia", is currently underway, attempting to make this knowledge available on the internet. There is also a reconstruction of station artifacts taking place.
Structure of c-base
The c-base is a system of seven concentric rings that can move in relation to one another. Each ring is considered a single module with a special set of functions. The rings are called (from the centre out) "core", "com", "culture", "creactiv", "cience", "carbon" and "clamp".The inner ring, core, provides a nonterminating supply of energy produced by a Möbius strip
Möbius strip
The Möbius strip or Möbius band is a surface with only one side and only one boundary component. The Möbius strip has the mathematical property of being non-orientable. It can be realized as a ruled surface...
generator. The central computer of the c-base, "c-beam", is also located there. The second ring, com, harbours the space ports, hangars and communication devices including the interstellar communication module recently identified as Blinkenlights
Project Blinkenlights
Project Blinkenlights was a light installation in the Haus des Lehrers building at the Alexanderplatz in Berlin that transformed the building front into a giant low-resolution monochrome computer screen. The installation was created by the German Chaos Computer Club and went online on September...
by the Chaos Computer Club. The following three rings, culture, creactiv and cience, host devices serving culture, creativity and science. The latter ring is also the location of the Arboretum
Arboretum
An arboretum in a narrow sense is a collection of trees only. Related collections include a fruticetum , and a viticetum, a collection of vines. More commonly, today, an arboretum is a botanical garden containing living collections of woody plants intended at least partly for scientific study...
. Accommodation for station crew members are found on the carbon ring. The outer ring, clamp, stabilizes the station.
Trivia
On September 10, 2006, the Pirate Party Germany was established at the c-base.Episode 430, "Tödliches Labyrinth" and
Episode 691 "Tod einer Heuschrecke" of the German television series Tatort
Tatort
Tatort is a long-running German/Austrian/Swiss , crime television series set in various parts of these countries. The show is broadcast on the channels of ARD in Germany, ORF 2 in Austria and SF1 in Switzerland...
was filmed at c-base.
The Wikipedia local chapter has met at c-base regularly since 2004.