Assault on the 13th Labour

CLIENT UPDATE

2006-11-03T13:05:45Z

Yeah I am sorry it has been a while but as you will have noticed a few "issues" meant I was a little distracted and didnt get to update a lot recently. RL was also a lottle mad :)

That said the Client has been running (and at this point I touch wood and cross every appendage!) pretty well. Chimera245 has created a new client that is working through the new and unfinished units. It will run about 1/3rd faster as a result as it has less work to complete.

Here's the site link.

UPDATES

I will aslo be updating and adding new puzzles very soon. Just got to survive this weekend !!!!!

Once again many thanks to those of you running the client. As an update we have now got almost every season 1 card. Needless to say I am trying to get a gold card :)

GuiN

New Client (and patch)

2006-09-23T23:08:09Z

Anyone running the client will have noticed that it has stopped collecting WUs. This is due to an update which is now available on the site:

Dowload new client

A patch and full version are available

Clients

2006-09-23T17:34:10Z

Okies a few posts re teh clients long wus.

Heres an update from chimera on UNfiction

If you experience problems this might help

anything else please email me guinSPLAT13thlabour.tk

many thanks

Client update

2006-09-22T12:43:43Z

Just a quick update I have had from Chimera245 and to keep you all informed.

1.4.0 has been initially tested and will be available for wider testing soon. He will be adding more Phase 1 work units into the mix over the weekend
(the ones featuring spaces) and will require us to adjust the stats a little. So keep them clients running :) and watch this space.

Client update

2006-09-12T13:29:45Z

As you will have noticed we have recently entered teh final 10% of the existing keyspace of our brute force. Chimera245 has also posted an update regarding a new updated and second wave client.

When we originally started the brute force we chose to concentrate on the keyspace 1-0 a-z A-Z as this was at the time a logical way to help reduce the time the brute force would take to complete. As such, and as we near the end of this keyspace, Chimera245 has prepared a new cleint in the event that there are additional characters to test. As a starting point we have extended the keyspace to include , . ! ?

Testing of this client will be ready later in the week hopefully and once tested will be rolled out as soon as we complete the existing keyspace allowing us to continue the brute force. I have also got a few ideas that will hopefully give us a little more coverage and try to increase the number of active clients to help speed up the whole effort.

There is still a lot to do and anyone wishing to help should email me guinSPLAT13thlabour.tk

Update

2006-09-02T08:12:02Z

Things are going very smoothly and I will be posting some updated news over the next few days. I am setting up a few additional places to help promote the 13th client such as pleasure cards, myspace, flickr, and so on!

Anyone wishing to help offer further ideas please email me via the site (some new puzzles would be greatly appreciated)

well I have to be a domestic type person today so I will let you continue to ponder Books puzzle.

Puzzling Date

Up for grabs is a shiny SF connection event T-shirt to the lucky winner.

This puzzle comprises 2 parts and there is a pdf file you can download and a seperate link to the image so that you can enlarge it.

Puzzling Date PDF
Puzzling Date Image

Architect Thomas Bookmore

Closing date 12th September

Submit your answers here

The answer and results to Theatre of History can also be found here

New shiny

2006-08-28T18:55:39Z

Puzzling Date

Up for grabs is a shiny SF connection event T-shirt to the lucky winner.

This puzzle comprises 2 parts and there is a pdf file you can download and a seperate link to the image so that you can enlarge it.

Puzzling Date PDF
Puzzling Date Image

Architect Thomas Bookmore

Closing date 12th September

Submit your answers here

The answer and results to Theatre of History can also be found here

USA

2006-08-10T14:20:26Z

Having a great time in the States :D

We fly to SF tomorrow so I look forward to meeting up with many of the players who will be participating.

The Client is still happily crunching those numbers. For regular updates and news check out the site.

Anyone interested in being kept upto date can register on the website for regular newsletters. I will be puttig one together on my return to the UK.

well keep working on the puzzle and keep the CPU cycles rolling.

Guin x

New puzzle

2006-08-05T17:43:59Z

Theatre of History

As I am away for a few weeks this is a difficult one. However, the prize is fitting and is all of wave 4 Red, Orange, Yellow, Green, Blue and Purple cards. I will also throw in a sheet of the old PXC stickers for the winner!

Architect Echidna

Closing date 27th August

Submit your answers here

The answer and results to Prism can also be found here

further announcement

2006-08-03T13:06:27Z

DON'T PANIC

Right, rather sooner than I'd expected.. the future outlook...

All in all, the god we like to call chimera245 has decided that he is happy to complete his mission of either finding the key within, or completing a search of all ascii translated alphanumeric keys (keys that are composed of every combination of 0-9, a-z and A-Z).

That means that in about about 40 days (and 40 nights), there's the possibility we'll need to have a new home, and a new plan for the keyspace. Rather than waiting for that to hit us, we think it's worth having something else in place to continue responding to the community effort.

chimera has said he'll help with the re-molding of the client to cope with this, and lend/license us on the server application in it's new home. That means we have two issues.

1/ What changes should we make to the keyspace
2/ Where is the project going to live

Any suggestions for #1 are welcome. But more urgently we need a solution to #2.

The spec for what we need is:

1/ One computer. Spec should be greater than Pentium IV 2.4Ghz with 1GB memory.

2/ One reliable Internet connection to the tune of about 1Mb synchronous.

Both will have to be available for possibly one year. Though hopefully a lot less, and a key set of admins will need RDP or vpn access to them. So Mr. and Mrs. PXC community...

Announcement

2006-08-03T11:07:40Z

Just keep you all updated. I will be posting results tonight and a new more feindish puzzle to keep you going for the next 2 weeks.

SteveC has just put this together for us. We are working on a few things and this should give you the low down:

The search for the key to the 13th labour has now surpassed 60% of the possible combinations. All is going swimmingly and the early teething problems have now been extinguished. All in all, I think everyone should send a message to chimera to tell him how absolutely fabulous he is. I'm sure wave4 silvers wouldn't go amiss either ;) While you're at it, the work by GuiN and other contributors to the website and blog in drumming up support have been outstanding too, so three cheers!

However, the downside of reaching 60% is that the statisticians amongst you may be starting to wonder where it might end. Also, those who keep an eagle eye on the world of PXC might wonder exactly what Kurt was talking about when he mentioned cryptography and punctuation in a message to Karen at Crypto. There are no co-incidences. Well, not in heavily plot driven universes anyway.

Neither are reason to panic, but they are a reminder that what we're doing is not exactly brute force, more "intelligent brute force". We're making a lot of assumptions in the current attack. We're assuming that essentially, the key to it all would be guessable by a human. To that end we've only looked at keys that contain the numbers 0-9 and the letters a-Z.

To ensure continuity I think it's time we started looking to the future expansion of the search space. We've got some good ideas of where to go next, what combinations to try.

That's all for now, but I just thought I'd put it out there that these things are being thought about. Over the next couple of days, I should be posting an update as to what exactly all of this might entail.

In the meantime, lets try to redouble our efforts to get through the current search as soon as possible. Anyone out there who has a computer running for some or all of the day can help by getting the client running. The prize pool is now worth quite a lot, certainly worth the 5 mins it takes to set the client going on your computer!

13th Labour on tour...

2006-07-26T08:26:28Z

As part of the whole SF build up and wave 4 release etc. i am posting on 1up and have decided to make a few podcasts starting with the launch partay. I am hoping to interview a lot of players and Mind Candy staff alike and will be pimping the 13th labour client to the world...

[EDIT] Ps. Any moment now..... Happy 8 million wus \o/ [/EDIT]

Prism

2 Black cards (of your choice) to the winner!

Architect Echidna

Closing date 2nd August

Submit your answers here

The answer and results to Rock Time can also be found here

New puzzle....

2006-07-24T16:59:55Z

Prism

2 Black cards (of your choice) to the winner!

Architect Echidna

Closing date 2nd August

Submit your answers here

The answer and results to Rock Time can also be found here

Just to clarify

2006-07-23T14:30:55Z

a few of these times....

and this is your hint :) (as it will practically give it away

12:55
11:58
12:51
3:45

Rock Time
I am going to be generous. 1 silver card to the winner (should make up for my abscence!)

Architect Gaspar Lewis

Closing date 23rd July

Submit your answers here

The answer and results to Buzmans Return can also be found here

Hooorrraaaahhhhhh

2006-07-21T09:15:44Z

I have passed my postgrad course \o/ - meaning I am truly finished.

Keep them entries a coming!!!

And WOOOT 50%

Rock Time
I am going to be generous. 1 silver card to the winner (should make up for my abscence!)

Architect Gaspar Lewis

Closing date 23rd July

Submit your answers here

The answer and results to Buzmans Return can also be found here

Back in action

2006-07-19T18:04:31Z

Many thanks for all your patience. I am now free of the shackles of life in general and have got a lot to work on.

So here it is a new puzzle, the results to the last one (okay about 1 month late!!!) and I have plenty in the pipeline for you.

Rock Time
I am going to be generous. 1 silver card to the winner (should make up for my abscence!)

Architect Gaspar Lewis

Closing date 23rd July

Submit your answers here

The answer and results to Buzmans Return can also be found here

Update

2006-07-08T13:59:11Z

Just to let you know that I am still alive and that RL is really stacked out. I have a final peice to complete for my course and its a biggie. Just got a few bits to do and all should be completed with the week. If I get a moment I will update the site and the puzzles.

Needless to say thanks for keeping them running we are well and truly past 40%

I will return anon :)

Puzzle update

2006-07-01T09:28:19Z

Well another successful and fun puzzle. RL is alas quite busy and as such I will not have time to update teh site and give you the results of the current puzzle or a new one. I am away at an "enrichment" week as part of my main job so will be offline ish (although I am sure that I will find a way!) until next Friday.

I will post new puzzles (yep puzzles! Watch this space!) and the results then.

Keep them clients running I expect us to reach the 6 million mark easily.

Well see you all soon

New Puzzle

2006-06-19T16:32:18Z

Ive got a lot to deal with in RL over the next 10 days so this should keep you going until the 1st of July ;)

Ive not been given a name so ive called it:

Buzman's Return
(as it's his second puzzle and I thought revenge was too evil - if he offers up a name i will amend it accordingly!)

For your chance to win a selection of 4 black PXC cards of your choice can you solve this?

Architect Buzman

Closing date 1st July

Submit your answers here

The answer and results to Grey Matter can also be found here

Wooo

2006-06-19T15:50:03Z

so the hint helped having just seen a correct answer in my inbox :)

will post details and update site

Keep your eyes peeled - new puzzle on its way

On another note we are steadily nearing 4 million work units ;)

Final - but major hint ;)

2006-06-19T10:01:23Z

some of you are 4/5ths of the way there - perhaps some divine intervention is required?

Okay

2006-06-19T09:05:06Z

Sorry for the delay in getting back to you all on this - RL is a little stacked out at the moment so I have left you all to suffer a little - for which I appologise :)

however - we still have no correct entries for this little beauty - and I am suprised as most entries have been on the right path - but have just failed to fit in the last peice to solve it!

As such I am going to make it a FIRST CORRECT ENTRY WINS and I will throw in 2 Black cards of the winners choice so get cracking. I will also post a further hint but need to work on this as I dont want to give the final bit away too easily ;)

"Sherlock's table was a very ancient antique"

Grey Matter

For your chance to win a all wave 1 and 2 Yellow Perplexcity cards (thats 18) can you solve this?

Architect Tanner

Closing date First correct answer!
Submit your answers here

The answer and results to Apple of my eye can also be found here

Good luck and thank you for your support

HINT

2006-06-14T22:08:52Z

quite suprised this hasnt been done yet

so here is a hint for you all:

"Sherlock's table was a very ancient antique"

Grey Matter

For your chance to win a all wave 1 and 2 Yellow Perplexcity cards (thats 18) can you solve this?

Architect Tanner

Closing date 16th June

Submit your answers here

The answer and results to Apple of my eye can also be found here

Good luck and thank you for your support

Progress

2006-06-06T09:11:11Z

An amazing few days - just short in fact of 500,000 wus done in 4 days.

On another note there has been some discussion about whether we are performing the correct RC5 decryption process. Chimera245 has posted a reply to these comments here

Once again thank you for all the support.

Stats

2006-06-05T16:22:47Z

I was checking stats and Chimera has confirmed that we did in just 2 days 129,068
yesterday, following on from 128671 the day before.

WOOOOOOO (runs around in undies!)