Question

An influential 1990 article by Noah Clayton introduced a DIY tool for hacking these devices, made by installing a 6.5536 megahertz crystal in a certain Radio Shack product. The very sturdy “fortress” type of these devices typically uses an automated system called ACTS. In contrast to similar tools like black boxes or blue boxes, a red box is specifically used to exploit these devices. Privately-owned COCOTs (“CO-cots”) are alternatives to these devices, which are usually owned by incumbent local exchange carriers like (*) GTE. (10[1])Potter Stewart wrote that the Fourth Amendment “protects people, not places” when arguing for the defendant’s privacy using one of these devices in the case Katz (10[1])v. United States. Phreakers (-5[2])might exploit these specific devices (0[1])by playing recordings of three kinds of sounds corresponding to different coins. For 10 points, name these devices, which in the UK can be found in prominent red kiosks. ■END■ (10[1])

ANSWER: payphones [accept coin-operated phones before “coins”; accept public phones; prompt on “telephones”; prompt on “phone booths” with “what kind of phone is inside the booth?”] (The article in the first sentence is “Converting a Tone Dialer into a Red Box”, which may have been the most influential article published in 2600 magazine in terms of how many people used it to get free phone calls.)
<AW>
= Average correct buzz position
Conv. %Power %Average Buzz
75%0%111.33

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Buzzes

PlayerTeamOpponentBuzz PositionValue
Aseem KeyalMacro Editorsplaying emacs while my parents are arguing8110
Matt Jacksonscreaming into the public static void main(String[] args)Eight Megabytes And Constantly Swapping10710
Dylan MinarikEdwardian Manifestation of All Colonial SinsWe Bought a Complexity Zoo Story111-5
Kevin Wanga neural-net processor; a thinking machineDianetics for Diabetics111-5
Jaimie CarlsonDianetics for Diabeticsa neural-net processor; a thinking machine1160
Kevin YeWe Bought a Complexity Zoo StoryEdwardian Manifestation of All Colonial Sins14610