iflix kicks off “Mr. Robot” inspired hackathon

If you’re a binge watching drama junkie, you’ll likely be familiar with one of iflix’s most enthralling exclusives that involve a socially withdrawn hacker who is nuttier than a full bag of Garrett’s Macadamia popcorn. We speak of Mr. Robot, which stars Rami Malek as one Elliott Anderson, the aforementioned hacker who, in Season 1 orchestrated the financial meltdown of the United States by taking on E Corp, a fictional megacorporation that dominates the show in almost every way. The show quickly become one of the most talked after shows on the ‘net, more so for the surprising realism behind it’s hacking sequences that has actual practitioners consulting the show’s producers to ensure that it remained authentic. If you’ve missed it (how could you!), fret not as iflix has it all, including season 2 and its eagerly awaited finale which will be airing within 24 hours of its US debut this 22 September. Once the season 2 finale airs, iflix will be offering season 1 and 2 as a complete boxed set.

To commemorate one of the hottest shows to hit the cultural zeitgeist in recent years, iflix organised a 24-hour  ‘Seize Ctrl’ hackathon over the weekend from 16 – 17 September at their headquarters located near Midvalley mall. The theme, as you’d likely surmise, was inspired by the ideas behind the Mr. Robot series with users taking control in innovating and perfecting their experience in consuming entertainment. The challenging event saw 36 participants split across a dozen teams vying for first, second and third place by pitching ideas to enhance the iflix experience while being overseen and mentored onsite by iflix’s own talented tech developers.

Participants and mentors at the first iflix_hackathon: Seize Ctrl along with grand prize winners The Hackbots, 1st runner up winners The Winner, 2nd runner up winners, JDK as well as Best Student Team winners DIL and Best UI/UX winners Team 18 in the mix.

In the end, three teams stood head and shoulders above the rest. In first place was team ‘The Hackbots’ who created a feature where iflix users can create a campaign of sorts for shows that they want to see along with the ability for users to vote for their favourite shows and movies. In second place was team The Winner who pitched for a voice activated search function on iflix as well as the ability to find shows or movies based on subtitles or captions. In third place was team JDK who pitched for an audio equaliser for better hearing via headphones along with a floating screen video option for multitasking on devices. Last but not least, team DIL won the prize for Best Student Team while Team 18 won the prize for Best UI/UX. Everyone walked away with a ton of awesome swag that included cash, Mr. Robot merchandise, iflix subscriptions and more. These new features that the winning teams have pitched will be considered for future implementation into iflix. For more on iflix swing by their site at www.iflix.com