Perhaps the most recognised hacking group in the country, 2600 Australia, has wound up.

For three-and-a-half years, 2600 Australia brought together people interested in electronics, hacking and privacy issues.

The group shares its name with the US-based 2600, which publishes a quarterly hacker magazine.

Last month, Grant Bayley, the group's front-man, sent an e-mail to the 2600 mailing lists announcing the decision.

"It's taken almost 12 months to get to this point, but the day has come," Bayley said in the message. "I changed the front page of www.2600.org.au to indicate that 2600 Australia is now in maintenance mode. In other words, we're putting it to sleep."

The 2600 of today is quite different from the original group.It gradually moved away from its hacker foundations and became a conventional type of technology and advocacy forum, but Bayley says that everyone is the wiser for it.

The 2600 website was a central point to gather information on regular meetings run by chapters in Sydney, Melbourne, Adelaide, Brisbane, Canberra and Perth. "I think we've gained a better appreciation of the world around us," Bayley says.

Bayley and the other organisers of 2600 decided to shut it down because running it was chewing up too much of their time. "I've been working for myself since about May and work keeps finding me quicker than I get through it all," Bayley says.

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