Chris Mikaitis 's Techdirt Comments

Latest Comments (22) comment rss

  • On the post: Will Bloom Energy Live Up To The Hype?

    Chris Mikaitis ( profile ), 25 Feb, 2010 @ 05:44pm

    delivery systems

    This has likely been pondered by greater minds than my own, but why can't hydrogen be transported through our water system, using the same pipes? Seems like you could transmit both, and separate them at point of use.... no?

    This is a naive understanding, I know, but it could help if the correct minds get involved.

  • On the post: If You Only Share A Tiny Bit Of A File Via BitTorrent, Is It Still Copyright Infringement?

    Chris Mikaitis ( profile ), 20 Nov, 2009 @ 03:48pm

    I love the digital age.... nothing can be sacred.

    I saw a neat website about a year ago where you could upload a file, they would XOR it with a 'control' file of the same size (random 1's and 0's). Both could be transmitted to a third party, who could XOR the no longer recognizable first file with the 'control' file to get back to the original.

    The math involved with the XOR swap is detailed elsewhere, so look it up if this sounds confusing.

    The point, though, is that the (possibly illegal) original file is garbled in the first XOR, to where the transmitted file is essentially garbage, along with the control file, which is random digits... neither of these should be infringing on anything legal.

    I completely understand why this is not convincing evidence that trying to protect 'IP' rights in the digital age is useless and irrelevant, but I do wonder about the damage that could be done from protecting against it.

    A little vague, I know... but hear me out. What if I XOR'd legal copies of 2 programs together? Both programs would be the key to unlocking the other. Who owns the key? Is the key illegal?

    hope I get some responses.

    Thanks.