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this has some pretty powerful applications for example for politics or mass dissemination of paper based digital files for the public to quickly consume. Imagi
by curiousjorge 11y ago
this has some pretty powerful applications for example for politics or mass dissemination of paper based digital files for the public to quickly consume.
Imagine, if students could start posting free textbook pdf files just by handing out a piece of paper which you could scan, or maybe with a phone one day, and instantly receive the file.
Why not QR code? QR code needs connectivity while this solution would just require you to get your hands on the paper.
- 0xcde4c3db 11y agoQR code doesn't actually need connectivity, but its standard capacity is limited, so it's usually only used for small data like URIs and serial numbers. In principle, though, there's nothing stopping anyone from encoding a PDF as a big array of QR codes.
- isomorphic 11y agoYou most certainly can use QR codes to store data, using Version 40 QR codes. I'm sure PaperBack and QR codes have much in common. Also, QR codes let you adjust the level of error-correction that you want. Even if a QR code has a maximum size, you could use more than one per page. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/QR_code#Design https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/QR_code#Design I'm sure there are other 2D barcodes that could be used for this application. E.g., Data Matrix (also in the public domain). https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Data_Matrix https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Data_Matrix
- robotkilla 11y agoMaybe I'm just slow tonight but I don't see the usefulness in the applications you're describing. >for politics or mass dissemination of paper based digital files for the public to quickly consume > Imagine, if students could start posting free textbook pdf files just by handing out a piece of paper which you could scan, or maybe with a phone one day, and instantly receive the file. With both of those, how is this more efficient or easier to pass around than a cheap micro sd card, or just emailing a pdf?
- aw3c2 11y agoStanding outside with a stack of paper, being able to give them to passers-by, staying anonymous and free of network surveillance.
- njharman 11y agoAlways doubt your anonymity. Many color laser printers output hidden, self identifying serial codes.
- sago 11y agoI did not know this, do you have a source?
- robotkilla 11y agohttp://www.instructables.com/id/Yellow-Dots-of-Mystery-Is-Your-Printer-Spying-on-/ http://www.instructables.com/id/Yellow-Dots-of-Mystery-Is-Yo... http://www.pcworld.com/article/118664/article.html http://www.pcworld.com/article/118664/article.html https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Printer_steganography https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Printer_steganography http://seeingyellow.com/ http://seeingyellow.com/
- sago 11y agoFascinating, thanks for the links!
- Shish2k 11y agoDigitally anonymous and free of network surveillance, sure. Physically anonymous and free of a cop simply walking up and arresting you, not so much...
- robotkilla 11y agoDefinitely not free of digital surveillance http://www.pcworld.com/article/118664/article.html http://www.pcworld.com/article/118664/article.html
- digi_owl 11y agoOn that note, i seem to recall that certain encryption algorithms were transported out of USA by way of book back in the day. Back then (and i think the law is still in place) anything beyond something like a 90-bit key was considered a military weapon, and thus needed relevant export licenses. But this only applied to working binaries, not the code printed on paper. So what some researchers did was to get the code printed in a book, using a OCR friendly font, and then ship the book to something like Switzerland where it was scanned, compiled, and put online.
- tlavoie 11y agoYup, PGP source code, and I think it had checksums on the lines too to avoid errors. Didn't the book with the EFF's DES-cracking project (source included) get published the same way?