Hiho :)

Recently, following my considerations about "everything is byte", a maybe
banal thought but rich of funny thoughts, I've asked myself some questions
-and I've given myself some replies- about files and their meaning.

We are used to use files in their standard way, that is we hear audio files,
we see images, we execute executables and so on. But who says that an mp3
file really represents audio, or that a gif is just an image? So I started
some nice experiments, like executable images, strange .com files, a.out and
so on, until I reached the conclusion that, after all, a file is just what I
want it to be.

Now, here's the big question: if I take someone else's files, maybe even
protected by copyright, and use them to make SOMETHING ELSE... who has the
copyright? Is anyone able to arrest me because, for instance, I've put on a
T-shirt an image which _is_ the code of a commercial software?

So I've thought: let's take a file which can become a good example for
anyone:


                                   WIN.COM


... and let's make it become something good. Thinking about a famous picture
by Magritte





here is MY creation (sorry, Magrì ;) And you, click on it to see the
enlarged version





Don't start sayin that the size is too small, that the resolution is not nice
and that you don't like the colors, because there's something more.

1) This image IS NOT win.com, first of all because it's an image (well, you
   are seeing it aren't you?) and then because it has those nice, little,
   funny writings by me.

2) This image IS win.com, because the file IS STILL EXECUTABLE and WORKS!!!
   The proof is that I'm writing this html page with a text editor which is
   currently running on a Win98 started by THIS win.com (that after all is
   not win.com ;)

3) If we want to say everything, this image IS NOT win.com: it's a patched
   version of win.com. And it's also an example of high art reproducibility
   (please, artists, don't blame me if I call it this way): to have a copy
   you can just download and execute my patch, or
   study the source. For all the programmers around
   here: I know, the code isn't SO nice... but as you've probably noticed yet
   it has been automatically generated by my great patching engine, so stop
   it :)

4) Another little note: since the image is in gif format and gif compression
   is lossless (that is, it doesn't lose information), you can save this 
   image as a raw file and have a perfectly working win.com... even if, to
   have this image size, I've appended some zeroes at the end of the file.
   Argh, I'm distributing win.com from my site! But is it really win.com? No,
   it's a gif! :)

5) The image is, we can say, _hidden_ inside the file: that is, the data I
   have added are visible ONLY if the file is opened as a grayscale raw image
   with 101x250 resolution. Otherwise, you will just see some noise without
   any meaning. Who knows, then, if between our "closed" files there are
   others with messages like this!

6) Think about how nice it would be, a ***harmless*** virus which patches
   files inside your HD signing them with nice images... hey, the idea is
   mine, put some greetz at least! :)
   (well, to tell the truth my friend rECIdjVO had the idea O:-)

7) And now, do you notice that use of a grey, darker color in the lower part
   of the painting? Well, those are the strings.



+mala, March 2002