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About Oregon daily emerald. (Eugene, Or.) 1920-2012 | View Entire Issue (March 16, 2001)
Got Tijit? New software upgrades file sharing ■ Employees of the Eugene based MCC are working a round the clock to get the new company on its feet By Lisa Toth Oregon Daily Emerald For the last two months, 15 friends and employees, many of whom quit previous jobs, have worked 60 hours a week without pay to establish a Eugene-based business that provides computer support services and software.Ben Markum, the CEO of Markum Com munications Corporation, said the group, which includes current and former University students, is liv ing off Top Ramen. Everyone is in debt because they have collective ly invested tens of thousands of dollars into the venture. Markum said he is personally over $50,000 in debt in his seventh week of working for free. (( I hope people don’t have to carry floppy disks around campus anymore. Jacob Herbold chief technology officer, mcc yy “The idea wasn’t to become bankrupt,” Markum said. “But everyone believes in it. I am 100 percent confident that we are going to succeed.” While working for the Los Ange les-based OnSystems Inc., Markum helped develop software called Ti jit — a term students remember from when it appeared written in sidewalk chalk on campus earlier this term. With a PC and an Internet connection, Tijit users can transfer files of any type and size — includ ing music, text and video files — to other Tijit users all over the world. Other benefits include instant mes saging and chatting. Tijit uses peer-to-peer technolo gy that connects computers direct ly, bypassing a central server, which is how most computers are currently connected. Tijit encrypts all the transmitted data, which means that it is more secure than many Web sites. Down load time for transferring informa tion with Tijit varies depending on a person’s Internet connection, Markum said. Markum said Tijit is more ad vanced than Napster, which only lets people transfer music files. Markum co-founded the compa ny with his brother, Jon, who dropped out of Lane Community College to work for the company. The brothers leased a 7,000 square-foot home at 1819 Fair mount Blvd. The bedrooms, living room and indoor gymnasium were converted into offices, and the work began. Markum, a graduate of Harvey Mudd College in California, said MCC does not actually own the technology it is marketing. Rather, the company has special licensing that allows it to “distribute free ver sions to groups.” MCC is currently researching 60 potential corporations that might be interested in Tijit, Markum said, but the company is also targeting non-profit organizations. “We would like to get everyone using it,” Markum said. Local groups such as the ASUO, the Cultural Forum, the Women's Center and ROTC have been given demonstrations of the program, which would allow them to trans fer files for free. Dong II Jang, who graduated fall term from the University with a de gree in history and anthropology, joined MCC as the market, sales and human resources coordinator. Jang said applications such as video conferencing and network video gaming are in development. “I just love working with my friends, and I want to see my Adam Amato Emerald CEO Ben Markum looks over documents as Dong II Jang, Kelly Randle, and Jacob Herblod work on the software for Tijit. ‘The stuff we’re doing is going to benefit a lot of people,’ said Non-profit Coordinator Randle. (Below) In mid-January, the word Tijit began appearing around campus. Freshman Matt Merback looks at one of the Tijit markings outside Grab ‘N Go. friends succeed,” Jang said. “You don’t really have the opportunity to work with your friends in the pro fessional world, but this gives us the opportunity to take it to the next level.” Jacob Herbold, MCC’s chief tech nology officer, said he turned down an offer in the Bay Area to work for MCC. “It seemed like a waste of my youth. So I’m here instead, and what we are doing is more excit ing,” Herbold said. “There is a big ger chance for change with what we are working on.” Herbold said he hopes Tijit will be used to securely connect people in distance learning. He also said Tijit has the potential to eliminate floppy disks, which can easily damage, lose or corrupt the data on them. “I hope people don’t have to car ry floppy disks around campus anymore,” Herbold said. Seth Re’voal, a sophomore mul timedia design major, said after testing a demonstration version of Tijit, he found it was simpler than other means of transferring files, such as File Transfer Protocol. The software could be easily used in his fraternity, Delta Tau Delta, he said, and would allow a connection among not only the house mem bers, but possibly chapters nation wide. Re’voal also said the University could benefit from the software. “If the University were to get on line with Tijit software, it would greatly facilitate the transfer of in formation and ideas and improve learning efficiency,” he said. More information about MCC and Tijit is available at www.markumcc.com. LAfilK Laser Vision Correction Nearsightedness, farsightedness, and astigmatism STEVEN OFNER, MD Jerry Allen BEFORE Jerry Allen AFTER (Surgery by Steven Ofner, MD) You Don’t Have To Imagine Anymore! Discover the freedom of reducing your dependence on glasses or contact lenses. Call us to see if you are a candidate & explore your options with a FREE consultation appointment. 011049 STEVEN OFNER, M.D. (541) 687-1715 http://www.eugeneeyecare.com SPRING CR A I I CENTER - For more information or to have our brochure mailed to you call: 346-4361 or www.craftcenter.uoregon.edu Ceramics Drawing £ Jewelry Photography Stained (Hass Weaving Woodworking Oregon Daily Emerald P.O. Box 3159, Eugene OR 97403 The Oregon Daily Emerald is published daily Monday through Friday during the school year and Tuesday and Thursday during the summer by the Oregon Daily Emerald Publishing Co. Inc., at the Uni versity of Oregon, Eugene, Oregon. A member of the Associated Press, the Emerald operates independently of the University with offices in Suite 300 of the Erb Memorial Union. The Emerald is pri vate property. The unlawful removal or use of papers is prosecutable by law. NEWSROOM — (S41H46-SS11 Editor in chief: Jack Clifford Managing editor: Jessica Blanchard Community: Darren Freeman, editor. Lindsay Buchele, Aaron Breniman, reporters. Freelance: Serena Markstrom, editor. Higher education: Andrew Adams, editor. Brooke Ross, Hank Hager, reporters. Student activities: Jeremy Lang, editor. Emily Gust, Beata Mostafavi, Lisa Toth, reporters. News aide: Ben Lacy. Perspectives: Michael Kleckner, editor. Jayna Bergerson, Rebecca Newell, Pat Payne, Eric Pfeiffer, columnists. Pulse: Rebecca Wilson, editor. Mason West, reporters. Sports: Jeff Smith, editor. Scott Pesznecker, asst, editor Peter Hockaday, Adam Jude, Robbie McCallum, reporters. Copy: Sara Lieberth, Katie Mayer, copy chiefs. Jessica Davison, Monica Hande, Lori Musicer, Jessica Richelderfer copyeditors. Online: Carol Rink, editor. Timur Insepov, webmaster. Design: Katie Miller, editor. Brooke Mossefin, Russ Weller, designers. Bryan Dixon, Giovanni Salimena, illustrators. Adam Amato, Chrystal McConnell,Tom Patterson, Laura Smit, photographers. BUSINESS — (541) S46-S512 Judy Riedl, general manager. Kathy Carbone, business supervisor. Sarah Goracke, receptionist. Masahiro Kojima, John Long, Jeff Neely, Laura Ramelli, Nelson Hawkes distribution. CLASSIFIEDS — (541) S46-4S4S Trina Shanaman, manager. Katy Hagert, Amy Richman, Laura Staples, assistants. ADVERTISING — (S4l) 346-3712 Becky Merchant, director. Doug Hentges, Katie Harsany, Nicole Hubbard, Trevor Kuhn, Jesse Long, Chau Nguyen, Adam Rice, Hillary Schultz, Chad Verly, Lisa Wood, sales representatives. Erin O’Connell, Van Nguyen, assistants. PRODUCTION — (S4D ^46-4S81 Michele Ross, manager. Tara Sloan, coordinator. Laura Chamberlain, Kara Fallini, Cassie Keller, Melissa O’Connell, Laura Paz, Ross Ward, designers. .n
