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.
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