41–50 of 51 posts
Wouldn't printing a QR code be way easier? If it's just for retro fun / Rube Goldberginess than nevermind, carry on :)
> Looks like a new 2d barcode format to me. Why I would want this rather QR or any other that have redundancy built in?
Cool but wouldn’t you forget how to decode it after some time? I.e. wouldn’t engraving regular characters be simpler?
> Cool but wouldn’t you forget how to decode it after some time? Not necessarily. First of all there isn't much decoding to be done: if one follows the recommendation, and one uses the hex input variant as the password (or secret), then decoding is as simple as just writing the number is binary base. For example this password `d74ae47dc6f599d3f9cb847bd77d6b7c` can be recovered by simply starting a Python interpreter…
Perhaps one could engrave without specialized hardware, i.e. increase the nail and hammer dpi resolution a bit, use a pixel font and become a human dot matrix printer.
But yes, punch card decoding may be not a problem and a punch card could be fine too - and definitely much cooler.
Surprised no one has mentioned Cryptosteel. https://cryptosteel.com/
However, they all have in common the following major disadvantages:
* cost -- I can't see myself paying 50+/100+/150+ EUR for such a product, no matter how fancy is the marketing;
* they are meant primarily to encode ASCII passphrases, thus they have low information density; (most formats allow one to encode only one letter per column;)
* size / format -- I want something easily portable, not a large slab of metal, or a heavy paper-weight; (thus I've used the standard CR80 ID card size;)
https://github.com/cyphar/paperback
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GI9rKdM9rB8&list=PLD8dAKx4J2...
Numbered array from 1...
Initially the bits were counted from 0, however this had two issues: * using 0 as starting point would immediately trigger one's "computer science" instinct, and then it's uncertain which bit is actually bit `0`? the least significant one (as is in most cases), or the most significant one? * by using 1 as the starting point, I hope would induce most people to just use it as a counter to number things in the "normal"…
I'd do it in my stash of hollerith cards, but I don't have a desk punch. I suppose I could simply take some of the pre-punched ones, and use them as the key phrase!
I like the survivability, and the constraint to be doable with common hand tools. For more information density, and easier readability by a less-technical person who inherits it -- at the cost of requiring special tools -- I wonder about using number&letter stamps with a hammer. Or, if you permit very special tools, laser-cut alphanumerics (base16, base58, or base64, for arbitrary bits; or alphabetic passphrases). Ei…
Letter stamps are one option. A number/letter grid you use a simple punch with are much more dense than this but still easy to do with hand tools. There are lots of products with pre-made stamped letter tiles that slide into slots.
Make sure it's stored in an electrochemically inoffensive environment, including considerations like dissimilar-metal contact, etc. Aluminium is a good choice here especially for being both easily worked and self-passivating in air, but it has some more obscure vulnerabilities which can have impact over decades.
Make sure it's stored in an electrochemically inoffensive environment, including considerations like dissimilar-metal contact, etc. Aluminium is a good choice here especially for being both easily worked and self-passivating in air, but it has some more obscure vulnerabilities which can have impact over decades.
Can you describe those obscure vulnerabilities?
Earlier quoted context omitted.
Can you describe those obscure vulnerabilities?
Not well, I don't even play a materials scientist on TV. But you have stuff like the differing electronegativities of dissimilar metals and consequent charge migration eventually producing macroscopic electrolysis effects in the chronic presence of an electrolyte, such as moist air or water mixed with road salt, which is why every Jeep Cherokee outside Nevada eventually drops its aluminum heat pan on the road, after…