Forgive my late, late, late entrance into the foray.
Wellfed, I'd be happy to test your claim remotely, if you're game. You would need to purchase 20 blank CD's. You will burn any 10 songs you'd like onto these twenty CD's, such that each song is burned exactly once onto two CD's. Mark 10 CD's as "[Song Name] A" and 10 CD's as "[Song Name] B" (where [Song Name] refers to the name of the song on the CD's). You would also need to purchase (but not use, open, or tamper with) a GSIC device. You would package all 20 CD's in a sturdy CD casing (such that the A and B versions are next to each other!), and mail them and the GSIC device to me. (Total cost, about $30). You may wish to listen to the CD's before sending them, to ensure that all untreated versions sound alike.
With the help of a friend, and using a digital camcorder, I will make a no-cut-away video of myself opening your package, pulling out the GSIC, and placing it on top of my CD player, following these instructions from
here.
Instructions: Remove the orange Intelligent Chip from its clear plastic protective case and place it on top of the CD/DVD/SACD player directly above the transport section, silver label facing up.
Then, always in full view of the camera, I would pull the CD case out of the package. I'd pull all of the CD's out of the case at once, and put them in a stack (which would be as visible as possible). I'd pull out the A and B version of the first song from the top of the stack, and hold them up for the camera, then put them both in my left hand. With my right hand, in full view of the camera, I would flip and catch a coin. If it came up heads, I would treat the "A" version of the song; if tails, I would treat the "B" version, following these instructions:
Next, insert the disc to be upgraded in the player, push "Play" and allow the disc to play for 2 seconds. The Chip can also be placed on top of the player while the disc is already playing with similar results. The upgrade takes less than 2 seconds and is permanent. Once the disc is upgraded, either remove the Intelligent Chip from the player and return it to its protective case or leave it on top of the player and insert the next disc to be upgraded into the player. Discs may be upgraded sequentially, leaving the Chip in place on the top of the player. If left on top of the player, the Chip will not function until the next disc to be upgraded is inserted in the player and played.
After treating just one version of the song, I would lift the GSIC device off of the CD player, and place it back into its protective case. I would set the device several feet away from the CD player. I would then "treat" the other version of the song (e.g. if I had flipped "heads" I would now "treat" version B, if tails; I would now "treat" version A), following the same instructions, but
without the device. This protects me against any technology you might use to determine which CD had been played (call me paranoid).
After treating both, I would set both the A and B version of the first song back into the CD case.
I would repeat this demonstration for the remaining 9 pairs of CD's, placing them back into the original packaging in turn. Finally, I would seal up the package (without the used GSIC device), and stop filming.
I will send the package back to you, first class, via a trustworthy carrier which allows online tracking. I would be willing to foot the bill for this return shipping.
I will encrypt (using 156-bit 3DES) and post the video to the internet, where you and anyone else are free to download it. Alternatively, I can just post the MD5 checksum of the original video.
I will monitor the tracking online, and post here when I see that it has arrived. You will have 2 weeks from the day you receive the package to determine, for each song, whether disc A or disc B was treated. You can use any means you'd like.
You will post to this forum a list of 10 responses, indicating the song name, and whether version A or B was treated. Once you have posted this list in an unambiguous format, I will post the decryption key in this forum, as well as the un-encrypted original version of the video to the internet.
If your 10 responses correspond to those caught in the video, you will have passed the test. (How this will be dealt with is still up for discussion).
