heptapod's Journal: Time to End SETI?

ABC is reporting that SETI's search may be futile. According to Mark Newman of the University of Michigan compression and encryption issues would make the detection of electromagnetic "leakage" nigh impossible since E.T. isn't using earthly formats like jpg, mpg, mp3, etc.. His complete paper (PDF format) can be found here. Google View as HTML link too.

A friend of mine pointed out the major missed point of the ABC article. SETI is designed expressly for detecting signals sent to Earth not a transmission which bleeds off an alien ionosphere. Newman's article is still an interesting read.