December 2003 - cypherpunks-legacy

Give us your wired, your poor, your HTML hacker, yearning to web , freely (fwd)
by Sandy Sandfort 17 Dec '03

17 Dec '03

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ SANDY SANDFORT . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . S'punks, Anyone need a job in the Bay Area? I think a Cypherpunk would be ideal for this job. S a n d y ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ---------- Forwarded message ---------- Date: 17 Nov 95 17:29:42 From: Steve Gibson <Steve_Gibson(a)bionomics.org> To: Friends of Bionomics <Friends_of_Bionomics(a)notes.worldcom.com> Subject: Give us your wired, your poor, your HTML hacker, yearning to web freely Dear Friends, We need help. We need a combination web-cultivator, researcher, editor, conference assistant and Notes/Mac wizard. In sum, a typical enterpreneurial utility infielder. Finding people who comfortably straddle the worlds of public policy and high technology can be tricky. We look to you, as someone familiar with The Bionomics Institute, for assistance in this key search. (After all, this one hire represents a 33% increase in our staff.) If you know of such a person, please get the following information to them, or get them in touch with us. Thanks, Steve * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * JOB OPENING * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * WHO WE ARE The Bionomics Insitute is non-profit educational foundation (aka Think Tank) dedicated to replacing the conventional mechanistic model of the economy with a living, ecosystem one, as described in Michael Rothschild's book <Bionomics: Economy as Ecosystem>. QUALIFICATIONS Must be comfortable (1) all over the WWW, and inside the HTML of our web site, and (2) researching economics, technology, history, biology, public policy and ??? using libraries, on-line data sources, phone calls and brainpower, and 3) familiar with free-market thinking. JOB DESCRIPTION (1) Nurture Institute web site. (2) Provide primary research support for free-market think tank/high-tech columnist. (3) Maintain research library. (4) Assist in general operations of Institute, including conferences, etc. (5) etc. (6) see 5. ORGANIZATIONAL CULTURE Informal but intense work environment, self-starters only. Teamwork and communication trite but very necessary. Technical knowledge must be matched with broad interests and strong English skills. Small staff, medium salary, large hours. IF YOU MADE IT THIS FAR Do your research on Bionomics (www.bionomics.org would be a good place to start), then email resume to Research(a)bionomics.org. (November 17, 1995) Steve Gibson, Executive Director, The Bionomics Institute, 415/454-1000, www.bionomics.org

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WRITTEN CODE
by Daniel 'genius' Charpentier 17 Dec '03

17 Dec '03

In Raph Levien's Subject : Design proposal : crypto-capable generic interface he mentioned his desire to see more cryptographic program code and I didn't want to see this initiative die. I am a new commer to cryptography and I know I shouldn't be posting yet but that is what I thought cypherpunk postings was supposed to be in the first place ( program code, protocols, and algorithms ). Please don't flame me to badly for this message. I am doing everything I am supposed to before posting ( reading the FAQ's, the entire cypherpunk archive, and APPLIED CRYPTOGRAPHY by Bruce Schneier ) but I could not let this slip by. Let's talk more about the cryptographic algorithms, program code, and chips than politics. I hope this did not upset to many people

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Oracle's "internet terminal"
by dlv＠bwalk.dm.com 17 Dec '03

17 Dec '03

The recent issue of _Computer Reseller News_ has a couple of items on the "internet terminal" being readied by Oracle. I'll quote a couple of crypto-relevant excerpts: 1. Interview with Larry Ellison (Oracle Corp's Chairman/CEO) Q. How far along are you in the development of the $500 Internet Network Terminal? A. We'll be delivering the prototype machines this year with full production in the third quarter next year. ... Q. Will you release Application Programing Interfaces for the Oracle browser and server? A. We will use industry-standard APIs that are accepted by everybody, not Microsoft-proposed APIs. ... Q. What differentiates the Oracle Web products from competitive offerings in terms of pricing and technology? A. There will be standard Web payment schemes. We'll use them, as will everybody else. We won't differentiate ourselves on basic payment schemes. The thing that will differentiate us is security protocols, the ability to use text processing, database processing, video processing, our video server technology and our powerful client. 2. Ellison's field of dreams - $500 PC (by Ken Yamada) ... Oracle's chairman and chief executive, Lawrence Ellison, previewing his latest futuristic vision at a trade show last month in Geneva, said Oracle is developing the computer and that it will be shown early next year. The desktop version of the new system, called a "network computer" and referred to as an "NC" rather than a PC, is expected to sell for about $500 and will use Internet servers to do the bulk of its computing. Basic hardware will include an inexpensive microprocessor, a small amount of memory, a monitor and a keyboard, but the device will lack storage and software. [I guess, they mean no permanent storage or software other than the browser in ROM. No remembered state, no viruses... -DV] ... The Redwood Shores, Calif., company is developing the computer's operating system and technical design, but the unit will be produces by hardware manufacturers, said Farzad Dibachi, an Oracle senior vice president. While Dibachi would not name specific manufacturers, he explained that Oracle's participation in the device's technical development was similar to the role it played in developing a digital television set-top box with Apple Computer, which produced the box's hardware. ... Oracle plans to sell software that turns World Wide Web sites essentially into central processing units for the new computers. ... "If computing is to go to the masses and we're doing electronic commerce," said Dibachi in a telephone interview from Geneva, "you have to have devices that are simpler." Oracle's Laursen said he expectes that eventually many different companies will manufacture the devices, which he described as an entire line of products encompassing two-way pagers, intelligent telephones, mobile computers, desktop systems and television set-top boxes. Each of these devices would rely on the Internet to do its core processing work. He said he expected Oracle to develop as many as 50 working prototypes by early next year. ... Oracle also plans to leverage its wireless communications software products and give some of the devices wireless capabilities. "We're still trying to figure out what processor to put in," Laursen said. Under consideration are chips from Mips Technologies and Motorola Inc. --- Dr. Dimitri Vulis Brighton Beach Boardwalk BBS, Forest Hills, N.Y.: +1-718-261-2013, 14.4Kbps

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Re: WRITTEN CODE
by tcmay＠got.net 17 Dec '03

17 Dec '03

At 10:51 AM 11/18/95, Daniel 'genius' Charpentier wrote: >I didn't want to see this initiative die. I am a new commer to >cryptography and I know I shouldn't be posting yet but that is >what I thought cypherpunk postings was supposed to be in the first >place ( program code, protocols, and algorithms ). Please don't ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ The list is about several things, some of which overlap the topics routinely discussed in sci.crypt and sci.crypt.research. Algorithms, code, etc. _does_ get discussed a lot, as you'll surely see as you peruse the archives. Volume-wise, it is a drop in the bucket. But this is not surprising, as primarily mathematical questions and answers tend to be brief. (You'll see this in the many one-line answwers to questions about cryptographic algorithms....) Also, technical questions tend to have precise answers, usually with answers in the various crypto texts and proceedings of the Crypto and EuroCrypt conferences. And technical questions which _don't_ have simple answers in the texts tend of course to be _research_ questions, and the dynamics mitigate against lively discussion until some progress is made. The social, political, and economic aspects are seldom discussed adequately elsewhere, and one thing the Cypherpunks group has really led in is the discussion of digital money, anonymous systems, pseudonyms, reputation, markets, and a host of other such topics. These topics can border on pure politics if people are not careful, but are generally close to the topics discussed at the first meeting over three years ago, before there was even a mailing list. >flame me to badly for this message. I am doing everything I am >supposed to before posting ( reading the FAQ's, the entire >cypherpunk archive, and APPLIED CRYPTOGRAPHY by Bruce Schneier ) >but I could not let this slip by. Let's talk more about the >cryptographic algorithms, program code, and chips than >politics. So, go ahead and talk. I mean this seriously, not sarcastically. No one will chastise you or anyone else for discussing technical cryptography. There are obviously folks interested in this. Experts, even. Published experts, even. --Tim May Views here are not the views of my Internet Service Provider or Government. ---------:---------:---------:---------:---------:---------:---------:---- Timothy C. May | Crypto Anarchy: encryption, digital money, tcmay(a)got.net 408-728-0152 | anonymous networks, digital pseudonyms, zero Corralitos, CA | knowledge, reputations, information markets, Higher Power: 2^756839 | black markets, collapse of governments. "National borders are just speed bumps on the information superhighway."

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pgp on bsdi 2.0
by The Anarchives 17 Dec '03

17 Dec '03

Hi, I'm having trouble getting pgp compiled on bsdi 2.0. Can someone who has successfully done this please email me with some help :) thanx http://www.lglobal.com/TAO/ ___ ___ ___ / /\ / /\ / /\ / /:/ / /::\ / /::\ / /:/ / /:/\:\ / /:/\:\ / /::\ / /:/ /::\ / /:/ \:\ /__/:/\:\ /__/:/ /:/\:\ /__/:/ \__\:\ \__\/ \:\ \ \:\/:/__\/ \ \:\ / /:/ \ \:\ \ \::/ \ \:\ /:/ \ \:\ \ \:\ \ \:\/:/ \ \:\ \ \:\ \ \::/ \__\/ \__\/ \__\/

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ZD Net Update v.1 #2
by wwwziff＠internet.com 17 Dec '03

17 Dec '03

__________________________________ZD Net Update_______________________________ v. 1 #2 11-13-95 Welcome to ZD Net Update, the free E-mail newsletter created especially for registered users of Ziff-Davis Interactive's ZD Net/World Wide Web edition. ZD Net Update is a bi-weekly bulletin that alerts you to new and exciting developments on ZD Net. In this issue: > ZD NET COMDEX/FALL '95 COVERAGE KICKS OFF > ZIFF-DAVIS PREMIERES ZD INTERNET LIFE ON THE WORLD WIDE WEB > TRUE INTERACTIVE REALITY ARRIVES ON ZD NET > ANNOUNCING SNAP SOLUTIONS TO COMPLEX PROBLEMS > MEASURE THE HEALTH OF THE NET WITH THE INTERNET INDEX * * * * * * * * * * ZD NET COMDEX/FALL '95 COVERAGE KICKS OFF Comdex/Fall: It's been called the Greatest Show on Earth, and for good reason. All this week the ZD Net Special Report http://www.zdnet.com/~zdi/comdex/filters/main.html will provide continuous updates from the trade show, complete with daily news updates, expert commentary, and Live Chats. Follow PC Magazine's Technical Excellence Awards, cybercast as a virtual 3D world. Get the skinny from PC Week's Spencer F. Katt party. And learn all about the new products that have attendees buzzing. For all the sights and sounds of the show, ZD Net is the place to be. * * * * * * * * * * ZIFF-DAVIS PREMIERES ZD INTERNET LIFE ON THE WORLD WIDE WEB This month marks the debut of ZD Internet Life (http://www.zdnet.com/zdil/) the first interactive magazine designed from the ground up around a Web site. Combining a magazine, a Web site, and a CD ROM, ZD Internet Life is focused on using the Internet for fun, profit, and personal growth. The editorial staff is headed by Bill Machrone, ZD Internet Life's Editor-in-Chief, Ziff-Davis's Vice President of Technology, and one of computer journalism's most respected stars. It also includes Web doyenne Angela Gunn and Associate Editor Lisa Holzer. Together with expert reviewers, ZD Internet Life's staff picks "The Best" sites and provides a top-to-bottom listing of "The Rest" of the sites that address a given topic under the categories of fun, profit, and personal growth. Readers who visit the Web sites will be able to add their opinions to an online database of site reviews. The content of the Web site is a superset of what will appear in the magazine and on the CD ROM. In the words of the ZD Internet Life editors, "ZD Internet Life is a Web site with an accompanying magazine. In other words, what you see right here is a lot like what you'll see on your local newsstand three months from now. Make sense? Welcome to the future of publishing." * * * * * * * * * * TRUE INTERACTIVE REALITY ARRIVES ON ZD NET Blast off into the future with ZD3D (http://www.zdnet.com/~zdi/vrml) a new interactive virtual reality area on ZD Net. Designed to serve as the preeminent source for interactive virtual reality on the Internet, ZD3D provides users with a rich and evolving virtual reality site, direct access to other 3D Web sites, and a wealth of news, events, articles, and commentaries focusing on virtual reality. ZD3D's design is based on Virtual Reality Modeling Language (VRML), a technology standard created by Tony Parisi and Mark Pesce that makes 3D environments on the Internet accessible through a standard PC. Users will feel as if they're actually strolling around 3D Web sites at will, obtaining information in the form of graphical, three-dimensional metaphors. In building the area, ZDI obtained the support of both Pesce and Parisi, who will contribute exclusive VRML commentaries and updates to ZD3D. In addition, Parisi helped ZDI build the ZD3D site through Intervista Software, his VRML technology and consulting firm. When ZD Net users click on ZD3D, they're given several options, including hot news; Parisi and Pesce's commentaries; the WorldView VRML browser from Intervista Software and other VRML browsers; and Terminal Reality, ZD3D's interactive virtual reality experience. The WorldView browser can be downloaded for free, enabling users to access the Terminal Reality world and launch to the other 3D Web sites available there. Once in, users navigate through a virtual airport, complete with departure gates to other interactive 3D Web sites, a central newsstand, and advertisements on walls and vehicles. Users are transported to 3D sites via a wide range of vehicles, including rockets, jets, ships, buses, and trains. Over the next six to nine months, ZD3D will include 3D chat, animated objects, and 3D sound. Experience the brave new world of virtual reality on the Web. Experience ZD3D today! * * * * * * * * * * ANNOUNCING SNAP SOLUTIONS TO COMPLEX PROBLEMS Just don't have enough time to design your own home page? Relax, help is on the way. The ZD Net How To Design Your Own Home Page SnapSolution http://www.zdnet.com/~zdi/software/snapsol/snapmain.html provides all the knowledge you need to stake a claim on the World Wide Web and to put up your own site for the whole world to see. This informative, entertaining guide offers a step-by-step tutorial, using programs chosen from the thousands of files in ZD Net's shareware libraries as well as colorful screen shots illustrating the key points. SnapSolutions offer hands-on, step-by-step advice on how to make your life more productive using shareware. Appearing each month, SnapSolutions will focus on both computing and non-computing goals alike. The next two SnapSolutions will help you create our own screen saver and holiday greeting cards. SnapSolutions: shareware at its best. * * * * * * * * * * MEASURE THE HEALTH OF THE NET WITH THE INTERNET INDEX Got an extra couple of grand burning a hole in your pocket? Maybe it's time you invested in the Internet. Introducing the Inter@ctive Week Internet Index, or @Net Index, http://www.hydra.com/interactive_week.html a collection of 37 Internet-related companies that give investors a formal measure of the performance of the emerging Internet industry. The @Net Index, which trades under the symbol IIX, was developed by Inter@ctive Week and the American Stock Exchange to better measure the performance of businesses associated with the Internet. It does this by focusing on select Internet service providers, commercial online service companies, Internet tool companies, multimedia publishers, and networking companies. The @Net Index also includes providers of technology expected to shape the future of the Internet, such as videoconferencing and interactive television. The @Net Index is a bona fide investment vehicle; options contracts on it will trade every business day on the floor of the American Stock Exchange. Investors will trade options based on the direction the index takes, over time. Initial expiration months are November and December 1995; January, April, and July 1996. The @Net Index closed Oct. 17 at 215.04, up 52 percent since the beginning of 1995. The Standard & Poor's 500 was up 28 percent for the same period. For more information about investing in the Index, call (800) THE-AMEX or check out the AMEX's Web site at http://www.amex.com. The Inter@ctive Week Web site (http://www.zdnet.com/~intweek) provides trading updates. * * * * * * * * * * ZD Net Update is the official newsletter of ZD Net/World Wide Web Edition. It is compiled by Tom Schmidt (tom_schmidt(a)zd.com) Feel free to respond with any news, notes, comments, or suggestions. To unsubscribe to ZD Net Update, point your browser to: http://www.zdnet.com/cgi-bin/ziffmail.pl/update and select "Unsubscribe to ZD Net Update."

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Re: Anonymity and Intellectual Capital
by Tom Bell 17 Dec '03

17 Dec '03

> I've ranted about all this here and elsewhere, how falling semiconductor > prices, public networks and strong cryptography beget the reemergence of > bearer certificates, this time in digital form (of which ecash is only the > prima facie example, the existence proof) and what I call, for lack of a > better term, a "geodesic", instead of hierarchical, economy. > Bob Hettinga Agreed. What's more, I'll make a similar claim about the legal system -- with the rise of alternate dispute resolution systems, it too appears to be moving toward a system where law issues less from state authorities and more from private ones. Post's article brings out this point well. As for terminology, I prefer "polycentric." Originally coined (I believe) by Polyani with regard to non-hierarchical societies, it works quite well in economic and legal contexts. A polycentric system harbors overlapping authorities in free and open competition. Tom W. Bell Assistant Professor Law and Technology Program UD Law School bell(a)odo.law.udayton.edu PGP fingerprint: 78 06 76 AC 32 38 A6 4C B3 81 F4 1E 2E 27 AC 71

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protecting against impersonation (was: CANADIAN PRESS REPORTS)
by aba＠atlas.ex.ac.uk 17 Dec '03

17 Dec '03

anonymous writes: > I still feel such a sense of violation with what LD did, such an > utter sense of helplessness at the character assassination I've > suffered at his hands, So use PGP, sign your messages. Simple solution. > that I feel that I must take some token action to "set the record > straight". Something which clears my name. This post wasn't signed off, but I presume you are "Alice d'nonymous", it would help lots if you could get yourself an account with a nym server, such as alpha(a)c2.org. That would have the advantages that your email address would be recognizable, and that people could reply to you if they wanted to. If having a working reply address bothers you, well at least sign your posts, if you're concerned about a persistant identity, the tools are available to do it. Complaining about things which have simple technological solutions won't get you much sympathy. Adam

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NOT CRYPTO RELATED (GET OVER IT)
by Sandy Sandfort 17 Dec '03

17 Dec '03

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ SANDY SANDFORT . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Bay Area S'punks, Monday, 11/20 5pm Scott Adams, at the Booksmith in San Francisco. The creator of the comic starring engineer Dilbert and his dog Dogbert, will sign his latest book ``It's Obvious You Won't Survive by Your Wits Alone.'' 1644 Haight St., San Francisco. (415) 863-8688. S a n d y ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

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No Subject
by anonymous-remailer＠shell.portal.com 17 Dec '03

17 Dec '03

Subject: Shoe-horning Mondex onto the Internet -- still won't fit There many high barriers to the shoe-horning of Mondex onto the Internet: + Was not designed for the Internet, rather for physical portable cards + Requires expensive hardware: >$100/board for a PC in start-up quantities + Accoring to inside sources, is vulnerable to MITM between payer and payee + According to inside sources, is grossly vulnerable to replay attacks (offline multi-spending to different parties) + The designers have zero experience and reputation in the cryptographic and computer security communities + None of the Mondex designs have been published or peer reviewed. + The protocol cannot be published for security reasons, which means -- Mondex has security holes -- Customers who defraud Mondex-using banks have legal deniability in a court of law: they can simply request banks to produce the security protocols as evidence; if they refuse the case is thrown out of court (precedent: UK and US phantom-ATM withdrawal cases)

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