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Re: Truelly Random Numbers
by Mutant Rob 17 Dec '03

17 Dec '03

-----BEGIN PGP SIGNED MESSAGE----- Tim Fulbright wrote: > > Now I, a lurker for two months, am truelly confused! L. Deitweiler must be > right. Surely one of you cyperpunk fellows could hack together a dongle with > some kind of AD converter and buffer ram to gather a Truelly Random Bitstream > off the environment every couple of milliseconds easier than this raindrop > scheme or recording the fan, you're haviung me on!. Let's go back [..] The raindrop scheme was (politely) laughed off. As for the fan recording scheme, it's a good make-do-with-what-you-already-have method, as opposed to buying and/or building a card. A 'simple AD converter' isn't so simple. Especially if you want to be sure you really have random noise and not something else that just looks random. - --- [This message has been signed by an auto-signing service. A valid signature means only that it has been received at the address corresponding to the signature and forwarded.] -----BEGIN PGP SIGNATURE----- Version: 2.6.2 Comment: Gratis auto-signing service iQBFAwUBMTz0nSoZzwIn1bdtAQGl6QF+P1V62qg+Mf5K+VN3q0Y1e6/A4EO4uLLr WNxAbtE+OxQXFKnP7ajFUFBbnDLJxLmx =4ysY -----END PGP SIGNATURE-----

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FCC and Internet telephones
by Ernest Hua 17 Dec '03

17 Dec '03

Dost my ears deceive me? Is this true? Ern -------- INCLUDED MESSAGE FCC Asked to Stop Net Phones A trade association of long distance phone service carriers has asked the Federal Communications Commission to halt companies from selling software and hardware products that enable use of the Internet for long distance voice services. In a statement from Washington, the America's Carriers Telecommunication Association says it "submits that it is incumbent upon the FCC to exercise jurisdiction over the use of the Internet for unregulated interstate and international telecommunications services." A growing number of companies sell such software with ancillary hardware for transmitting and receiving voice over the Net, which, says the statement, "creates the ability to 'by-pass' local, long distance and international carriers and allows for calls to be made for virtually 'no cost.'" "For example," adds the ACTA statement, "online service providers generally charge users around $10 for five hours of access and then around $3 for each additional hour. Five hours equals 300 minutes, divided by $10 is 3.3 cents per minute. The average residential long distance telephone call costs about 22 cents per minute or seven times as much." Long-distance and international telephone service carriers must be approved by the FCC to operate and must file tariffs before both the FCC and state public service commissions. All of these requirements are stipulated in the Communications Act of 1934 and the Telecommunications Act of 1996. Says ACTA, "Technology may once again be surpassing government's ability to control its proper use. However, the misuse of the Internet as a way to 'by-pass' the traditional means of obtaining long distance service could result in a significant reduction of the Internet's ability to transport its ever enlarging amount of data traffic." Specifically, ACTA petitions the FCC to define the type of permissible communications that may be effected over the Internet.

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DNSSEC (was: A brief comparison of email encryption protocols)
by Donald E. Eastlake 3rd 17 Dec '03

17 Dec '03

On Tue, 5 Mar 1996, Carl Ellison wrote: > Date: Tue, 5 Mar 1996 00:34:41 -0500 > >From: Adam Shostack <adam(a)homeport.org> > >Subject: Re: A brief comparison of email encryption protocols > >To: ericm(a)lne.com (Eric Murray) > >Date: Mon, 4 Mar 1996 21:18:41 -0500 (EST) > >Cc: ericm(a)lne.com, perry(a)piermont.com, cme(a)cybercash.com, warlord(a)mit.edu, > > lgl(a)qualcomm.com, Cypherpunks(a)toad.com > > ... > > > >| Along those lines, I was envisioning adding a KEY RR type to > >| DNS, and using it to maintain pointers to keyservers. > > > >[...] > >| This sounds so obvious that I'm sure that I'm not the first > >| or even the tenth person to think of it, and in fact I > >| see a KEY RR type defined in the BIND 4.9.3BETA17 source. But > >| there's just a type there, nothing else to support it. > >| Anyone know what it's for? > > > > Donald Eastlake is writing the spec for storing keys in > >nameservers. Its in the process of moving to draft standard; there > >will probably be something about it after LA. I think its: > > > >ftp://ds.internic.net/draft-ietf-dnssec-secext-09.txt actually its in /internet-drafts/draft-ietf-dnssec-secext-09.txt on any of the IETF shadow directory machines such as ftp.isi.edu or ds.internic.net via ftp. It's up for Internet Proposed Standard and tehre were no objections at the DNSSEC working group meeting this morning. It provides for KEY RRs and SIG (signature) RRs. I recommend people check it out. > >Adam > > > >-- > >"It is seldom that liberty of any kind is lost all at once." > > -Hume > +--------------------------------------------------------------------------+ > |Carl M. Ellison cme(a)cybercash.com http://www.clark.net/pub/cme | > |CyberCash, Inc., Suite 430 http://www.cybercash.com/ | > |2100 Reston Parkway PGP 2.6.2: 61E2DE7FCB9D7984E9C8048BA63221A2 | > |Reston, VA 22091 Tel: (703) 620-4200 | > +--------------------------------------------------------------------------+ Donald ===================================================================== Donald E. Eastlake 3rd +1 508-287-4877(tel) dee(a)cybercash.com 318 Acton Street +1 508-371-7148(fax) dee(a)world.std.com Carlisle, MA 01741 USA +1 703-620-4200(main office, Reston, VA) http://www.cybercash.com http://www.eff.org/blueribbon.html

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Re: Jump Start ecash With IPhone
by Duncan Frissell 17 Dec '03

17 Dec '03

At 09:49 PM 3/6/96 -0800, Jim McCoy wrote: >Just because LD is "deregulated" does not mean that it is without any >governmental oversight, much as I wish it were... LD companies still >have to pay certain taxes (take a look at your next phone bill, they are >clearly listed in addition to your actual phone charges) and I am certain >that they have entire office buildings stuffed with drones filling out >paperwork for Uncle Sam... > >jim > Granted. Of course it is quite a jump to claim that a software program is a "Long Distance Carrier." If I run Winsock on my machine and a Winsock application like Iphone, if anyone is the LD carrier, *I* am because I am digitizing my voice and doing the first part of the switching necessary to send the packets on their way. Maybe the FCC should bust *me* for practicing telecommunications without a license. It would make for an interesting case. DCF

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Re: Truelly Random Numbers
by Mutant Rob 17 Dec '03

17 Dec '03

-----BEGIN PGP SIGNED MESSAGE----- Mark Allyn 206-860-9454 wrote: [..] > Take a piece of non conducting board, say about six by six > feet. Put electrodes on it; say a pair of electrodes every > quarter inch or so across and down. > > Each pair of electrodes would be connected to logic so that > it generates a unique number. When the electrodes are shorted, > the number would be generated. Quite elaborate. And unless you live in a rainy part of the world, not very useful. Better off using those contraptions where little steel balls fall around the electrodes. There's some entropy there... but still, it's too elaborate for RNG generation. - --- [This message has been signed by an auto-signing service. A valid signature means only that it has been received at the address corresponding to the signature and forwarded.] -----BEGIN PGP SIGNATURE----- Version: 2.6.2 Comment: Gratis auto-signing service iQBFAwUBMTooTyoZzwIn1bdtAQFXIwF/cjzvAfNJMOn9Pw6VSztPKCHUc/dmuwZ1 bOAEKnlQmwhRKOxpNmBr+EpM3zoRIWWP =8nb+ -----END PGP SIGNATURE-----

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No Subject
by owner-cypherpunks＠toad.com 17 Dec '03

17 Dec '03

Adam Shostack <adam(a)homeport.org> mentioned: > The big problem with this is that net phones can be subject to > delay & drop out, and I don't want to deal with that when I'm talking > on the phone. Adam, Yes, and that's good news. We can claim, while we are building up our infrastructure, that we have a low-quality service that cannot compete with the current LD carriers. Meanwhile, several companies and committed enthusiasts are solving IPhone's technological problems. Also, ATM and other high-bandwidth technologies that the LD carriers are deploying can bring them profits when IPhone users request the _fast_ Internet. But the real money is in the billing system. And an efficient, decentralized ecash infrastructure will change the world. A cheap telephone-to-telephone long distance and international voice service, which people do want to buy, could provide the cash flow to jump start it. CW

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[NOISE] Employers need pseudonymous off-shore remailers
by shamrock＠netcom.com 17 Dec '03

17 Dec '03

Today, I tried to find out what it takes to hire someone who is in the US on a student visa (F-1) as a consultant or part-time employee. The person is an expert in his field. I don't know anyone available with a similar proven track record. I thought, no problem, there are INS exceptions for foreign experts. So I set on a quest to find out what it takes to get the INS to grant that person a work permit. The process is simple. All I have to do is ask the California Employment Development Department for a labor certificate, give that to the INS together with an application and the required fees, after which they'll issue the permit. Getting the certificate takes usually eight months, processing the application about four months. So the whole process takes about *a year*. I was stunned. Here I am willing to hire someone to work on a product that will generate taxes in the US, and the bureaucrats are asking me to wait a year. These people have lost any touch with reality. Not that *I* would do such a thing, but an off-shore pseudonymous remailer, with payment in ecash might go a long way... [Disclaimer: Speaking only for myself, not for my employer] -- Lucky Green <mailto:shamrock@netcom.com> PGP encrypted mail preferred.

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RE: Weapons & Hope
by Eric Anderson 17 Dec '03

17 Dec '03

---------- From: Duncan Frissell[SMTP:frissell@panix.com] Sent: Tuesday, March 26, 1996 8:42 AM To: cypherpunks(a)toad.com Subject: Weapons & Hope While it might be barely possible in the mass production age to control weapons by blocking the flow of these specific products (a Streetsweeper, say) into the marketplace, it will clearly not be possible in the age of custom production. General machines will be available to produce specialized products (often under the direct control of the customer, himself). Some of this custom production will be weapons. I took machine tool operations @ my local community college. suffice it to say, good, high-quality firearms are **EASY** to fabricate (Believe me!) So my point is this: Just as the Gov't CANNOT prevent me from making a gun in my basement, whats to stop some high-school juinor from writing a strong crypto program? I can just see Chuckie Schumer introducing (W/ Sen. Fine-Swine as co-sponor) a bill to ban "Cyberwar Software" i.e. mandatory registration of compilers, mandatory GAK, etc... What an asshole. Take care, Eric

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Re: PPV Descrambler
by David K. Merriman 17 Dec '03

17 Dec '03

At 01:34 AM 03/28/96 +0000, you wrote: >I've been looking for a file on how to make PPV descramblers and havn't >found any. Commercial descramblers cost around $200 base price. If >anyone has a file on how to make them please e-mail me one. Thanks. > >captain_lee @mail.interconnect.net > This is cypherpunks. Not Cable-TV-Piracy-Punks. Dave Merriman ------------------------------------------------------------- "Giving money and power to government is like giving whiskey and car keys to teenage boys." P. J. O'Rourke (b. 1947), U.S. journalist. <><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><> http://www.shellback.com/personal/merriman/index.htm

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Re: What backs up digital money?
by Hal 17 Dec '03

17 Dec '03

I have to disagree somewhat with a few points Mike made. I would say that gold and diamonds do have intrinsic value, based on their beauty and the desire of people to own them. I think it is too simplistic to denigrate these desires as the product of advertising. The feelings that people have which make them desire these things are as legitimate as other forms of desire. Along these lines, I think one of the factors which made gold and silver coins accepted as money was their intrinsic value. Even without being certain that another person would take the coin, a person might accept payment in such a coin because of its inherent value to him. Other early forms of money, such as beads or tobacco, also had intrinsic value in their time and place. One area I would agree with Mike is that these items may not always retain their value, since part of it is psychological. And as with any other commodity, if new supplies became available their value would fall. This might be especially pronounced with gold and diamonds since part of their value is due to their intrinsic rarity. Diamonds as common as glass would not be worth much more. (Of course, government money as common as paper is worth the same as well, as hard experience has taught us.) A particular issue of "digital cash" could be denominated or backed by anything the issuer thinks there is a market for. Gold backed digital currency would have certain advantages and disadvantages. Currency could be backed by a basket of commodities, or a synthetic average of several countries' currencies. You would not exchange your dcash for a bushel of wheat and a barrel of oil, but rather for dollars or pounds equal to the market value of these commodities. These and more elaborate possibilites are no more difficult to imagine than mutual funds or stock market index futures, not to mention the more complex synthetic investments. Hal

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