On Wed, Oct 24, 2001 at 04:27:25PM -0700, Lucky Green wrote: | I don't understand why one would pay $1000 for a Starium device when | comparable devices are available in the market place for less than half | of that. The design goal for the new Starium boxes was sub-$100 retail. | I doubt that design goal was met, but I would not pay a penny over $350 | for one device. Which will still leave the seller with a nice profit. $249 is a magic price for consumer electronics, and I won't pay a penny over that. Not because it makes a huge difference to me, but I can't see them selling well enough to be widespread and have a network effect at $350. Adam | > -----Original Message----- | > From: owner-cypherpunks@lne.com | > [mailto:owner-cypherpunks@lne.com] On Behalf Of Dr. Evil | > Sent: Monday, October 22, 2001 8:06 PM | > To: cypherpunks@lne.com | > Subject: FINALLY! we can buy Staria | > | > | > (is that the correct plural of Starium?) | > | > http://www.tactronix.com/s100.htm | > | > NOW TAKING PRE-ORDERS FOR DELIVERY IN DECEMBER 2001/JANUARY 2002 | > | > Very Limited Quantity Available | > | > A 50% Deposit Will Reserve Your Units Today!! | > | > 1-10 Units $995 USD Each | > | > 11-20 Units $936 USD Each | > | > 21-50 Units $884 USD Each | > | > 51 Units+ Call For Price | > | > What do people here think of this? My initial thoughts are: | > | > Pros: | > | > 1. Voice encryption is great. It's the Last Great Encryption Taboo | > (the other is file encryption, but that's not nearly as taboo as | > voice). I'm glad to see something on the market which addresses | > this. Obviously, all traffic, including saying hi to grandma, | > should be encrypted. | > | > 2. The unit looks very easy to use. I could travel anywhere in the | > world with it (well, anywhere that it's legal) and plug it in and | > press one button and it works. That's great. | > | > Cons: | > | > 1. I would like to see an open source reference software | > implementation, or some way to verify that there are no "naughty | > bits" in this thing. I know, open source isn't much of a business | > model, but with encryption products, it seems almost essential. | > | > 2. It's expensive. It costs more than a PC. However, $2k for two | > units is small compared to the value of data it could be securing, | > so for many users, the price will be fine. | > | > 3. A minor nitpick: It uses 3DES. What's wrong with AES? | > | > I think I would like to buy some of them, but I can't decide | > if I want to be an early adopter, or wait for cheaper and | > better versions to come out. -- "It is seldom that liberty of any kind is lost all at once." -Hume