Peter Wayner writes:
* Imagine that problems arise well after the chip is standardized. What will millions of Americans do? All of the digital phones, fax machines and modem cards will need to be replaced.
Not that I don't agree with the basic premise, of course, but there's a similar risk to *any* consumer electronics implementation of a cryptosystem. Of course, in Clipper/Skipjack's case the problem is magnified by the fact that the stuff is kept secret, but the potential remains.
* Software, on the other hand, is very easy to change. In many cases, the anti-virus programs travel faster than the viruses.
However, a software-based consumer communicator will probably end up implying at least as much weight in people's pockets, and as much extra money, as Clipper. I don't think an economic argument will really fly well, though I'd love to be shown to be way wrong. Seems to me that a mass-produced chip whose production is subsidized by the government would probably be pretty cheap. -- | GOOD TIME FOR MOVIE - GOING ||| Mike McNally <m5@tivoli.com> | | TAKE TWA TO CAIRO. ||| Tivoli Systems, Austin, TX: | | (actual fortune cookie) ||| "Like A Little Bit of Semi-Heaven" |