As for "in my book, silicon is worth more than gold", I'll happily trade you 100 kilos of silicon for 100 kilos of gold any day you like. Assuming you aren't fibbing, you should take the trade, since the silicon is worth more to you.
Of course, you'd be a fool. Silicon is plentiful, and costs pennies the kilo. Gold is not plentiful -- the market value is around $10,000 the kilo.
Perry, I think its foolish to refute it simply on a literal basis, but then again, that's just lil' ole me. One could reasonably argue that you simply can't walk into the corner 7-Eleven with a pound of gold and purchase 475 Big Gulps (tm), but then again, there's an advocate for each point of view (ie, Sternlight). I personally like the gold/silicon comparison, if taken from a philosophical viewpoint. Information is arguably the gold of the future, and strong crypto helps broaden the spectrum for each and every one of us. Cheers, _____________________________________________________________________________ Paul Ferguson Mindbank Consulting Group fergp@sytex.com Fairfax, Virginia USA ferguson@icp.net