I want to add something to what I just sent out, something of direct relevance for PGP efforts:
I see two "stable attractors" for text/graphics/multimedia/etc. sent over the Net:
1. Straight text, ASCII, 80 column format. All systems can handle this, all mailers and newsreaders can handle it, it's what the Usenet is essentially based upon, and it gets the job done. It meets the needs of 95% of us for 95% of our needs.
2. The Web, for graphics, images, etc. This will be the next main stable attractor, deployed on many platforms. (I'm assuming the debate here about Netscape standards does not imply much of a fragmentation, that Mosaic, Netscape, MacWeb, etc., will all basically be able to display Web pages in much the same way.)
And these two attractors are where the efforts on encryption have the biggest pay-offs. We already know that PGP is "text"-oriented, and that PGP messages can be read on a variety of machines, from terminal to DOS to Macs to Suns, etc. PGP is well-suited to a straight text world, as it makes no assumptions about non-ASCII capabilitites. (Using the ASCII-armor mode that most of us use.) It is when assumptions are made by programs, think of "Lotus Notes" or "DECMail," that interoperability is lost. The Lesson: Beware of making any assumptions about MIME sorts of extensions to use with PGP, as many people will--for whatever reasons--not be able or willing to process MIME mail. The Web is where I think a lot of future efforts on integrating PGP in should happen. (I'm speaking of when the Web is used to send e-mail, which I hear is being worked on by many groups; clearly a lot of Netscape/Mosaic/etc. users expect to use these products as their main interface to the Net, and not have to have separate mail programs.) This is where I would put my money. --Tim May -- .......................................................................... Timothy C. May | Crypto Anarchy: encryption, digital money, tcmay@netcom.com | anonymous networks, digital pseudonyms, zero 408-688-5409 | knowledge, reputations, information markets, W.A.S.T.E.: Aptos, CA | black markets, collapse of governments. Higher Power: 2^859433 | Public Key: PGP and MailSafe available. Cypherpunks list: majordomo@toad.com with body message of only: subscribe cypherpunks. FAQ available at ftp.netcom.com in pub/tc/tcmay