At 9:08 PM -0800 12/19/96, Peter Hendrickson wrote:
At 8:31 PM 12/19/1996, Timothy C. May wrote:
At 7:34 PM -0800 12/19/96, Peter Hendrickson wrote:
You could also timestamp the software so that it only runs for a given length of time. This will encourage people to upgrade regularly. ;-)
Or to reset their clocks. Which is what many of us do when software is about to "expire."
You are right that this only works in instances where the customer just needs a little prodding to get the upgrade and not in instances where the customer might put up with significant inconvenience to avoid it.
However, why not use "beacons"? The clock could have a built-in timer that needs to be reset once a month from an authenticated source. This assumes the presence of net connectivity, but that's not a terrible assumption.
I mentioned "beacons" in the portion of my message you did not quote here. As for why they are not being used, they don't exist. --Tim May Just say "No" to "Big Brother Inside" We got computers, we're tapping phone lines, I know that that ain't allowed. ---------:---------:---------:---------:---------:---------:---------:---- Timothy C. May | Crypto Anarchy: encryption, digital money, tcmay@got.net 408-728-0152 | anonymous networks, digital pseudonyms, zero W.A.S.T.E.: Corralitos, CA | knowledge, reputations, information markets, Higher Power: 2^1398269 | black markets, collapse of governments. "National borders aren't even speed bumps on the information superhighway."