CDR: RE: visor phone vs. starium?

[Tim May]

At 11:18 AM -0400 9/29/00, Trei, Peter wrote:
>
>
>I have greater hopes for doing encrypted voice-over-ip, if we want
>something that 's open source and user-verifiable.
>

A 3-way Cypherpunks physical meeting was DES-encrypted over the MBONE 
in 1993. Mountain View (CA), Cambridge (MA), and Vienna (VA). Audio 
quality was sketchy, especially with speakerphones being used, so we 
ended up turning off the DES. Got a little better, but not much.

So, I'm surprised that more than 7 years later this isn't more 
common. (Confirming once again that Moore's Law is often applied 
carelessly and means less than some think it does.)

Speaking of the Starium, I have the earlier version. It suffers from 
the "fax effect": those one wishes to communicate with using it must 
have one, obviously. Very few people do. A good solution for specific 
groups who can buy N of them and distribute them to all in their 
group. But not a standard.

The Visorphone will also be subject to this, vis-a-vis a crypto 
module: most users will have Something Else.

--Tim May
-- 
---------:---------:---------:---------:---------:---------:---------:----
Timothy C. May              | Crypto Anarchy: encryption, digital money,
ComSec 3DES:   831-728-0152 | anonymous networks, digital pseudonyms, zero
W.A.S.T.E.: Corralitos, CA  | knowledge, reputations, information markets,
"Cyphernomicon"             | black markets, collapse of governments.