The Crypto Winter

[Tim May]

On Saturday, November 17, 2001, at 08:25 PM, Faustine wrote:
>
> On Sat, Nov 17, 2001 at 07:52:17PM -0500, Faustine wrote:
>> So maybe it's worth putting a little effort into thinking of ways to
>> AOLize (for lack of a better term) digital cash: a mass market reqires
>> mass appeal.
>
>> What a good idea! Bet nobody thought of that before!
>

Something's wrong with your quoting software: Declan wrote that last 
line, not you.

> Getting away fron digital cash for a moment, If you'd care to point me 
> to any
> examples of crypto companies really focused and committed to developing
> applications that are commercially appealing to Joe Sixpack AOLuser, 
> I'd be
> interested to hear about them.

SSL/RSA built into every financial transaction with the common browsers. 
Visit Amazon, Ebay, etc., and note the secure connections. 
User-transpaperent, of course, but then, of course, this is precisely 
what a "Joe Sixpack AOLuser" [SIC] application _must_ be.

Next question?

> Is it really such a stretch to say that most
> people in the crypto community don't really give a damn about Joe wants 
> or
> needs? How many times have you heard people here implicitly echo the
> sentiment: "If they're too lazy or stupid to get it, then screw em."

Well, you are the one using the expression "Joe Sixpack AOLuser."

As for me, I'm a neo-Calvinist Nietzscheian. It is of little concern to 
me whether crypto is dumbed-down to the point where Mr. Rogers uses it.

> Maybe the technology isn't far enough along to waste time worrying about
> Joe at all. But the disdain so many "high priests of the code" seem to 
> feel
> towards the uninitiated might go a long way toward explaining why 
> revenues
> aren't all they could be.

As usual, you just bullshit about things you obviously know little 
about. Do some serious reading, get up to speed.


--Tim May
"Gun Control: The theory that a woman found dead in an alley, raped and
strangled with her panty hose,  is somehow morally superior to a woman 
explaining to police how her attacker got that fatal bullet wound"