FINALLY! we can buy Staria

[Dr. Evil]

> We probably need to define the product category we're discussing. I was
> listing devices which prevent casual interception, and which Joe Average
> might conceivably buy. The Starium is obviously more robust than that,
> and consequently more expensive.

Right, exactly.  When Starium was first announced, people were excited
because it sounded like we were going to get industrial-strength stuff
at consumer prices.  That isn't reality, and now they are going to
sell industrial-strength stuff at industrial prices.  There's no way a
complicated all-digital public key crypto device can compete on price
with made-in-China analog scramblers, which are basically toys.  That
is not a smart fight to pick because the consumer who is just playing
around doesn't know the difference under the hood.  I'm glad they did
the smart thing on this.

> You asked in a previous message about the market size. For casual stuff,
> tens or hundreds of thousands in the US, if the device is in the $100
> range. For the serious stuff, I think you nailed the market pretty well.
> One or two orders of magnitude less, if the device is in the $1000
> range. Those numbers both assume no government interference, of course.

Sounds reasonable to me.  I hope they do well, but I'm not giving them
money until the devices are actually shipping.  I think they do have a
good chance because law enforcement and private security demand for
these things might be pretty good these days.