[47667] in Cypherpunks
Re: new web security product
daemon@ATHENA.MIT.EDU (Nathaniel Borenstein)
Mon Jan 22 08:21:06 1996
Date: Mon, 22 Jan 1996 08:12:23 -0500 (EST)
From: Nathaniel Borenstein <nsb@nsb.fv.com>
Reply-To: Nathaniel Borenstein <nsb+limbo@nsb.fv.com>
To: ecarp@netcom.com, perry@piermont.com,
"Jeff Hupp" <jhupp@novellnet.gensys.com>
Cc: cypherpunks@toad.com
In-Reply-To: <199601161948.OAA02322@jekyll.piermont.com>
Ed Carp writes:
> : > I wouldn't pass this along normally, but it seems to allow folks to use
> : > their credit cards at home securely. Bye-bye, First Virtual... ;)
Perry Metzger writes:
> : I don't think its going to fly. No one wants to pay for an unneeded
> : $100 piece of hardware to encrypt the same credit card over and over
> : again, when a nearly zero marginal cost piece of software can do the
> : same thing.
Jeff Hupp writes:
> I am not even sure it IS an encryption device. ......
> It may just be a low cost? mag stripe reader...
Let's assume that it is an encryption device, though I agree that this
is left unclear. This is by no means the first announcement of such a
device. I suspect it is targeted at physical merchants, and intended
more to compete with the likes of Verifone terminals than anything else.
I doubt that anyone's basing their business plan on the idea that
consumers will spend $100 each for a device that helps them to spend
more money, but has no other direct utility. -- Nathaniel
--------
Nathaniel Borenstein <nsb@fv.com> (FAQ & PGP key: nsb+faq@nsb.fv.com)
Chief Scientist, First Virtual Holdings
VIRTUAL YELLOW RIBBON==> http://www.netresponse.com/zldf
