[117303] in Cypherpunks
Re: Its the GUI, stupid
daemon@ATHENA.MIT.EDU (mgraffam@idsi.net)
Tue Aug 31 02:51:36 1999
From: mgraffam@idsi.net
Date: Tue, 31 Aug 1999 02:22:31 -0400 (EDT)
To: cypherpunks@toad.com
In-Reply-To: <199908310523.HAA17210@mail.replay.com>
Message-ID: <Pine.LNX.4.04.9908310215290.6460-100000@albert.critical.net>
MIME-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: TEXT/PLAIN; charset=US-ASCII
Reply-To: mgraffam@idsi.net
On Tue, 31 Aug 1999, Anonymous wrote:
> If a computer user doesn't understand the *general* principles behind
> public-key cryptography, there's no point in providing a fancy GUI to
> hide the messy details -- he'll simply click around until *something*
> happens, with no assurance that the result will be useful or secure.
Horseshit. Look at web browsers. A large number of users don't know
anything about crypto, PK or otherwise, and they are able to establish
SSL connections to web sites easily and in many cases completely
transparently.
If Joe User can communicate with a web site securly without knowing dick
about crypto, there is no fundamental reason the code couldn't be
developed to communicate with Jane User just as easily and securely.
I submit that this state of affairs is due to the cash involved. Companies
are willing to pay good money for a secure web server for online shopping.
They make no money of Joe can't figure out how to place an order, so the
whole set up is transparent, and easy to use.
As it stands, no one makes money by giving me privacy.
Michael J. Graffam (mgraffam@idsi.net)
"Let your life be a counter-friction to stop the machine."
Henry David Thoreau "Civil Disobedience"
