From: Bill Stewart <stewarts@ix.netcom.com>
Date: Thu, 9 Nov 1995 17:31:52 +0800
To: cypherpunks@toad.com
Subject: Re: ecash speed
Message-ID: <199511090914.BAA08391@ix.ix.netcom.com>
MIME-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain


>"Perry E. Metzger" <perry@piermont.com> writes:
>>I suspect that as CPU speed exponentiates this will become less and
>>less of a problem. It doesn't especially worry me.

CPU speed in desktop or notebook computers isn't much problem;
CPU speed in smartcards is still an issue, and it may be
one or two more rounds of exponentiation before we'll see cards
that are both fast enough and really secure.

At 09:08 PM 11/8/95 -0800, Hal <hfinney@shell.portal.com> wrote:
>Consider, though, what happens in the current ecash system if it were
>used to charge a penny per page.  You would click on a link in your web
>browser to go to the new page.  It would set the GET request to the
>remote server as usual.

For penny-a-page on-line services, unless ecash transaction costs are
_radically_
cheap, it probably makes more sense for the service to sell its own tokens,
bought with (anonymous or non-anonymous) ecash, which you then trade for pages.
No calculation required, just an on-line lookup for double-spending
and you don't get your page if you double-spend.  An alternative to them
picking the token numbers is for you to give them the numbers and them
to keep them in their database, but that's probably unlikely to be done
and doesn't really buy you much privacy.

If that's not anonymous enough for you (because your IP address could be
traced when you buy the tokens, and coordinated with them later),
use a packet laundry, or connect from your dialup access provider, 
which will tell the newspaper you're port43.server29.netcom.com or
something equally uninformative; or dial in from the public library or cafe.
#--
#				Thanks;  Bill
# Bill Stewart, Freelance Information Architect, stewarts@ix.netcom.com
# Phone +1-510-247-0663 Pager/Voicemail 1-408-787-1281