From: “James M. Cobb” <jcobb@ahcbsd1.ovnet.com>
To: cypherpunks@toad.com
Message Hash: 851f9743c3058eb946a7a8fa32196c4937ca18ec9c75c32a89bddf0f88a58a3b
Message ID: <Pine.BSD.3.91.960114201707.28537C-100000@ahcbsd1.ovnet.com>
Reply To: N/A
UTC Datetime: 1996-01-15 06:18:47 UTC
Raw Date: Sun, 14 Jan 96 22:18:47 PST
From: "James M. Cobb" <jcobb@ahcbsd1.ovnet.com>
Date: Sun, 14 Jan 96 22:18:47 PST
To: cypherpunks@toad.com
Subject: DEC's MICROCASH
Message-ID: <Pine.BSD.3.91.960114201707.28537C-100000@ahcbsd1.ovnet.com>
MIME-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain
Friend,
01 14 96 Edupage includes:
MICROCASH
Digital Equipment filed a patent last August for a payment
system called Millicent, which enables Web-site operators
to charge as little as a tenth of a cent for each customer
"hit."
The system relies on middle-men --credit card companies or
digital banks -- to handle the transactions, but its novelty
lies in its cost-effective design geared toward tracking
minuscule amounts of cash. To keep disk storage at a minimum,
security measures providing privacy and a trail of signed re-
ceipts are not included in the system, but proponents point out
that would-be cyberthieves would have to crack a lot of trans-
actions -- 10,000 at 0.1 cent each -- to make just $10. "There
are easier ways to make 10 bucks," says Millicent's inventor.
(Business Week 15 Jan 96 p90)
Cordially,
Jim
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