From: frantz@netcom.com (Bill Frantz)
Date: Thu, 25 Apr 1996 11:10:22 -0700 (PDT)
To: Bill Stewart <cypherpunks@toad.com
Subject: Re: Golden Key Campaign
Message-ID: <199604251810.LAA17469@netcom9.netcom.com>
MIME-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain


At  1:11 AM 4/25/96 -0700, Bill Stewart wrote:
>At 02:22 PM 4/24/96 -0700, Wei Dai <weidai@eskimo.com> wrote:
>>On Wed, 24 Apr 1996, Hal wrote:
>>You can do signatures with Rabin too.  I have a version of it in
>>Crypto++ 2.0.  It's been out for a while and RSA hasn't bothered me about
>>it.
>>Does anyone want to explain why, given the alternatives, people continue
>>to use RSA and pay for it?
>
>Sure.  Because 1) it's a good algorithm for the job,
>2) we've learned it, and have a PGP base behind our inertia,
>3) The legalities of RSA are well-defined,
>4) the Stanford patents mostly run out in 1997, unless Roger's suit
>        succeeds first,
>5) the price of RSA is fairly low, once free RSAREF came out
>6) the price of licensing Cylink patents is high and/or unpredictable

I will add to Bill's list:

7) RSA is the best known and vetted of the Public Key algorithms.

Some people say that the millennium comes on Jan 1, 2000.  Others say it
comes on January 1, 2001.  I say it comes on September 20, 2000 when the
RSA patent expires.

Regards - Bill


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