From: "Vladimir Z. Nuri" <vznuri@netcom.com>
Date: Sat, 18 Jan 1997 13:05:22 -0800 (PST)
To: cypherpunks@toad.com
Subject: microcurrency: Netscape vs. Microsoft
Message-ID: <199701182105.NAA13618@netcom10.netcom.com>
MIME-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain


it seems that microcurrency has still not hit the "big time"
yet. or perhaps some people see otherwise. what is the evidence
for how far it has penetrated ala DigiCash etc? I haven't seen
much myself.

I predict that microcurrency will not catch on in a big way
until it is integrated with browsers, and when it is, it
will be adopted in an insanely large rush like the way
the web itself caught on with the GUI (and was mostly comatose
before it).  

I'd like to have seen microcurrency catch on like a brushfire
at this point, and was trying to figure out why it hadn't,
and focused on the above key aspect.

hence, I wonder: 

WHO WILL BE THE FIRST TO INCORPORATE A MICROCURRENCY
FEATURE IN THEIR BROWSER, MICROSOFT OR NETSCAPE?

why am I shouting? because I hope that we can create
a buzz around this question, to the point that both
manufacturers begin to realize how much is at stake
in this single little feature. I'd like to see speculation
and articles about it in the trade press.  let it turn
into a hot topic of conversation..

do either MS or Netsacpe have plans to
do so right now? I suspect the future of the browser
wars will belong to he who does the microcurrency feature.

here's how it might work: the browser has an internal
piggyback that can be filled up with cash. it has various
features that prohibit a charge of greater than some
fixed limit of being made, per time, per site etc... also
in no case can more money than is currently in the piggy
bank be charged. once the charge hits, there is no
contesting allowed, because the charge is so low. a little
bar on the user interface could indicate how much cash
is left. 

the idea would also be to invent some new html tags that
indicate the charge on a link. the charge is incurred when
1/2 of the page is sent (there would be all kinds of hacks
in which people could retrieve only part of a page to avoid
the charge, hence this limit or some variation thereof).
so when I move my mouse over a link in the browser, I see
not only its address as with Netscape's, but also some 
charge that will incur when I hit it. there could be color
coding and little graphics for costs also.

notice how much crypto really caught on when Netscape 
incorporated it, and how this action alone did more for
the proliferation of crypto in cyberspace, almost, than
all prior efforts combined. I think that microcurrency
will be unleashed in a very similar way.

the system I describe above can be built up pretty easily
from existing technology such as DigiCash. pretty much
all the major ingredients are available.. it's just a matter
of time before some enterprising programmers plug it all
together in an easy to use way. (as far as I know the
Digicash software is not easily integrated with any browser,
am I correct?)

by framing the question as I have above, the question is
no longer "how should microcurrency be implemented", or
"should it be", but "who will be the first to do it?", 
a nice competitive incentive to the key companies involved.

so, Netscape, Microsoft, are either of you listening? do you
have any idea how much is riding on this option? are you
working on it right now? if not, are you prepared to face
the consequences? has anyone heard any rumors about their
intention to implement microcurrency? 

I've long predicted some pretty revolutionary strides
in cyberspace that will make all development up to now
look pretty sickly and pale, when microcurrency is invented
and brought into a trivial-to-use GUI.  in a sense it is the
the economic system that the whole industry (or even the
whole world) has been waiting for ever since its beginning.
it will unleash a torrent of frenzied innovation and reorganization
beyond what anyone has ever seen or thought possible.

p.s. has anyone done a plugin that handles cash in the way
I am referring to? this may be a really neat way for 
third-party developers to cash in on this, but I suspect
that it's so crucial that the browser manufacturers will
eventually incorporate it themselves.