http://www.iss.net/campaigns/index.php
Day: May 15, 2002
Digital cash and the “double-spending” problem
http://www.ex.ac.uk/~RDavies/arian/emon
A nice summary of the issues with digital cash that arise because bits are so easy to copy (unlike physical currency). Covers topics like online vs offline systems, and identified vs anonymous systems. The latter comparison is the more interesting, because with fully
identified currency, the life of a “bill” is perfectly tracked. As the author points out:
“By the way, did you declare that $20 bill your Grandmother gave you for your birthday? You didn’t? Well, you won’t have to worry about forgetting those sorts of things when everybody is using fully identified e-money. As a matter of fact, you won’t even have to worry about filing a tax return. The IRS will just send you a bill.”
EFF has several articles on digital cash. I reccommend the double_spending.articles because it’s a nice mix of overiew plus some details and some math so that it doesn’t seem like a bunch of hand-waving.
Dude, I’m going to puke!
(from ZDNet)
Love Dell’s Steven commercials? You’re not alone. The ads, which feature a young man named Steven spreading the word about how cool Dell PCs are, have been extremely popular. In fact, the campaign has been so popular that Dell is launching a line of apparel sporting Steven’s favorite line: “Dude, you’re getting a Dell!” The “Dude Gear” accessories include T-shirts, caps, notebook backpacks, and CD cases. Dell hopes the apparel will build on the success of the Steven ads in making the Dell brand even more recognizable to consumers.