Message no. 1

From:	Wafflemiesters <evamarie@**********.NET>
Subject:	Cresdsticks = banknotes?
Date:	Mon, 9 Mar 1998 04:05:20 -0600

I think the easiest way to view certified credsticks in my campaign is
to
see them as bank notes -- you can't tear one in half and pay with that,
you always have to give up the whole note to pay for something.
--
Gurth@******.nl
===+++===+++===+++===

I realise youveconsideredthe issue and knowsomething about e-cash, but
if certified sticks are like that, why not just use a hard to
counterfeit bank note? Thats all your "certified credstick" really is.
Would'nt it be as easy (and more convienient) to have it store each
minimal currency unit as a seperate certified amount, and pass allong as
many as needed, as a data transaction?

The certified stick has, IMO, 3 design goals that you would have to
reach to make it worth the trouble VS cash or credit/debit cards:

1)Covenience- fast, flexable payment- the selling point, from the users
view

2)Matrix Compatability- the ability to pay cash for your Pizza before it
arives- the selling point , from the retailers view

3)Anominity- its totally untracable, or else credit / debit payments
would work instead- not everybody wants to do the equivalent of
downloading thier Belview adress and gold plated credit rating to the
scumbag at the corner porn store. Even ligitimte business men buy
jewlery for thier mistresses, and don't want the bill on a joint account
(spouses have legal acsess to credit records).

AFAIK, the certified credstic "stores" an amount of cash "certified"
to
exist by some third party. This certification involves heavy encryption
inside the stick, or some form of vouch safed moneys represented
indata. It passes that money (data), and "certifies" the transaction
and new amount. It does so using the anonomous info provided by the
maker of the stick instead of your personal SIN. This doesn't require a
verifier, for resonable amounts, because the stick is its OWN
verification. Eventually, the third party checks where the cash its
vouching for has gone, and makes sure they are not being ripped off or
floating more than they are good for.
Its kind of like using a credit card that "knows" whenits maxed out,
made out to the name of some bank that the "purchaser" of the stick has
payed.
Of course, that might mean that you can tell when a purchase has bein
made with a particular stick, but I'm sure those wacky cypherpunk e-cash
brainiacs have a way around that.

Mongoose