Re: S-HTTP

Jon Cooper, talking about S-HTTP, writes:
>    I don't much see the point in encrypting _EVERYTHING_, and if you're 
> only talking about encrypting a credit card number or an occasional 
> paid-for document, it shouldn't be much of a burden at all with a good 
> implementation.

There are a number of times when you might want to do this,
such as delivering an information product as well as paying for it
(e.g. a new software release, shipped encrypted to avoid eavesdroppers
pirating it for free), or information you want conveniently accessible
on the web but only to approved people (e.g. your political campaign's
strategy material or your corporate information made available to your
sales group who are often out at customer sites instead of behind your 
firewall), or your corporate complaints web-form (enter your problem in the
box below; please type legibly), or of course your politically-incorrect-
substance ordering system, which should provide anonymity as well as
payment and ordering, (which may be beyond the complexity of S-HTTP.)

		Bill

> box below; please type legibly), or of course your politically-incorrect-
> substance ordering system, which should provide anonymity as well as
> payment and ordering, (which may be beyond the complexity of S-HTTP.)

What precisely would be the point of anonymously ordering PIS's (I
like that name!)?  You'd need some mechanism for anon delivery of
physical goods, unless of course what was transmitted was a recipe and
your computer was hooked up to a organic synthesis lab.