Re: Electronic business

[Jim Gillogly <jim@acm.org>]

> "L. Todd Masco" <cactus@bibliob.slip.netcom.com> writes:
> As far as I know, this makes us the first business in history (to
> be melodramatic about it) to conduct business *entirely* over the
> public networks -- the order w/ CC num was encrypted w/ RSA, we
> did the verification electronically on our node (true, through
> a modem to a third party -- we need infrastructure for e$!), and
> mailed the result back to the customer, all in about 15 minutes.
> (It'll get faster as I write the automation code.)

> Am I correct?  Are we the first?

The first what?  On 8 June 94 I sent a PGP message to ACM.ORG requesting an
account and enclosing a signed authorization to use my VISA card to set up
an account; inside the signed text I specified that I authorized charges
for one year's worth of mail forwarding.  I received a (non-PGP) receipt
the next day, and my account was active.  My message and the product were
both on the net.

If the payment in your transaction was in e$, then I don't have a
counterexample to your claim...

	Jim Gillogly
	Sterday, 14 Afterlithe S.R. 1994, 02:29