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Re: [getting off topic] Re: Freedom and security




On Thu, 2 May 1996, Mike McNally wrote:

> Rabid Wombat wrote:
> 
> > If I send snail, there are "rules" governing who can open the envelope.
> > If I'm suspected of criminal activity, the community has recourse.
> 
> If you don't encrypt or otherwise secure sensitive surface mail the same 
> way you would e-mail, you deserve what you get.  The community, of course,
> is in the same state with secure snail-mail case as it is with PGP-encrypted
> e-mail.
> 
Yes, I CAN encrypt. The point being discussed is whether society should 
allow me to do so, and if I have the RIGHT to do so. Classic freedom of 
individual vs. rights of society. Plato, Aristotle, Montesquieu, etc. etc.
Can't swing a dead marsupial without hittin' a philosopher on 'punks 
these days.

> Which reminds me of something I've been meaning to ask about.  I read
> (probably in WiReD) about a bar-code-like (well, not *much* like, but
> ink-on-paper similar) technique for rendering data onto paper with
> enhanced properties of storage efficiency, resistance to degradation
> through photocopying, and ease of recovery via ordinary scanning.  The
> stuff looks like bunches of little lines at different angles, I think.
> Anyway, what I'm curious about is whether encode/decode (i.e., print
> and scan) software is available.
> 
Ah, the modern day version of the Rosetta Stone, unearthed in 
post-nuclear holocaust Peoria ...

> ______c_____________________________________________________________________
> Mike M Nally * Tiv^H^H^H IBM * Austin TX    * pain is inevitable  
>        [email protected] * [email protected]          *
>       <URL:http://www.io.com/~m101>         * suffering is optional
>