Re: PGP 5.0 beta is out at PGP.com

[Alan Olsen <alan@ctrl-alt-del.com>]

At 11:49 AM 5/18/97 -0800, Tim May wrote:
>At 10:11 AM -0800 5/18/97, Tim May wrote:
>
>>
>>I'll have to get it off the Iraqi or Syrian sites.
>>
>
>Hey, thanks everyone, no more pointers are needed. My favorite crypto guru
>in the Estekhbarat gave me a pointer to his site. Alas, my version of the
>Macintosh OS is not recent enough to use this program.
>
>(Funny how most Windows software will run on the 6-year old 3.1, but Mac
>software often requires the latest "x.01" rev of the unstable OS. I knew
>I'd pay a price for defecting from the Borg.)

The reason for this is that the MicroBorg made it too hard to develop for
the latest version of their software.  (Probably in an attempt to kill
off/assimilate Borgland.)  Many people stuck with the old tools instead of
upgrading to the new ones...

I prefer Unix.  At least most tools come with source...  (And the GNU
compilers are a hell of a lot more stable and bug free than their Windows
counterparts.)

>Shows you that ordinary compatibility issues are a more effective bar to
>world-wide use than the weak attempts by the USG to limit access by
>foreigners. When the Estekhbarat has it, you _know_ such controls are
>pointless.

When I want to point out how absurd the whole thing is, I just tell them
about what it takes to get PGP.  Either jump through the hoops in the US or
go to one of many offshore sites and not jump through the hoops.  It also
helps when a couple of the "big name" algorythms are patented/created by
companies outside of the US.  ("Wait.  You mean I can't distribute IDEA
because it might fall into foreign hands?  But it's owned by the Swiss!")

>There's something wrong when I'm a felon under an increasing number of laws.

When will they learn that the reason people have so much disrespect for
laws is that we have so few laws worth respecting?

>Only one response to the key grabbers is warranted: "Death to Tyrants!"

I am waiting for one of these CongressCritters to propose a "Chastity Belt
Key Escrow bill".  Especially for those pages on the Senate floor...
(OBCongressJoke: "Why don't congressmen use bookmarks?  They like their
pages bent over.") I can just imagine the debate on that one!



---
|     "Bill Clinton - Bringing back the sixties one Nixon at a time."    |
|"The moral PGP Diffie taught Zimmermann unites all| Disclaimer:         |
| mankind free in one-key-steganography-privacy!"  | Ignore the man      |
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|         http://www.ctrl-alt-del.com/~alan/       |alan@ctrl-alt-del.com|