> Peppercoin is a new approach to an old challenge: how to make small > value transactions--micropayments--feasible. There is a whole world > of digital content gathering dust because owners cannot find a > profitable way to get it into the hands of paying customers.
I believe that both of these sentences are true, but I don't see any obvious connection between them. Micropayments have two problems. The minor one is that technically we have no idea how to implement them. The major one is that users hate the idea. Look at Andy Odlyzko's work on pricing of communications, and you'll find that the trend has always been away from nickel and dime per unit charges toward flat rate subscriptions. That's why all of us cell phone users and dialup Internet users have plans with bundles of service, even though it'd usually be cheaper on average to go a la carte. For all I know, in a world where lots of people wanted to make lots of tiny payments, Peppercoin would work. But is there any reason to belive that world is this world? -- John R. Levine, IECC, POB 727, Trumansburg NY 14886 +1 607 387 6869 [EMAIL PROTECTED], Village Trustee and Sewer Commissioner, http://iecc.com/johnl, Member, Provisional board, Coalition Against Unsolicited Commercial E-mail --------------------------------------------------------------------- The Cryptography Mailing List Unsubscribe by sending "unsubscribe cryptography" to [EMAIL PROTECTED]