Replies to post #45786 on Wave Systems Corp. (fka WAVXQ)

[barge]

UncleverName--Very revealing indeed, including the lines preceding the bolded ones.

STEVE SPRAGUE:

"Secondly, I think that in the computing industry, probably the biggest being made is that everybody is looking at this as an enterprise security problem, and it's not. Primarily, it's a consumer security issue, but if we solved consumer security every enterprise will use it. It's guaranteed. But if I create the ultimate device for the DoD and they may buy it and put it in every desktop of the DoD, is it going to help consumers? Most likely not. So, so much of this we've learned and forgotten. Right? To go back in time, was the PC adopted by enterprise or consumer first? It was adopted by the consumer first."

[howard_b_golden]

Unclever, I believe SKS's version of PC history is incorrect.

Personal computers were bought first by business users using discretionary funds. They weren't "consumers" in the sense of home users. However, they weren't the "data processing department" either. As SKS says, these purchasers saw that the personal computer could do so much more than what the standard enterprise tools could do, but make no mistake, these were business people, using the PCs for business.

SKS's sense that security is going to be consumer-driven doesn't ring true to me. It's not that consumers don't want security, but that they don't understand enough about the technology to know how to achieve it. I also don't see how security is going to be made consumer-friendly. Today's computers aren't consumer friendly devices, so adding security isn't going to make the security consumer friendly. There's currently a significant need for hand-holding most consumers in their computer use. I think that need is going to be increased when security is added.

Maybe the computer knows my passwords, so my wife can edit my web pages. But what prevents others from editing my web pages, once they have access to my computer? Of course, there will be another access limit, either a code or a biometric or something. What if it doesn't work right? Who's going to fix it for the consumer? But then won't that person or organization have access to the consumer's passwords. Who will be liable for misuse or theft?

I don't mean to suggest that these problems are unsolvable. I'm sure they can be solved. However, these things will slow adoption of the technology, as the problems are worked out.