From Slashdot today

[Jeffrey Watts]

It's a decent point except for the fact that Moore's Law pretty much
guarantees that the horsepower, if not already here, will be here shortly.

I don't think the issue currently is _computers_.  I think the issue is more
of when smaller devices, such as cellphones, PDAs, iPods, etc get powerful
enough chips to be able to do that kind of encryption on the fly.  But given
the fact that my iPod Touch is probably more powerful than my original 386
PC, I can't imagine it taking that long to happen.  4 years maybe?

J.

On Fri, Oct 10, 2008 at 4:14 AM, Leo Mauler <webgiant at yahoo.com> wrote:

>
>
> Encryption takes extra processor cycles, requiring more powerful computers
> and quite likely all brand new computers.  I'm a little skeptical about how
> "fast" anyone could change the entire Internet to an encrypted network
> requiring all brand new computers, when we are in the middle of a financial
> and credit crisis, where no one will be able to get enough credit to replace
> all their computers, and even those with good paychecks may find their
> employers unable to meet payrolls due to having no line of credit with their
> banks.
>
> The tinfoil hat crowd might point out at this point that the current
> situation seems a little too ideal for preventing the population of the
> U.S.A. form implementing just such an "encrypted Internet" scheme.  Since
> corporations are essentially in control of Congress, and they are also the
> ones who caused the current financial and credit crisis, it could be argued
> that the end of net neutrality could have been one goal of a deliberate
> financial and credit crisis.
>
> However, the financial and credit crisis which would prevent an overall
> conversion of the Internet into an encrypted network by the end users, most
> likely will delay the "untrustworthy" ISPs as well, hence "acting fast" is
> only "fast" relative to the resolution of the financial and credit crisis.
>  Tracking systems take extra processor power too, and most ISPs don't
> currently have universal tracking capabilities.  They can do spot checks if
> a member of law enforcement gets a warrant, but they currently do not have
> the resources to check everyone's traffic all the time.
>
> The financial situation which prevents individuals from upgrading all their
> computers to encrypt all their traffic, also prevents ISPs from upgrading
> their computers to track all their traffic.
>
>

-- 

"He that would make his own liberty secure must guard even his enemy from
oppression; for if he violates this duty he establishes a precedent that
will reach to himself." -- Thomas Paine
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