Ken Hagler's Radio Weblog
Computers, freedom, and anything else that comes to mind.










Wednesday, April 17, 2002
 

CNET NEWS.COM - Despite law, few people use e-signatures.

Most people are still putting pen to paper these days, despite a law signed by former President Clinton nearly two years ago that made electronic signatures the legal equivalent of traditional signatures.

Electronic signatures were supposed to wipe out the need for time-consuming and costly efforts to sign certain documents. Bank loans, refinancing paperwork and legal documents were all targeted by backers of electronic signatures, with the idea of eliminating the need for meetings, notary publics or overnight deliveries to validate signatures.

The technology certainly exists, but the promise of e-signatures has fizzled in the face of security concerns, competing e-signature standards and the fact that, when it comes to big deals, people still like to handle paper.

"I think a lot of people, even e-savvy people, are frankly more comfortable in document-intensive transactions having a stack of paper to look at, review and sign with someone present," said Ian Ballon, an attorney who focuses on Internet and e-commerce law at Manatt, Phelp & Phillips, in Palo Alto, Calif.

[Privacy Digest]

Prior to the law, a consensus was building around recognizing digital signatures--those based on public key infrastructure (PKI)--as a legal standard for signing documents online. PKI uses encryption keys to lock and unlock data. But because the e-sign law didn't recognize any particular standard for electronic signatures, it threw the standards battle back up for grabs, some analysts say.

"What e-sign really did was blow away PKI," said John Pescatore, research director for Internet security at Gartner. "All that legal work went away."

This was my objection to the law when it was being debated. The law thinks a person's name typed at the bottom of an email is as good as a paper signature, which is absurd to anyone with the slightest knowledge of technology.
comment () trackback ()  2:05:02 PM    


Three Cheers for the Mafia. Robert Vroman at anti-state.com - Three Cheers for the Mafia - Mr. Vroman compares the state with the mob and decides that the mob is easier to live with. [anti-state]
It's a common tactic of anarchists, including myself, to expose the evil of the state by comparing it to organized crime. It certainly seems to fit, all the same systems are in place: the mafia extorts money from you with the return service of rubbing out any other gangs that may try to infiltrate the area; the state taxes you to provide equally dubious police and national defense. The mafia offers great programs like casinos and off track betting; the government has social security. As effective a comparison as it may be in demonizing statists, I now admit this has been an injustice -- to the mob.
[End the War on Freedom]

The arguement is that the Mafia is better because once they take your money they leave you alone. I have to agree, given a choice between the Mafia and the government, I'd prefer the Mafia also.
comment () trackback ()  1:56:59 PM    


On this day in 1997, Frontier 4.2.3 shipped. It was a long-lived version, the last Mac-only release.  [Scripting News]

I'd say it is a long-lived version. I still use it every day, and as I type this I'm taking a break from updating the web interface to Symantec's internal bug tracking system. The web interface is a set of Frontier CGIs built in Frontier 4.2.3.
comment () trackback ()  1:10:26 PM    


Suicide Pilot's Parents Sue Acne Drug Manufacturer. In yet another example of the prevalence of "blame culture" in our society nowadays, the family of the fifteen-year old boy who flew a small private plane into a Florida office buiding in early January of this year has filed a US$70 million wrongful death suit (Yahoo! News) against the manufacturer of the anti-acne drug Accutane. [kuro5hin.org]

Bishop's attorneys said international health agencies have recorded more than 500 reports of suicides, attempted suicide and "suicidal ideation" from Accutane, the fourth highest record of adverse drug reactions among more than 500,000 prescription medications sold in the United States.

No mention is made of the fact that this is an acne drug, and therefore most of the users will be teenagers, a group who have no shortage of reasons to kill themselves anyway.
comment () trackback ()  1:06:38 PM    



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