Everyone is writing as if Perry can't be correct because the nature and 
complexity of this problem is unknown.  That is simply untrue.  And the 
assertion that he is wrong because he has studied the subject extensively is, 
well, ...difficult to understand.  The fact is, Perry's assertions are 
absolutely of the correct order of magnitude.  While the distant future is 
perhaps not possible to predict, the near future certainly is, at least for 
technology that must be manufactured in quantity.  And there will be ample 
warning when a threat to 1024 bit keys becomes practical.

On Thursday 29 August 2002 17:05, you wrote:
> Perry E. Metzger(perry@piermont.com)@2002.08.29 16:03:03 +0000:
> [...]
>
> > If you think that you have something new and exciting to tell me that
> > I've never heard of before, check if it has been published in Crypto
> > or Eurocrypt or something first. If you don't know enough to read
> > those conference proceedings, you don't know enough to have an
> > intelligent opinion on the cost of building a machine to run djb's NFS
> > factoring ideas.
>
> nice attitude. sounds a little bit like "640k is enough for everyone",
> etc. understanding as much as to conceive a certain concept, or at least
> to work out an "intelligent opinion" is based on thinking, cognitive
> processes, not just being able to read and understand technoid gibberish.
>
> 2002, not 1972. time to re-think certain concepts. together, not against
> each other. ;-)
>
> i clearly see your experience, your knowledge. you're in the business for
> quite a while. clinging to your experience so tightly, evolving hardline
> thinking, such as above, might prove to be an obstacle, though. new
> inventions, technologies, just came into existence through people who
> got their own ego out of the way, and did what they envisioned.
>
> regards,
> /k

-- 
-----------------------------------
Seth Kurtzberg
M. I. S. Corp.
1-480-661-1849