[Cryptography] USB 3.0 authentication: market power and DRM?

[Ray Dillinger]

On 05/01/2016 12:13 AM, John Gilmore wrote:

> I love the concept of the new Power Delivery modes (100w of power, by
> sending up to 20v at 5A over suitable cables).  If done right, I can
> see people wiring their house and business wall outlets (and cars)
> with much safer, more compact, and Internet-enabled USB-PD sockets,
> replacing 110v or 220v wiring for a lot of uses.  

That would be deeply impractical in terms of materials costs.
Increasing amperage means you have to use heavier cables.  To
the extent that copper ain't cheap and space inside walls for
wiring is often limited, a higher voltage/lower amperage is
always a more effective use of materials.

What you're talking about may be put off for USB 4.0 or something
when negotiating services includes negotiating which of a dozen
or so standard voltages is desired.

I'm not sure I like that idea though, because now it means every
last outlet in your home has electronic devices listening to it
and people have to trust that that's all they're doing.  Of course
this whole discussion is about establishing that trust, but it's
still true that it's easier to trust a copper wire screwed into
a terminal socket with a hardware-store screw than it is to trust
a chip with logic you can't see, made by somebody you don't know.

				Bear

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