Open Protocols for Information Commerce

Presented by Nathaniel Borenstein/First Virtual Holdings, Inc.

Biography:  Nathaniel Borenstein is Chief Scientist at First Virtual
Holdings, Inc.  He received a Ph.D. in Computer Science from Carnegie
Mellon in 1985.  Since then, his research efforts have included the
Andrew Message System, a pioneering multimedia messaging application;
MIME, the Internet standard format for interoperable multimedia data;
metamail, a portable MIME implementation in use by millions of people
worldwide; the ATOMICMAIL and Safe-Tcl languages for safe and portable
interactive electronic mail messages; and various other projects.  He is
the founder of the Electric Eclectic, an experimental customizable
multimedia Internet magazine, and the author of two books, including
Programming As If People Mattered:  Friendly Programs, Software
Engineering, and Other Noble Delusions.  At First Virtual, he is now
helping to lead the investigation of the commercial aspects of networked
information delivery.


Traditional one-way payment mechanisms, such as cash, credit cards, and
digital cash, presuppose the necessity of payment validation in advance
of the completion of a transaction.  In contrast, a ``closed loop''
protocol that verifies both payment information and customer
satisfaction permits a far simpler payment engine in an open Internet
environment, and is well-suited to a broad sub-class of Internet
commerce applications.  This talk will present the underlying
philosophy, design rationale, and specification overview for a
recently-developed set of open protocols for the information commerce.