What kind of plaintext: ASCII or Unicode? (Rhetorical question, Unicode wasn't around in 1985).
As computers evolve, even non-proprietary formats become problematic. If the underlying tech changes (for instance, the number of bits per character is increased) all the old data must be converted to the new standard to ensure that newer machines can use it. But, if the amount of new data produced increases (due to population growth, etc), the amount of existing data grows exponentially, and it becomes impractical to convert all of it.
You might be able to maintain all of your old records personally, but society as a whole won't be able to keep up with the influx of new information produced.
Most companies can't randomly delete their competitors' packets because malicious packet drops will be handled the same way as random packet drops: the sender will route around the failure point. It would only be effective if a company controlled a competitor's only uplink.
To stuff the PageRank rating, however, a company only needs to change its own pages, not to change those of its competitors. Any large company that could afford to spend time/money could potentially break the system.
Unfortunately, the issues of vote purchasing and intimidation is a little more complex. In many cases, the ballot includes minor posts (mayors, commissioners, etc) as well as federal ones, and these are more susceptible to outside influence.
If someone threatens to break your fingers unless you vote a certain way, you might be willing to risk it to vote for the president. But for the city sewer commissioner? Or the county sheriff?
Buying a federal election might be impractical, but buying a local one could probably be done.
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What kind of plaintext: ASCII or Unicode? (Rhetorical question, Unicode wasn't around in 1985).
As computers evolve, even non-proprietary formats become problematic. If the underlying tech changes (for instance, the number of bits per character is increased) all the old data must be converted to the new standard to ensure that newer machines can use it. But, if the amount of new data produced increases (due to population growth, etc), the amount of existing data grows exponentially, and it becomes impractical to convert all of it.
You might be able to maintain all of your old records personally, but society as a whole won't be able to keep up with the influx of new information produced.
Most companies can't randomly delete their competitors' packets because malicious packet drops will be handled the same way as random packet drops: the sender will route around the failure point. It would only be effective if a company controlled a competitor's only uplink.
To stuff the PageRank rating, however, a company only needs to change its own pages, not to change those of its competitors. Any large company that could afford to spend time/money could potentially break the system.
Unfortunately, the issues of vote purchasing and intimidation is a little more complex. In many cases, the ballot includes minor posts (mayors, commissioners, etc) as well as federal ones, and these are more susceptible to outside influence.
If someone threatens to break your fingers unless you vote a certain way, you might be willing to risk it to vote for the president. But for the city sewer commissioner? Or the county sheriff?
Buying a federal election might be impractical, but buying a local one could probably be done.