Tuesday, April 11, 2006
You heard it here first
Dave Farber's list published the "discovery" that Intel Macs have hardware DRM, saying,
Back in June, isen.blog quoted a Wired News story that said
Repeat after me: DRM is anti-user. DRM destroys value. DRM weakens culture.
Now the bad news. It looks like Intel has embedded “Trusted Computing” DRM protection in its Infineon chip and forgot to tell people. If you remember the Sony rootkit uproar, you know this is not small news.
The basic idea of Trusted Computing is that security on a computer is obtained via hardware, through a specific chip dedicated exclusively to this task and called Trusted Platform Module (TPM). It’s a very controversial project, as I wrote four years ago. Originally sold as a beneficial security system for users (which is partially true), trusted Computing and Palladium risk to open the doors to inviolable copy-protection systems and to censorship and surveillance issues to unprecedented levels.
Back in June, isen.blog quoted a Wired News story that said
But why would Apple [switch to Intel processors]? Because Apple wants Intel's new Pentium D chips. Released just few days ago, the dual-core chips include a hardware copy protection scheme that prevents "unauthorized copying and distribution of copyrighted materials from the motherboard," according to PC World. Apple -- or rather, Hollywood -- wants the Pentium D to secure an online movie store (iFlicks if you will), that will allow consumers to buy or rent new movies on demand, over the internet.Why is it a surprise now? Will it be another surprise when Intel Macs become popular enough for Apple to unleash heavy DRM on its users?
Repeat after me: DRM is anti-user. DRM destroys value. DRM weakens culture.
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