Microsoft's ace in the hole
Sometimes the most important stories, the most
critical issues fall under the media's radar. Not many people have heard of
something called the "Trusted Computer Group," or TCG. Set up by Microsoft and
Intel, TCG uses Trusted Network Connect (TNC) protocol to enforce network access
on a per-client and/or per-network basis. This TNC protocol, it is speculated,
will eventually be embedded into hardware, perhaps into chips (i.e., Intel
chips). This means that potentially a situation could arise in which non-intel
chips that don't have embedded TNC hardware will not be able to connect, over a
network, to chips that do.
But why would Microsoft and Intel ever do such a
thing? The official reason is to make platforms, particularly Windows, more
secure: to get a grip on the whole virsus, worms, trojans problem that plagues
Microsoft's ubiquitous OS. Yet this is not the only reason. Monopoly leverage
also provides a powerful incentive to do
this.
Consider the possibilities of
such a situation. If Microsoft and Intel can force TNC protocols onto networks,
they can lock people on to their platform.
There is even some speculation that Apple is switching to Intel chips precisely
so that they will not see themselves locked out of TNC networks.
Posted: Fri - June 17, 2005 at 12:30 PM