Hardware security in PCs to accompany new Windows

[Colin McGregor]

"Henry Spencer" <henry-lqW1N6Cllo0sV2N9l4h3zg at public.gmane.org> on Thursday, May 19, 2005 4:09 PM
wrote:

> On Thu, 19 May 2005, James Knott wrote:
> > I suspect that even MS wouldn't be able to escape antitrust, if they set
> > up a system, where only their software can run on hardware...
>
> Oh, it would be done more subtly than that.  It would be hyped as an
> anti-virus security precaution, or with some other noble-sounding motive.
> "Securing the information infrastructure", that's the ticket.

Yes, that is exactly the sort of thing Microsoft could/would pull...

> And there would, of course, be provision for non-Microsoft software to be
> officially blessed.  No monopolies here!  But it would cost a lot, and
> require a lot of awkward procedures and compliance with stupid
> requirements, and it wouldn't be set up and operating right away, and the
> rules would keep changing, and and and...  You get the picture.  The
> theory would be fine, but the implementation would be ineptly done and so
> cumbersome that getting blessed would be very difficult in practice.

Again yes. You would also have say five firms doing stuff in such low
volumes as not to interest Microsoft (say a firm that does something like
wind load math for windmills) who will get their software blessed by
Microsoft. This way when people say that getting Microsoft has made getting
a licence impossible, Microsoft will have their "useful idiots" that they
can haul out before the press.

As I think Henry Spencer understands, but many others on this list don't
understand, Microsoft sees business as ABSOLUTE TOTAL WAR. Take NO
prisoners, pour salt into the grounds of your enemies, destroy everyone else
utterly is Microsoft's game plan. There is NO possibility for peaceful
co-existence from Microsoft's standpoint. I suspect the only reason
Microsoft (just) BARELY tolerates the existence of Apple computer is that
they can be useful when fending off monopoly claims from governments... We
in the open source community are something to be killed off ASAP from
Microsoft's view...

Colin McGregor

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