Posted on 04/25/2005 2:37:40 PM PDT by HAL9000
Microsoft Gives Details on Windows Release
Microsoft's Plan to Hardwire Computer Security in Chip to Debut in Next Windows Release
SEATTLE (AP) -- Microsoft Corp.'s ambitious plan to keep data safe on PCs will make a scaled-down debut in the next release of Windows, though the operating system's most anticipated improvements in graphics appear to mirror what's now available from rival Apple Computer Inc.
The long-delayed Windows upgrade, now expected in December 2006, has been touted as the most significant update to the ubiquitous operating since Windows 95 launched in 1995. In a speech Monday, Microsoft Chairman Bill Gates showed off several features.
Gates demonstrated Longhorn's new graphics, which include better ways to visualize data, including seeing through windows that are stacked atop each other, more natural file organization and faster searching. He also promised better performance and reliability.
And though he spent only a few minutes on security in his speech, Gates said it was the most important improvement and had received the most attention by developers.
"If you had to take one area where we put the most investment in, the security area would be the head of that list by a significant amount," he told the audience at the Windows Hardware Engineering Conference.
Longhorn is the first release of Windows to implement Microsoft's vision of boosting security by placing cryptographic keys in special silicon chips that would be built into PCs.
Currently, such encryption locks are stored as data on a hard drive. It is, however, much more difficult to crack a chip.
The security chip in computers running Longhorn would thus render sensitive files inaccessible if someone tried to boot the machine from a portable hard drive or floppy disk.
The security initiative -- once code-named Palladium but later christened the Next Generation Secure Computing Base, or NGSCB -- was announced in 2002 and was quickly attacked by privacy advocates, Microsoft critics and others as a mechanism by which commercial interests might wrest control of PCs from their owners.
Some claimed it would enable strict copyright protection schemes for music, movies and software. It also could restrict the tinkering that has driven computer industry innovation over the years, they said.
But secure startup isn't expected to be as controversial as chip-based rights management. Microsoft has not said, however, how else Longhorn might interact with the chip, though security features are expected that would make it more difficult for online criminals to break into PCs.
Neil Charney, director of product management in Microsoft's Windows group, said the secure startup feature is most likely to be used by business computers, especially in laptops that store sensitive data that could come back to haunt companies after a theft.
A number of companies, including Microsoft, are working together to beef up security using a combination of hardware and software. NGSCB is just one approach, though it's likely to have the most impact given Microsoft's dominance.
Some PC vendors, including IBM Corp. and Hewlett-Packard Co., have been offering PCs with security chips for years. On Monday, HP announced it will support Longhorn's implementation on some of its business computers and workstations.
Gates also briefly discussed other security enhancements in Longhorn, including user accounts for shared machines that don't always have the highest privileges but are flexible enough to allow software installation.
The bulk of Gates' speech covered Longhorn's flashier visual and organizational features -- which Apple CEO Steve Jobs described last week as "shamelessly" copying his company's Mac OS X operating system.
"They can't even copy fast," Jobs said at his company's shareholder meeting.
Indeed, many of the features that Gates demonstrated Monday -- including shadowed, translucent windows as well as fancy, stutter-free animations -- have been a part of the Mac OS since it was released in March 2001.
And some of Longhorn's organizational tools, such as faster searching and virtual folders that populate with documents based on the information they contain, are expected to be part of the version of Mac OS X that goes on sale Friday.
"Microsoft will have a year and a half to add some bells and whistles to allow it to claim some differentiation," said Dwight Davis, an analyst at the research firm Summit Strategies.
Microsoft shares closed at $24.99, up a penny, in Monday trading on the Nasdaq Stock Market. The stock has traded in a 52-week range of $23.82 to $30.20.
Does the specific wording of this sentence suggest something about the writer?
There's no way this is NOT going to be used for DRM - keeping track of whether you own that music track or not.
It suggests he didn't copy his statements from a MS press release, unlike some articles I've seen.
That chip is a wolf in sheeps clothing.
It suggests that the writer is a master of the obvious.
That isn't the worst of it:
Software you can't control inside your PC means it WILL be used for law enforcement and intelligence wiretaps.
Would that be an M.O. degree?
If Microsoft develops it, the security chip will be MUCH EASIER to break into than a hard drive. MS couldn't make a secure system to save their lives.
Simple answer: my next PC will be a Mac. Screw M$ and all their so-called improvements. The last OS they released they said the same crap - "The biggest improvemnt to Windows since '95" If I want to buy soimething as full of holes as XP, I'll stop by the local deli and buy a pound of swiss cheese.
It's not even in sheep's clothing.
"Some claimed it would enable strict copyright protection schemes for music, movies and software. It also could restrict the tinkering that has driven computer industry innovation over the years, they said."
"Some claimed it would enable strict copyright protection schemes for music, movies and software. It also could restrict the tinkering that has driven computer industry innovation over the years, they said."
that's not good.
If I understand this correctly, it may not be possible to upgrade old computers to Longhorn.
That has always tended to be the case. I have upgraded a few computers in the past to a new operating system, but it's never been a painless procedure even if you format and start fresh.
For timing reasons I just had to buy a new laptop, so I'm not sure when I'll be able to get a new computer. I've heard good as well as bad things about Longhorn (the bad mostly from Apple lovers like this).
And the crowd goes wild!
BWAAAHAAAAA!
Yeah, I agree. I'm so sick of the press releases for every new Windows version. Each time they claim "rock steady stability," and it'a joke.
True, but...erm...Longhorn, shmonghorn. How many people here are still running Win2k rather than XP? (raises hand) What about 98 or (gasp) Me? I have no doubt that the content industries will try to use this to put my PC in "lockdown mode", but nothing short of an Act of Congress can get me to upgrade if I really don't want to.
Security for the users or security for Hollywood and the recording industry?
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