Microsoft's Palladium and the "Fritz Chip"

Kicka$$gear-News (computer enthusiast site) ^ | June 28, 2002 | Dr. John

[RicocheT]

Palladium and the "Fritz Chip"

You all should know about Senator Fritz Hollings, and his tireless attempts to make PCs incapable of copying music files or running "unauthorized content". The Trusted Computing Platform Alliance" or TCPA, is a hardware and software based system for preventing computers from doing many of the things they are now capable of. Microsoft, AMD, Intel and many other companies say they are now working very hard to integrate TCPA features into hardware and software, including future versions of Windows.

At the heart of TCPA is a new chip added to motherboards, which have been affectionately dubbed "Fritz chips" after the good Senator. But there is a double meaning here, since you can expect computers based on TCPA technology to go on the fritz far more often than their non-TCPA counterparts. Eventually, Intel and AMD say they will incorporate TCPA into future processors. Lucky us.

Palladium is the software end of the business, and will be built-into future versions of Windows. The basic idea is that the Fritz chip will constantly check the machine state, and the "authorizations" for the OS and each application on the machine. The OS will only boot if nothing is "amiss", that means no "unauthorized components or content". The spin they are putting on this draconian move is that "PCs won't necessarily get faster, just more secure".

Is that what computer owners want? Slower computers that can't copy MP3 files without paid authorization? I don't think so, and I doubt that talk about "secure computing" will change many minds. So the question is, will folks run out to buy a "Fritz chip" computer, or will they shop around for Fritz-less options? My guess is the later. However, most computer users are far from techno-savvy, so if they get bombarded with propaganda about TCPA making their computers secure from hackers, maybe the IT industry will be able to bamboozle large numbers of casual computer users. But the relatively smaller community of power users will certainly not go quietly into this good fight. So the next question is, will there be "Fritz-less" computer manufacturers that specifically sell only systems that have no TCPA components or operating systems? What will become of Linux as Microsoft moves completely to "Palladium", especially if the internet becomes TCPA-ified?

The bottom line is this. Computer and software makers are desperate to lock down the ability of modern computers until they are nothing more than paid content providing systems. This is not what computers were made for, they were made to be multifunctional, programmable devices with almost unlimited capabilities. Capabilities that the MPAA (motion picture assoc. of America) and RIAA (recording industry assoc. of America) want eliminated ASAP.

Finally, will TCPA create a black market for Fritz-less motherboards, or will it just make the last, fastest, Fritz-less computers the most popular on earth? I can imagine a big run on the last round on non-TCPA hardware as soon as it becomes known that all motherboards after a certain date must have the Fritz chip installed.

Dr. John

See this article for the technical explanation: "MS Palladium protects IT vendors, not you" http://www.theregister.co.uk/content/4/25940.html

[dheretic]

Apple is more in danger from shrinking shares than anybody else because they stand alone in their standards.

So does Wintel in its "standards." Windows is less of an open standard than OSX. OSX is built on Mach 3.0, FreeBSD 3.3 and OpenSTEP. Intel processors are just as proprietary, or open for that matter, as a PPC G3/G4. In fact the PC world is at a significant disadvantage over the Mac world: it has no single hardware and software provider to make decisions on how the platform evolves. What will happen when PC customers have to start choosing between Itaniums and x86-64? It's going to happen because Macs are slated to begin moving to the 64bit PPC G5 in the next few years. Once that happens the PC world will have no choice but to move to 64bit processors or it will get ripped a new one benchmarkwise by Macs

The keep making their computers more Maccy, which the Apple fans love and they just gobble it up

Actually OSX is a major break from a lot of "Maccy" things. It behaves more like a 3-way cross between Windows, MacOS 9 and UNIX than the original MacOS. A lot of Windows users are shocked at how slick my installation of OSX looks on my 3 year old PowerBook G3 compared to their WindowsXP installation on their 1 year old PCs. The fact that I can run OS X rather well on a 3 year old PowerBook which has only a 333mhz processor and 192MB of Ram says a lot and I point out how old my PB is.

Microsoft's push for DRM/Palladium will alienate a lot of users because it will interfere in their daily activities. Microsoft knows that their "initiative" cannot be accomplished without fundamental changes to the OS. Programs like Winamp won't be able to run because the Winamp crew is known for being very anarchistic. They were the guys that created Gnutella for God's sake. Nothing short of an act of God, a FBI swat team bashing down their office doors or a direct order from the AOLTW brass could get them to not fully support MP3 and Ogg Vorbis even if that means telling Microsoft to take its DRM and shove it up its ass.

As a former Linux user I am realistic enough to know that Linux will never be ready for the average user, especially not since OSX-based systems are pretty cheap, very reliable and easy to use. The only OS that can potentially "save" the PC market is OpenBeOS, however that will take another 1-2 years to get fully into Beta stage.

And about the issue regarding band promotion, there is actually a simple solution: integrate MP3.com into AOL/Compuserve and get it a primetime spot on Yahoo and MSN's music sections. If major bands were to start getting listed there, like say get Creed listed in the alternative/hard rock section they could retool their DBs to monitor every rock band bought by someone who buys from Creed and then list two options on the Creed page: "Full List of Bands Supported By Other Creed Fans" or "Up and Coming Artists Liked by Creed Fans." The former is obviously what it name says and the 2nd list is created by monitoring bands based on activity. Those with consistant sales and strong sales activity during a certain period relative to their size would be promoted in this list. For example a band that has been on for 6 months and has sold 200 copies of its first release online would be listed here since 200 sales in such a short period of time for a new band online as opposed to out of the trunk of the band's car/van or at a gig is pretty good.

[dheretic]

No one is ever going to be as big as Microsoft once Microsoft falls. As a Mac user, I'm glad about that. No company should wield that much very real power over the world.

[discostu]

WIntel doesn't stand alone in their standards. Dozens of companies make WIntel machines. If one goes away no biggie, remember Pac-Bell? Gone the way I wish Compaq would go, did it hurt the PC market? Not at all. What matters isn't the openness of the standard, it's how much it gets used. The multiple hardware providors mae it stronger, they make the prices cheaper because there's competition, and it discourages goofy sidelines with low interoperability because nobody will write software for it. Hardware and software are evolving plenty fine in PC world, whoever takes the lead drives the force. There's a reason why most new video cards come with a CD full of games, intercorporate cooperation, getting people supporting the hardware before it's even released. Competition makes markets strong.

OSX is classic Mac. Sure some of the look is different, the guts are seriously different but there's no mistaking it for a product of anybody by Apple. As for XP once I turned off that awful faggy blue default color scheme it rocks. They really did take all the cool stuff from NT and stick in 95 and did it well.

Most users aren't even going to find out about Palladium, remember who MS's core audience is, total non-geeks. Actually the changes necessary to the OS for Palladium are pretty small, filetypes are the first few bytes, the initial scan tells the OS what kind of CD is in the drive. Easy stuff. As for Winamp, who cares? Most people use Windows Media Player for just about everything because it plays just about anything.

You're still missing why the internet sales model is doomed. Ask yourself this, why is it that WalMart is the single largest music seller in the world by a serious margin and Amazon is playing keep up with also rans hanging around 5? Why is it that Best Buy devotes a huge section of prime real estate in their stores (it's almost impossible to get in and out without going by) to CDs and on their website CDs are literally below the line and rarely a feature product on the front page? The way people buy music just doesn't coalesce with how puchases are made on the internet. I look up an album probably every month on Amazon, they're handy for finding out if something is in print and what it's price range is going to be, also nice if you don't know enough about the album to find it easily in the store; but then once I've found it I generally go buy it in a real store.

[discostu]

I hope somebody rises from the ashes. With all of the annoyance that MS spreads they've done one great thing: solidified the market. I remember buying software before the rise of MS with each line having it's own section in the store and nothing was available in all platforms, and it was a real bear for the store to trying to figure out what to have in stock (stock costs money). One platform uber alles has made the life of the average computer user (and store owner) so much easier, even though the best platform didn't win (let's hear it for DeskView). If it fragments again the industry is going to fall apart.

[dheretic]

If it fragments again the industry is going to fall apart.

Nonsense. Microsoft is not a stabilizing force. They are a force for stagnation if anything. There are no Linux programs that I know of that don't directly talk to the kernel or one of its services that cannot be recompiled successfully under Mac OSX. There is a functional XFree86 package for OSX users that let's UNIX desktop apps be recompiled under OSX and run just fine. Microsoft doesn't currently have anything to compete with that level of compatability.

The real danger to the industry is what will replace IA32. You can bet your bottom dollar that Intel and AMD both want to move away from it and toward their 64bit processors. They have no incentive to not try to get developers to switch so that they don't need to maintain two separate processor lines. Unfortunately for PC users there is no standard to move to. In the next few years Intel and AMD will be trying to push Itanium and Opteron respectively on John Q Citizen because that will be easier for them keeping up Pentium IX and K13 produces.

[dheretic]

Most users aren't even going to find out about Palladium, remember who MS's core audience is, total non-geeks. Actually the changes necessary to the OS for Palladium are pretty small, filetypes are the first few bytes, the initial scan tells the OS what kind of CD is in the drive. Easy stuff.

And the moment there is any disruption ripping CDs and playing MP3s the users will raise hell and Apple will put out ads saying simply "On a Mac it's rip, mix, burn baby!" You underestimate how much college students would be righteously pissed off at Microsoft. No patch would ever fix the PR crisis that would create for Microsoft among <30 year olds especially in the 13-25yr old range. You seem to forget that most people in this age group think that the RIAA (or for those who don't know about the RIAA, it's member labels) is the Great Satan. They know Microsoft has more cash than every government in Africa combined and that it can tell the record industry to go f@#$ itself without any problems. If Microsoft is serious about Palladium, it will tip its hand and show consumers that is is in league with the record labels when it doesn't have to be. That would be the ultimate selling out for many people and it would be Microsoft's waterloo.

As for Winamp, who cares? Most people use Windows Media Player for just about everything because it plays just about anything.

Virtually no one I've met uses WMP over Winamp. Literally all but 2 people I've met on campus use Winamp if they use Windows or they use iTunes if they use MacOS. WMP is not a mp3 player as far as most users are concerned at my school, it's just a movie player. And yes, they know it can play MP3s, it's just that they think it sucks ass compared to winamp which is small, totally unintrusive, doesn't spy on you, never ever bogs your system down and aims to do just one thing well. WMP is a great movie player, it just sucks compared to Winamp for music.

[discostu]

The average users don't rip CDs that's my point. You ever hear the cupholder joke? That's the average MS user. You overestimate how many people rip CDs.

Again you're talking the geek crowd in WinAmp vs WMP. The cupholder people won't even get WinAmp because it doesn't come automatically with the OS. Not sure how you can call anything that puts itself in the system tray unintrussive. Step #1 to getting uninstalled from my computer (or at least having the apps options ripped to shreds) is to put itself on the system, that pisses me off bad. It's a little less annoying now with XP because it hides innactive tray icons, but still get's me pretty horked.

[discostu]

MS is a stabalizing force. I've lived in both worlds. A wide open largele standardless multiplatform computer world SUCKS. Why should MS compete with that level of "compatibility" recompile is a dirty word in Windows country. Recompiling is for geeks, Windows is for normal people.

John Q Public doesn't no what a bit is or how many his computer uses. You have really got to get yourself away from the college crowd and experience the real world. In the real world people want to write their documents, exchange some e-mail, play some solitaire and maybe scan some porn. All this other fancy crap that full time geeks like you and I play with is gibberish to them and they couldn't care less.

[dheretic]

Why should MS compete with that level of "compatibility" recompile is a dirty word in Windows country. Recompiling is for geeks, Windows is for normal people.

All it takes is for one geek to compile OSX binaries, package them in a neat little OSX installer package and distribute them. Windows is not for "normal" people, it is for sadomasachists. Anyone that puts up with the bs that Windows users put up with is definitely at least partially into S&M.

John Q Public doesn't no what a bit is or how many his computer uses.

John will care when his software is running in 32bit emulation mode on his 64bit PC and his Mac user friends run their apps in native 64bit mode and everything do just seems faster. 32bit compatability mode is necessary for Windows users, not for Mac users. Mac users don't have to worry about that because Apple can just write a software emulation layer or get the developer base to release 64bit binaries by simply changing a compiler switch in Project Builder. What you are missing here is that a few months from this time next year, the 64bit G5 will mostly likely be on the market and finding its way into PowerMacs. It will run apps a hell of a lot faster than 32bit G3s/G4s and Pentium/Athlon systems. When the PC world tries to make the 64bit leap it won't be able to because there is no standard 64bit processor. It will either be divided between Itanium users and Opteron users. In either case all PC software will either have to run in IA32 emulation mode in Windows or the processor's hardware or bundle 3 versions of the app in the same box. That means that a program like MS Office will have to come on probably 3 CDs, one IA32, one Itanium and one Opteron thus increasing production costs. Plus it'll be confusing to users, "what's an Opteron or Itanium?" DVD would be the answer but virtually no products come on DVD. My copy of VS.NET comes on 5 CDs. Imagine that when there are 3 PC processors architectures to support!

[dheretic]

The average users don't rip CDs that's my point. You ever hear the cupholder joke? That's the average MS user. You overestimate how many people rip CDs.

Most of the people in my age group that use computers know how to rip a CD. Obviously your average user doesn't know how to rip a CD, they don't know how to do virtually anything with their computer because when it doesn't work they treat it like an enraged familiar rather than a brainless box of metal and plastic.

Again you're talking the geek crowd in WinAmp vs WMP. The cupholder people won't even get WinAmp because it doesn't come automatically with the OS.

Bull$hit. That isn't the geek crowd. What part of, virtually every PC user I know on campus uses Winamp do you not understand? I clearly stated that I am talking about the student body outside the CS department. All of my older relatives know jack $hit about computers, but they have Winamp because their kids who are around my age download Winamp for them because they use it and I am the only geek on both sides of my family.

[Lazamataz]

If they produce these cripple-computers, some enterprising fellow will start a company that produces full-function computers.

That man will be rich.

[Dimensio]

"Concern for your personal possessions does not grant you the right to take away MY lock-pick for fear that I might let myself in your front door and steal you blind."

Hardly a proper example. My computer, and the components within that would be crippled should the MPAA, RIAA and others have their way, have legitimate uses beyond copyright infringement (more legitimate uses than illegitimate, I might add). Some of the proposed computer hardware regulations would prevent me from running the operating system of my choice, as Linux would likely never be able to fully comply with the demanded "digital rights management" features.

A slightly better, though still flawed, analogy would be me demanding that you remove the ability from your firearms to discharge projectiles lest you use it to illegally harm or kill someone.

[discostu]

What part of "those aren't your average PC users" don't you get? Get out of the geek section and go ask a marketing major some computer questions, or business. Better yet get away from college and actually talk to some normal people. I've been out here working with computers (and more recently getting paid to tell people they're wrong about computers... software QA) since you were a babe in arms. Listen to people that have been fighting the technology war since the Apple II days, the average does not and will not do these things.

[discostu]

A yes the Linux guy telling me about Windows. Sorry charley, Windows is easy to use. The only time Windows is a problem is if you approach it like a geek. People that like to tweak their computer and juice performance out of it will have a hard time with Windows because it wasn't meant for that. People who want to turn on the computer and go have no problem. My latest machine had XP installed, took 20 minutes to go through the personalization section of the install (timezone and stuff) and 10 to get tweak the look how I like it. After then smooth sailing and just installing software and going. No crashes, no problems. Even my old favorite DOS games (still a sucker for those SSI D&D games) run right off the bat.

John will care when his software is running in 32bit emulation mode on his 64bit PC and his Mac user friends run their apps in native 64bit mode and everything do just seems faster.

You're so funny. John Q Public doesn't even understand that sentence. And with Mac only having 5% of the market share the chances of JQP even having a friend that's a Mac user is slim to none. I went through the 16 to 32 change over. Highly anticipated in the geek commnity, out in the real world people didn't care. We jumped up and down saying "look it's faster" and their response was to ask if they could go to bed now (32 bit on the PC got unveiled at midnight after all).

JQP approaches computers the same way they do cars. Some people know all about cars and can list off every vital stat of every model made in the last 20 years, going into a long descriptions of normal asperation vs turbo and on and on. Most people though just want to get in, turn the key, and go to work. They don't know that other stuff and they don't want to know and if you try to tell them their eyes glass over and they stop hearing a word you're saying. Same thing with computers, they don't know what a bit is, they've never heard of benchmarks, and they've been told by reliabe sources that if they download anything from the internet they'll get a virus. They just don't care about all the technical crap that people like you and I obsess on, and if the history of the car is any indicator they never will.

[Dimensio]

Windows is easy to use. The only time Windows is a problem is if you approach it like a geek.

Actually, Windows is a problem when a geek who doesn't know what they are doing tries to tweak it, but it can also be a big problem for those who don't understand the importance of security. When Nimda first hit, I could go through several megabytes of firewall hits every week -- and I doubt that they were all coming from "geeks" who were trying to "tweak" their system. More likely it was non-savvy users who just want to "turn on the computer and go have no problem", without bothering to ever check Windows Update. It's also a problem for people who download and install every "cute" or "neat" application they find and who insist on having every possible instant messaging client available (and naturally they use the commercial versions rather than third-party freeware, ensuring that they get a nice dose of adware to go along with their client) and load up the system with countless heavy (and often useless) processes, then wonder why the system crashes so often.

I am a "geek". I manage a small Linux server box at home and I run it on my personal machine as well. I deal with Windows 2000 as a necessary evil and while I don't claim to be an expert I live with someone who is such. I've resorted to "tweaks" only when necssary (I had to disable ACPI support because of bizarre file corruption with it enabled -- try explaining that to a non-geek) and I've kept my machine clean and crash-free. I've also dealt with the Windows installs of non-tech friends and their systems are typically a mess: desktop cluttered with unneeded icons, system tray icons that stretch through 1/4 of the toolbar, Windows updates woefully out of date, various bizarre crashes at any time.

Don't tell me that Windows is just fine and dandy if you don't like tweaking your system. Keeping a Windows box stable and secure requires a little bit of effort and many non-technical people just don't know to make that effort.

[discostu]

Most of the virus problems Windows has comes from lack of human security. People are just so freaking stupid. I run no virus scanners (they bother me) and DL stuff all the time. But I'm smart enough to not run mystery executables and in 10 years I've only gotten one virus and it was a Word macro virus I got from somebody's resume (no, they didn't get the job) which as near as I can tell did nothing other than replicate. "I love you" was the classic example of idjits spreading viruses. I mean really, if you got an e-mail from your receptionist titled "I love you" would you open the executable in it (assuming of course you weren't doing something with the receptionist your wife would get mad about)?

The average folks do some stupid stuff with crappy DLs (OK I download all the same stupid stuff, but that's why I have a folder called "stupid sh!t" which periodically gets emptied), but I've sat down at normal people's Macs (yes even though I hate them I've done enough stuff that I know a computer is just a computer and I can trouble shoot just about anything) it's the same thing. Normal people don't grock hard drive organization. Don't blame them for all the stupid system tray icons, I blame the 3rd party vendors who all think they're software is so cool you need four ways to start it (tray, desktop, top of the start menu, and a group in the program section). I mean hey, even MS isn't that annoying! I got bored with instant messaging back in the old BBS days when we called it "chat".

Your friends are over installing. If you keep grabbing every stupid app on the planet and installing it a system is going to destabilize, especially if they don't clean up. The crashes are probably caused by all that system tray stuff sucking resources. Notice which companies love putting crap on the system tray, everybody but MS. AOL, Realplayer, WinAmp, IBM. Don't blame MS for the behavior of lots of egotistical companies and people that can't even run uninstall for apps even if they have the nice little icon to do it with. There's a difference between tweaking and basic maintenance. Even the best car in the world needs it's oil changed once in a while, and people that don't do shouldn't blame the manufacturer.

[apillar]

The "Fritz" chip is a total waste of time and money on the part of all parties concerned.

I'll put on my Nostradamus hat and make a prediction here today:

If the "fritz" chip is required by law some hacker will have a program that disables or fools the chip before it ever hit's the market.

So the music pirates will have to download and install a 100kb file from hackers.net out of an ISP in Bermuda and then they will merrily continue to pirate away. Meanwhile the industry has spent millions of dollars in research and development on the "fritz" chip and everyone is paying more for their computer components.

[PsyOp]

Fritz Chip? Fine. As long as they also mandate the "Liberty Chip." It must be installed in all government computers. If anyone types an unconstitutional thought on their keyboard the computer crashes and burns (laws might become shorter and more understandable if they have to write them out by hand). The computer will lock down if any government official attempts any illegal or unethical transaction and immediately e-mail all his or her constituents of what they are trying to do. And so on. Whats good for the Goose... etc.

[patriotichippie?]

The "Fritz Chip" sounds like a good idea to me. If people were ripping off my intellectual property I'd be pretty ticked.


it may have a basis for a 'good' idea, but they take it too far. i mean, when i first heard of it, i thought hey, that sounds cool. but when my boyfriend insisted that i do more research on it, i began to realize how much it would effect. and it's beginning to sound like one of the worst ideas created to prevent piracy so far.

[DS2K3]

The issue is not about copyright, the issue is the the big manufacturers dont want smaller companies to be able to compete with them. DO YOU WANT YOUR COMPUTER TO BE CONTROLLED BY BEUROCRATS? TCPA is immoral, when i buy a computer, i do not expect everything i do to be monitored. This is nothing but Spyware on a grand-scale.

Whats more, if you ahve an internet connection all your hardware and software will be checked, if its not approved byt he TCPa it will be blocked out. This will be the end of FreeWare, GNU and smaller companies. Say goodbye to Perl, PHP. ASP will be the only one left.

Micorsoft are just re-monopolising the IT industry, except this time they have a found an excuse to make it legal.