From: BillK (bill@wkidston.freeserve.co.uk)
Date: Tue Apr 08 2003 - 16:51:15 MDT
It seems to me that this discussion is wandering off into freedom and
coercion byways. Remember this technology is from Microsoft, after all.
You have to assume the MS tunnel vision outlook when evaluating it.
MS is doing this because they plan that it will benefit MS.
Now, exactly how will it benefit MS?
Microsoft promotes Palladium as a boon to user privacy, security, and a
stopper of worms and viruses. Quote - "Our technology allows content
providers, enterprises and consumers to control what others can do with
their digital information, such as documents, music, video, ebooks, and
software."
You can be sure the main "digital rights" Palladium protects will be
Microsoft's. You will find it impossible to run Microsoft software on
any computer other than the one to which it was originally registered.
Palladium requires computers to have a special chip, which both Intel
and AMD have already agreed to incorporate. "Protected content" will not
run on a computer lacking the chip, or with the Palladium features
turned off. You will have to buy all new computers to run Palladium
enabled software.
MS revenue stream.
Under the traditional PC software license, once MS license a program,
they can only keep revenue flowing by releasing "upgrades" and
convincing people the upgrades are worth purchasing. Producing these
upgrades is a lot of work, and they are finding it increasingly
difficult to convince anyone the upgrades are worthwhile.
Clearly, the solution to this problem is to shift software licensing to
a subscription model. Under subscription, Microsoft can continue to
enjoy steady income from products they do not need to upgrade at all.
Eventually Palladium is to take over license enforcement. Palladium
supports firm cut-off dates, so if you don't pay your subscription fees,
you will not get a new Palladium key and will not be able to use
Microsoft programs, or the data you created with those programs.
Even subscription is not the final objective. Microsoft's long term goal
is "Software as a Service", through the .NET Initiative. Software won't
be loaded onto your computer at all, it will run "as a service" from
Microsoft .NET servers. Your business data will also reside on Microsoft
.NET servers somewhere out on the Internet. For access, you will have to
be authenticated by a Microsoft Passport server. Subscription is an
interim measure because the broadband Internet access required by .NET
will not be universally available in the near term.
So, Palladium will enable MS to totally stop all illegal copies of MS
software worldwide. That should at least double their revenue stream for
starters.
If you go the Microsoft route you will be signing on to their revenue
stream and you will have to pay the MS tax on a continuing basis.
That's their business plan anyway.
See: http://www.aaxnet.com/editor/edit029.html
BillK
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