[Tfug] From InfoWorld (RE M$ Palladium)

Wed Jul 24 13:11:01 2002

Thought this might be of general interest:

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RUSSELL PAVLICEK:    "The Open Source"    InfoWorld.com
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PONDERING PALLADIUM
Posted July 19, 2002 01:01 PM  Pacific Time

THIS IS ONE of those columns I really wish I didn't
need to write. Whenever I mention Microsoft I
inevitably hear from someone who thinks that I am just
Microsoft-bashing. Frankly, I'd love to avoid the
subject of Microsoft altogether, but there's no way to
ignore the company as long as it tries to undermine
the growth of open source.

And that is precisely what I see happening with the
advent of Palladium, the new Microsoft technology that
the company claims will finally bring security to the
PC industry. Palladium reportedly will create a
security framework starting at the hardware level.
Indications are that it will extend to non-Microsoft
operating systems and software, including open-source
OSes such as Linux and the BSDs (Berkeley Software Designs).

Has Microsoft so fully exhausted its own supply of bugs
that it needs to tackle the problem of insecure
hardware? Hardly. If that were so, my inbox would not
continually fill with e-mails bearing the Klez virus
from people using Microsoft software.

Does Microsoft have such superior security technology
that we can expect other systems to benefit from the
company's vast knowledge of the subject? If so, I
don't think Gartner would have called for businesses
to abandon Microsoft's IIS (Internet Information
Server) as a corporate Web server due to its many
security problems.

No, this does not strike me as merely an effort to
improve security. This is an effort to establish
control. Total control. And despite statements
claiming that the user will be in control, I doubt it
will play out that way.

Consider the fact that the EULA (end-user license
agreement) on a recent patch for Windows Media Player
already gives Microsoft the right to install digital
rights management software on your machine and disable
software on your system. The emphasis now is not on
giving users more power. And it isn't likely to get
any better.

Reports say that Microsoft will reveal some of the
source to its Palladium code. Unfortunately, that does
not mean that either the code or the technology will
be usable by open source. The adoption of a
restrictive license or royalty system -- either would
make implementation incompatible with most open-source
licenses -- would prevent open source from employing
the technology. And that could give Microsoft the
right to disable any open-source software on your
machine due to a supposed "lack of security" -- even
if no Microsoft OS resides on the box.

Why would anyone trust a single entity to provide the
software that will control which programs can run on
your machine? Especially when that entity has a vested
interest in your running its software and
not its competitors'.

It's time for a change. It's time for IT departments
everywhere to take back control of their computing.
Vote with your budget dollars. And remember that
nothing returns total control to your IT department
more than open source.

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