[Tfug] Alan Cox: "I've had enough"--what else is new?

[Matthew T. Eskes]

On Sat, 2009-08-01 at 22:52 -0700, Jim March wrote:
> On Sat, Aug 1, 2009 at 10:27 PM, Matthew T.
> Eskes<meskes.mailinglists at gmail.com> wrote:
> 
> > Jim, Bowie's right, Apple does not seem to have any subsystem for
> > checking to see if the hardware you're running on is authentic other
> > than some, again like Bowie said, trivial stuff in which one can work
> > around.
> 
> Matthew, you're answering the wrong question.
> 
> Whether or not Apple has hardware-authenticity-check code in there NOW
> isn't what matters.  OK?  The two questions that matter are:
> 
> * COULD they, with a simple kernel update disguised as a "security
> update"?  Answer: hell yes.
> 
> * WOULD they do so?  Again: hell - yes.  See also how they're rigging
> iTunes to detect non-Apple media players and lock them out.
> 
> That's the issue.
> 
> _______________________________________________
> Tucson Free Unix Group - tfug at tfug.org
> Subscription Options:
> http://www.tfug.org/mailman/listinfo/tfug_tfug.org


You're right Jim, they could, I think the real question is this: What
are their intentions as to why they have not? Are they afraid of some
sort of legal action for "monopolizing" on the fact that they had then
just married the hardware to the software more than they already are?
Are they toying with the idea of generalizing OS (which is what I hope
they have intentions of doing) be it through a contract of some sort
with HP/Dell/etc. I think the fact that nothing has been done is more
interesting than the fact that it can be done.