TCPA & Palladium: DRM against HRM?
Do you know what is Palladium and TCPA(Trusted Computing Platform Alliance, “Trusted Computing”, “Trustworthy Computing” or “Treacherous Computing”…)?
Well, the most of you surely know it, maybe with some other names or just with the idea without a specific name, but a small introduction is a must…
In a nutshell, the TCPA and Palladium (Microsoft’s TCPA name) are a standardized Hardware/Software platform used to grant the Digital Rights Management (DRM) on the next computers. In a perfect world TCPA would be right, in a perfect world TCPA would also be useless, but in this world it is something that scares me!
Within some months or years the next generation PC will be filled with some chips that will dialog with your BIOS, your operating system (only the “Right” operating systems) that will grant you that no one will be able to break the copyright of your work (!).
Some examples to close this introduction:
Has your ex-wife stole the latest book you are writing to give it to her new boyfriend? She would’t be able to read it! You’re Safe!
A hacker has logged into your PC taking away all your collection of photos to sell them on the black market? No one will ever be able to open them! You’re Safe!
Does your computer with the latest version had a crash last night (not so hard) and it has lost your informations? Sorry, you have no Rights on your documents! Are You Safe Enough?
Ok, just kidding, you know, but the truth you can read in my words are easy: TCPA and Palladium (Obviously) are not done to protect you, but the various Software/Music/Movie producers.
Ok, here there is a clear point I have to tell: stealing music, using warez and copying a DVD is not legal, no one can tell that it is something you can do freely. There we should discuss about the some big problem again and again: the prices for a music CD or a DVD are too high and the majors are stealing our money, but they have some rights from their side.
Right or Wrong, it is our truth!
The fact is that your PC will not allow you to install softwares not allowed by TCPA, and they want to be payed to grant you to be inside the TCPA, but the free stuff like Linux? When you will unpack your brand new pc, plugging it and putting the new “Ubuntu 8.0 Crazy Duck” inside you will read your BIOS telling you that “Sorry, this operating system is not TCPA compliant, please BUY a copy of M$ SVISTA (blunder in italian) and try again! If you will receive this message other two times your hardware will self-destruct to preserve your rights!”?
What will you do then? Will you throw your TCPA compliant pc out of the windows just to understand that all th x86 processors will have this DRM inside? Will you remain with your 2.1 GHz with 1 Gb RAM when the new “Warcraft 7″ will require the 12GHz processor with only 5 Gb RAM?
Now, after years of “Far West” in internet, piracy and whatever else, the hardware will try to help those in what software failed: let us do the right thing!
We will be free to live in the world where no one will be able to steal something, where no one will ever be free to steal money to those who have!
“Robin Hood!!!!! Where are you?!?!?!?!?”
Isn’t this the end of the Human Rights Management (HRM)?.
What TCPA and Palladium are going to kill will not be your “freedom” to steal music, but your privacy, once more! Yes, because the TCPA enabled computers will be able to send the informations about what you are doing to “someone” to check if you are violating some rights!!!!!
I believe that in a few months some good hacker will be able to solve the Palladium problem, maybe creating a hardware/software patch to allow you to install, but there are some points in this “Hack” that are not good, like the fact that only some skilled teck junkie will be able to crack his PC.
We are talking about a technology that will limit us, a technology that will grant itself the right to tell someone what we are doing.
If I surf on www.somepornsite.xxx or if I burn my own photos, why sould someone knows what am I doing?!?!?!? If this wouldn’t be the PC world everyone would have remained SHOCKED by something like TCPA in the real world! Immagine a little gnome following you all the day:
“Mr Big Eye?”
“It’s Gnome 3466653. I would like you to know that Cxyz is making sex with his wife.”
“Sorry sir?”
“The condom? It is a “Playful”!”
“no, Sir, I do not have the “Playful” in the TCPA allowed condoms.”
“Yes, sir, I stop them immediately!”
HEY! This is what will happens if the TCPA will be available in the real life, but the Net is shortening the distances and sooner or later the computer will be some virtual spaces where everyone of us will be able to choose to live in.
In the end these are all speculations and vision of a probably-paranoid mind, but I do not like what is going on, I do not like any eyes on me, not because I’m doing something wrong, not because I’m a thief, but because I am a Human Being, and I do NOT want someone will STEAL my FREEDOM!!!!!
have nice thoughts about it, and vomit them here!
What are TCPA slogans (Some FREE laugh!):
- Cripples your computer and costs you money.
- TCPA - Because you can’t be trusted.
- Making all media pay per view.
- Big brother in every box.
- We don’t trust you.
- We don’t trust you and want more money.
- Less for more.
- TCPA The Total Control Protocol Alliance.
- TCPA - as trustworthy as a politician.
- Protecting our profits.
- Because we think you’re criminals.
- TCPA - Treacherous Computing Platform Alliance
- TCPA - Refuse and Resist
TCPA - Don’t let them take YOUR RIGHTS!
TCPA - Just say no!
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