Hello project list, hello Michelle and Chris, Like Lolo I also think every linux distribution should be aware what's happening in the next years in the internet. Once Palladium is to be activated on nearly all PC's running WinX or Mac OS. Then Linux probably will be the only common spread alternative operating system.
But it will only be if it's competitive enough in areas of gemeral usability, e-commerce and multimedia, availability of new technologies [for userspace] or stability, performance/multi-processor/scaling, implementing new security features, and advanced domain server functionality [for server-space or scientific research]. Linux Distributions will play a major role in all areas. They care for update administration, which is far more complex in a free network developement environment than for a corporate's product. Debian is highly configurable and advanced in packet management, but installing a system and configuring services is not easy for business users who can't afford the time to become a little geek (even if they would like to). Teams of (Co-)Developers, packet maintainer, distribution development and resources, kernel.org, lack of hardware support...it always was a framework-responsibility, and few or no cash ROI, which limits time seriously because one has to work for living. But rather than comparing gnU-Linux to big corporates i'd say it's astonishing great how far it did evolve ! And i believe Linux will be there, once Palladium is running. At least, if we can defend patent laws which are the only single weapon which can wipe free software from the market. -- Old TCPA had over 200 members, too much to share the power with, so AMD, HP, IBM, Intel und Microsoft founded the new top level Trusted Computing Group 'TCG'. This membership is rather exclusive and expensive now. Some of the first were are Atmel, Infineon, National Semiconductor, Nokia, Philips, Phoenix Technologies, Sony, ST Microelectronics, VeriSign und Wave Systems. Chris Waters wrote: > Linus has stated that he's willing to accept them into the mainstream > kernel. This will (or at least should) give *you* control over the > TCPA chip, so you can use it to enhance to the security of your system. > http://www.research.ibm.com/gsal/tcpa/ About Linus' view of the kernels future (;-) there's an 3 year old article at http://www.osnews.com/story.php?news_id=161 > Palladium is (probably, I'm not an expert) a bad thing, and Palladium > is apparently based on TCPA, but that doesn't necessarily mean that > TCPA is a bad thing. MS Palladium is the Next Generation Secure Computing Base (NGSCB) now, and i wonder if there's a new codename right now. It's fully implemented in the next Gnu-defending texanian release, Longhorn... >From one of the MS's patent claims: "a computerized method for a digital rights management operating system comprising: assuming a trusted identity; executing a trusted application; loading rights-managed data into memory for access by the trusted application; and protecting the rights-managed data from access by an untrusted program while the trusted application is executing." The whole 'nexus' system depends on a few bytes of key, and if there's anything not working perfectly, it locks. I think less tolerance means less stability, in the end. There are many critical opinions even if it really will work at all. [e.g. see http://www.nluug.nl/events/sane2002/papers/WeisLucksAllYourKeybit.ps] Also, the secret services still want to have access. Anyway, NGSCB must be accepted by a (simple?) majority of users before it can be activated, to let certifying (and denying) of internet transfers (documents, software, even simple webpages) work. MS VP Will Poole claimed that: "We have to ship 100 million of these before it really makes a difference". Some general resources: Ross Anderson http://www.cl.cam.ac.uk/~rja14/tcpa-faq.html http://www.againsttcpa.com/forum/index.php in german: http://www.uniprojekt.org/tc/trusted_computing.pdf > Pneumonoultra-microsoftisilico-valliosis Oh. I'm resistent, thanx :-)ebian -- mi.
