[IP] Microsoft moves to integrate Windows with BIOS
Delivered-To: dfarber+@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Date: Sat, 04 Oct 2003 08:34:13 -0700 (PDT)
From: Joseph Lorenzo Hall <jhall@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Subject: Microsoft moves to integrate Windows with BIOS
To: Dave Farber <dave@xxxxxxxxxx>
Someone please correct me if this is not a total disaster for Linux!
I guess it's pointless to mention the word "anti-trust"...
-Joe
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http://news.zdnet.co.uk/software/developer/0,39020387,39116902,00.htm
Microsoft moves to integrate Windows with BIOS
Matthew Broersma
October 03, 2003, 17:25 BST
Microsoft has expanded its relationship with BIOS maker Phoenix
Technologies in a deal designed to more closely integrate the basic
building blocks of the PC with the Windows operating system.
The relationship, announced this week, is designed to make PCs simpler
and more reliable, the companies said. The move is likely to put
consumer rights advocates on their guard, however, since both
Microsoft and Phoenix are involved in plans to integrate digital
rights management (DRM) technology at the operating system and
hardware level. DRM is designed to give copyright owners more control
over how users make use of software and content, but has been
criticised as eroding consumer rights.
A BIOS, or basic input/output system, is the software that ties the
operating system to a PC's hardware. Traditionally, it has carried out
basic tasks such as hardware and system configuration, and has been
standardised and simple enough to allow the installation of
alternative operating systems, including Linux.
Phoenix's Core System Software (CSS) is a next-generation BIOS with a
more sophisticated integration of operating system and hardware, for
example making it easier for system administrators to remotely monitor
the hardware configurations of their systems. CSS is designed for
non-PC systems such as blade servers and embedded industrial devices
as well as traditional desktops.
Microsoft said integration should mean simpler and more reliable
computers. "This is a pivotal change for the industry, and it will
rapidly advance serviceability, deployment, and management for
servers, mobile devices, and desktops," said Microsoft general manager
of Windows hardware Tom Phillips, in a statement. "Effectively,
Phoenix is creating an entirely new category of system software."
Microsoft said the next-generation BIOS would allow future versions of
Windows to manage server blades when they are connected to a system,
without needing to be turned on. The BIOS would also allow better
control of unauthorised devices connected to a system, Microsoft said.
Phoenix is one of the biggest BIOS providers, its customers including
four of the top five PC manufacturers. Its products are also used by
consumer electronics makers such as Pioneer, Matsushita, Sony and
Toshiba.
Both Microsoft and Phoenix are currently arguing for closer
integration of Windows with PC hardware, and DRM integrated
throughout. Microsoft is planning to tie Windows DRM features to the
hardware platform via its controversial Next Generation Secure
Computing Base (NGSCB) project, formerly known as Palladium. NGSCB is
associated with the next version of Windows, code-named Longhorn,
which is due in about two years' time.
Phoenix recently said it is touting round a BIOS with built-in DRM
technology to major PC manufacturers. In September the company said it
had developed a prototype of its Core Management Engine (CME)
including DRM from Orbid. The DRM technology would allow content
providers to identify which PCs and devices were authorised to play
particular files, more effectively controlling content distribution,
file-trading and moving software from one machine to another,
according to Phoenix.
Phoenix said the DRM-enabled CME was not part of Microsoft's NGSCB,
but that the technology was complementary. The CME would allow PC
makers to embed digital rights management directly into the hardware,
though they would have the option of allowing users to turn it off.
Consumer electronics makers are particularly interested in the
technology, according to Phoenix.
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Joseph Lorenzo Hall
Graduate Student http://pobox.com/~joehall
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