Jonathan Hutchins wrote:

Cringeley says that the new Windows standard for USB devices specificly excludes Linux:

http://www.pbs.org/cringely/pulpit/pulpit20040916.html _______________________________________________

To my reading this is not merely a "security " issue . And Linux alone is not the endgame for the concept . Nor is it a response to competing OS pressures . Though it serves as such to a degree . This is primarily an attempt at extortion from media producers and consumers. And the other implications ? Well some of them should frankly scare the shit out of you ! 0r shall we ignore the political misuses of serialized Globally Unique Identification Device mechanisms . After all - our government _never_ would use such things for repression ?

What sparks my personal concern is a move to Orwellian concepts such as each piece of "paper" having a GUID !

Said GUID being irrevocably linked to the author of each electronic expression . While in certain circumstances an absolute authentication with the converse non-repudiation is a very GOOD thing it is not so good in others . Thus dies free and anonymous discourse . Dissent becoming literally self incriminatory is a fantasy beyond compare to a repressive regime . This trend to lock down media based on potential for use soon will reach a logical end . A Quasi Soviet mentality of ALL writable media being locked down or shackled by a GUID! I was recently told that Soviet era copiers had their platen glass serial # etched so each copy was traceable . Other than of course those possessed by the Oligarchy or equipotential forces and used for Agitprop and Disinformation

A Copyleft universe has ZERO need for such at the hardware level - Police states on the other hand ?

The whole so-called "trusted" platform oxymoronic brain fart sadly is being taken seriously by folks who should be loudly describing how execrable such a scheme will be to live with . Now does failure to act earn the result ? Where Linux and Open Source consider security as preventing exploits MS views the security issue as digital rights mangling merged with literally holding your data conditionally hostage in obfscutated formats An Operating System that makes multiple copies of files and goes to inordinate lengths in concealing them -let alone the fact it does so at all hardly can be considered a paragon of virtue . Any experts here know of GUID or similar in any Open Sopurce software that are *NOT* explicitly declared and controllable easily !

But for the efforts of some who may scream loudly enough THX 1138 may be more our future than 1984 .

Oren Beck

www.campdownunder.com

" Just because one CAN does NOT mean one always SHOULD "