- Controlling Data
- The iPod and DRM
- Apple Switches to Intel
- Everyone Benefits
- Parting Shot
Everyone Benefits
Apple will provide the trial by fire that the Trusted Computing Group's architecture needs. Once Apple has proven that it's technically possible to tie software to a hardware platform and win over users, other providers will follow suit. Specifically, Microsoft will have the road paved for them by Apple's maneuvers. They'll be able to integrate Windows onto a trusted platform and provide much higher-level trusted functionality than Apple will be able to give.
Ultimately, having a trusted platform on which to run general-purpose operating systems will result in totally new security capabilities. For the first time, transactions that are committed on a network can be traced all the way back to the trusted booting process and application launch on a specific host. Enterprises will be able to have much finer-grained information regarding the integrity of systems on their network. Users will have greater ability to prevent unauthorized programs from running on their PCs. And content creators will have greater assurance that their products and services are being used in the manner in which they intend.