TCPA would TAKE your FREEDOM

[the_Real_hydra]

http://www.againsttcpa.com/what-is-tcpa.html
States "TCPA stands for Trusted Computing Platform Alliance. For the technology we will speak from TCP (The trusted computing platform). This plans that every computer will have a TPM (Trusted Platform Module), also known as Fritz-Chip, built-in. At later development stages, these functions will be directly included into CPUs, graphiccards, harddisks, soundcards, bios and so on. This will secure that the computer is in a TCPA-conform state and that he checks that it's always in this state. This means: On the first level comes the hardware, on the second comes TCPA and then comes the user. The complete communication works with a 2048 bit strong encryption, so it's also secure enough to make it impossible to decrypt this in realtime for a longer time. This secures that the TCPA can prevent any unwanted software and hardware. The long term result will be that it will be impossible to use hardware and software that's not approved by the TCPA. Presumably there will be high costs to get this certification and that these would be too much for little and mid-range companies. Therefore open-source and freeware would be condemned to die, because without such a certification the software will simply not work. In the long term only the big companies would survive and could control the market as they would like.
Some could think that it should be possible to get around this security. But probably they would be proved they're wrong. Until now there're no such hardware-implemented security systems and actual security systems have to work offline. This would be changed with TCP. The rights and licenses would be central managed by the TCPA (USA?). And as soon a violation is noticed, they will get notified. Read the chapter "The bills" to get an overview about the possible resulting consequences."

The consequences:
"The informational self-determination isn't existing anymore, it's not possible to save, copy, create, program, ..., the data like you want. This applies for privates as for companies
The free access to the IT/Software market is completely prevented for anyone except the big companies, the market as we know it today will get completely destroyed
Restrictions in the usage of owned hardware would apply
The liberty of opinion and the free speech on the internet would finally be eliminated
The own rights while using IT-technologies are history.
The national self-determination of the der particular countries would be fully in the hands of the USA
Probably the world would break into two digital parts (Countries that express against TCPA)"

I foreone Do not want to See TCPA. What about your guys?

[Glitch]

Fuck the TCPA.....fuck them up their stupid asses.

[Rijuhn]

I'd go on a crusade against them! They can't take away free speech, those bastards! If it ever comes to light there is going to be a war.

[The Great Guy]

TCPA is pure EVIL!!!! :mad: They are NOT taking our Freedom away as long as I have something to say about it.

[Masamune]

If they take my rights, Mr. STD Gorilla will take their virginity.

http://gerudo.net/pat/pics/gorilla.gif

[SixTen]

TCPA are the one's who are the ball lickers!! When we find them we're gonna make them eat our shit, then shit out our shit and make them eat ther shit that was originally made up of our shit that we made them eat.

...well, it worked better for Jay and Silent Bob.

[Dart Zaidyer]

I don't expect this kind of thing to get by even in a corporate-friendly environment such as our government today. Even then, they are still under-estimating the resourcefulness and ingenuity of real computer geeks. If the system is given bulletproof chains, a new kind of system will emerge that is free of them and all the idiots to go with it.

[AtmaWeapon]

This news is SO last year for someone who keeps on top of computing news. There was a lot of talk about MS integrating this into Longhorn (with a custom chip code-named "Palladium") such that Windows would not work without it present. There was lots of complaining and lately I haven't heard MS try and push it.

However much you may value your freedom, there are uses for Trusted Computing handled in this manner. On a fully trusted computer, infection by virus becomes nigh impossible. For a corporate intranet this is a fantastic feature, as I know for a fact that the man-hours our IT department spent fixing Sasser cost the company some $3,000 plus whatever time was lost on projects we had been working on. This doesn't sound like much, but the week before we spent almost as much time with Mydoom. $10k a month is a lot of money. Second, there are some computers (like electronic voting machines) that you really want verification of the software onboard.

You don't like TCPA? Do what 90% of slashdot was content to do. Refuse to buy the hardware. If Windows Longhorn comes out and ends up requiring this (fun fact: Microsoft originally called it an extention of DRM because the way they got support for it was pointing out how it prevented piracy), there's always Linux. I guarantee you that common household distros will not have this. Others will have it as a feature (probably Red Hat and your other corporate-oriented versions) but it will never be required. So you won't have the fastest computer on the block and you won't be able to run the newest programs. Such is the cost of fighting the Man.

Don't get me wrong; I don't like the TCPA either. But I strongly feel the disadvantages of 100% adoption of this will never happen, and even if it did, it would have to be severely weakened.

100% adoption will never occur because it would require everyone who has a computer to buy a new computer. There are still people happily chugging along on their 200Mhz Win95 boxes because all they do is check their email and occasionally use the internet. They have not upgraded because they don't have the money or see it as a waste. When you tell such a person that new software won't work with their old computer, they will happily ask you why they need new software.

If 100% adoption were somehow to occur, there would be severe problems among the average user. There would be thousands of tech support calls generated because "My computer won't let me read this email" or "My son gave me his copy of photoshop and it won't work". When these people find out Dell/Gateway/Compaq built a computer that won't let them install pirated material and viruses but the kid down the street will sell them a comptuer that can, guess who's profits are going to drop?

In short, yes it is horrible that this is their plan. Like many things, though, the plan has enough shock to it that it will have to be implemented in baby steps over decades as opposed to a sweeping change.

[Dechipher]

I didn't read through all of that, but I must say, about the whole "free speech" thing...people take it to extremes. Big deal if you can't say what you want exactly when you want. People who think that their opinion actually matters are idiots. Ironically, it's the free speech that allows me to speak out against it. I'm not saying that free speech is bad, but people need to learn how to control it. Communism would be so much better for the world if only anyone would do it right...

[Ich]

This computer was made in 1998 (maybe 97), with some RAM added a few years ago, and it's still working, even with the newest version of Linux. I can't play any games like first person shooters, but I don't really have a need or want to. I will eventually purchase a new computer next year, for use in college, but right now, I don't have a need. If this computer has lasted for that long, and is still able to do most of what Gordon's can (made in November of 2003), I don't think I'm going to need to upgrade from my next computer any time before the end of time. Plus, running Linux on an old computer helps me not use it as much. I really would be better off if I got out and off my ass.

[zables]

well to be quite honest, im really not overly concerned by this... I cannot see them actually implementing this. There has been talk about harsh anti-piracy based options like this for years. This one just happens to sound like to most brutally effective method. However, for any PC vendor to actually contemplate supporting this, i just cannot see happen. I know that for corporations this would be a God send, and perhaps their might be some optional integration for them due to the security that it would provide. But im hard-pressed to believer that they are going to force this down the throat of every other computer user out there...

[AlexMax]

Above poster said it best. They've been crowing about shit like this for years, and absolutely nothing has come of it that I can see.

/me hands back the tin foil hat

[aces2022]

Can you imagine if this whole TCPA thing went down how they want it to? The government would finaly get what they want. Control over every country and everyone. It could lead to the technological based war.