A student group wants other colleges to join it in boycotting Micro$oft's Trusted Computing technology with particular reference to its Palladium chip.

But that's not all.

The newly formed Swarthmore Coalition for the Digital Commons is also taking on the RIAA, opposing the DMCA (Digital Millennium Copyright Act) and "similar expansion of intellectual property law" and fostering the spread of Linux and "other freeware programs".

"CDC organizers want to demonstrate the benefits of free, open sharing of such files without advocating piracy and while promoting alternatives to current copyrights, such as those available through creativecommons.org, in which artists choose how their work can be used, shared, or altered in the future," says Christina Themes in Swarthmore's The Phoenix Online.

A major factor in SCDC’s championing of Linux is the advent of the Microsoft’s new 'Trusted Computing' technology, also known as the Palladium chip, says Themes. "This technology, already present in some new IBM ThinkPads and set to be released in the upcoming version of Windows, would require Microsoft to verify if a user has permission to open a file on his or her computer.

"Theoretically, this gives Microsoft the power to deny one access to a file or program that is saved on one’s own computer. Pavlovsky said that a massive switch to Linux could possibly cause Microsoft to step down its efforts to expand this technology.

"This is why SCDC wishes to recruit more colleges to boycott 'Trusted Computing’ technology'."

wow, students protesting!! bet the riaa never considered that when they started suing.

ive never used linux, but it souds better then the Palladium chip.

who said college students follow the leader. rise up and put a stop to all this. you will be the leaders of tomorrow.for the leaders of yesterday year are no more, for they have fallen to the wayside of big business. they must be stopped, for you are the ones that will do it. you will change the laws of the land like our forefathers intended. We The People will raise up and vote you out of office. you were elected by the people for the people to serve the people not corporations. I thank you

all the more power to them. I hope they do well. All of the Palladium stuff is really kinda scary, just a ltitle too big-brothery. Eerie really, especially considering how many people even understand the CONCEPT, let alone that its starting to be implimented.

Hey, its not just college students. I will not buy Palladium willingly, they'd have to force it down my throat(with unhackable material, must have palladium basically) for me to buy something that can act as if I'm renting(DRM-like).

The biggest problem with palladium isn't really what it does. It is how it does it. We have had a lot of big brother crap shuved down our throets. XP was a good example of this. If you use XP bare without stripping it of it's "features" microsoft will watch you constantly. And it even has software in it that keeps you from deleting "system" files. Which happen to include IE, Outlook Express, MSN, Windows Media Players..... the list goes on. The big problem with palladium is it is a seperate computer within the processor. As users we would not have direct access to it and even if we gain access we will be limited to what we can crack out of it's security protocals. In other words it would be a long time before someone invented some anti-paladium devices if they ever did. Not to mention the recent copyright laws will make it illegal to do so anyway. So yes palladium is a bad thing. It is basically the changing point of our computers at which they will become a lot less fun. And a lot harder to tinker on. Oh and I'll correct my self palladium is not the hardware one. I don't remember the name of the stuff that is being implemented on the new cpus. But it is along the same lines as palladium and probably works with it. Anyway the new technologies being invented to control us are not cool. Computers a great for a lot of things. But government control is not one of them.

BTW where can I find this group?

Linux is great, but has a long way to go.

For example, I dual boot WinXP and RH 9.0. Since my CD-RW, printer and scanner do not have linux drivers...I'm totally dependent on the windows still.

A lot of programs are windows/mac only as well.

Unfortuately it's almost impossible for the average desktop user to use Linux only and do 100% of the things they can do in windows.

Have you checked for drivers written by other developers/distributions?
Tried samba or a 'lindows' app?
There are lots of ways to adapt linux . I started using it when it was RH 6.0-linux has come a LONG way and continues to be easier and easier to install and use.
Given the HUGE delevoper base inherent with linux, its almost impossible to NOT find a driver for a piece of hardware. Also, one can write his own. Windoze is just junk...

~time flies~

F*** microsoft, I have hated them ever since 98 first came out. I knew they were going to become a mega corperation and control people from the very begining. I can only hope that the government steps into this. There has to be a serious violation of privacy in there somwhere or something that would make it unconstitutional. BAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHH HATE MICROSOFT.

Bah.Palladium scares me.
I better upgrade the hardware on this comp fast,preferabbly before that stuff hits the sales racks.

The Palladium Initiative as it's called is nothing more than a thinly veiled DRM issue. It is due to the paranoia that runs rampant through the M$ ranks. With their ability to reject any software attempting to access copyrighted material smacks of 'Big Brother' rather than the security and peace of mind it is touting to it's potential customers.

Obviously they have limited attention spans because they only need to look to intel. When intel tried that with their release of pentium 3 chip ids and failed miserably because of customer backlash. It will further drive the marketplace to search for alternate operating systems. Hopefully the other hardware manufacturers will think long and hard before teaming up with Big Brother, er I mean Bill Gates.

And even if they do release their own hardware versions only Micro$oft will be able to access it. All other OS's will have to pay Micro$oft royalties if they want to use it. Hopefully they will choose to ignore it.

Linix is starting to look more favorable everyday.

ahh, I wanted to add something.

Anybody read 1984?

Also, I am dependent upon Window$ because I play video games on my PC, Mac's suck and I don't know about Linux...

Latest version of Mac os is a varient of Linux

Yes this stuff seems big brother and it is in disguise somewhere along the line someone will crack it, now learn to build your own computer and look for alternatives to microsoft OP. system linux I believe has come a long ways and I'm leaning more towards it everyday.

what this really seems like is a cross between Rollerball and 1984... corperations that own the world and control everything.

Hey Nocturn

The Justice Dept is MIA under the current administration. Remember, MS is a proven Monopolist, guilty of anti competitive and preditory practices, this was a finding of fact that cannot be wished away, it is a matter of public record. Yet, under the current administration, the so called "Justice Department" grabbed defeat from the jaws of victory by giving MS a slap on the wrist. OK, lets be fair, it was more like a soothing massage on the wrist with aroma therapy oils. Bottom line, don't hold your breath for the Government and its agencies that we have elected to represent our interests to help us out.

The best result we can hope for is that the common sense of the consumers will prevail. To all who are naysayers about that happening, don't give up, there is still hope. Look at the corporations who are finally looking to solutions other than MS for OSes and Apps.

Even bigger, better, and more closely related to the **AA twins, does anyone remeber DIVX? No, probably not. It was the buy now, rent per view through a phone attached to your DIVX player that wouldn't play regular DVDs. It took 3 years, but the public didn't like the horrid lack of user rights that came with it. The market spoke, and now its gone. There is hope

For Tasadar, Macs do not suck. The current Mac OSX is based on Free BSD Unix. out of the box it is like 1000 times more secure and unhackable/unexploitable than any MS piece of swiss cheese ware OS or app.

The old outdated argument of Macs are more expensive is gone. Apple doesn't compete in the $400 box at kmart market. Take any pro Apple desktop (thats the G5 these days) and compare it with a similar or equivelent equiped PC and the Mac will be similarly priced or less. This notable comparison came from a couple of independent studies and PC magazine reached the same conclusion as well.

The old Macs use proprietary parts myth is crumbled and gone also. Open up an Apple, USB, Firewire AGP PCI ATA Serial ATA, DDR memory, all industry standard. And speaking of industry standards, Apple uses TCP/IP, POP and IMAP, all of the industry standards. MS tries to force WMA format, and Explorer extensions that are not really W3C internet standards. Apple uses MPEG4, AAC, MP3, all open industry standards. Apple cares about the rights of its end users.

Not only does it care about the rights of its end users (in things like using open standards, shipping a secure OS with root access disabled to make it even more secure, not making software hooks that allow any app or script to do anything it wants to your system and data without your knowledge like the visual basic programming hooks that litter every OS and app the MS has ever produced)

Apple cares about content creators and their rights, including the right to a system that is easy to use and reliable.

In an anti RIAA vein to keep on topic, Why do most musicians use Macs? They easy to use and reliable, with decent Pro music production software, and it allows a musician to have a true pro level recording studio in the basement. All artists regardless of whose record label they are on can make, produce and edit craft and burn a CD without the huge studio overhead that the RIAA studios would charge hundreds if not thousands of dollars for. Apple technology and philosophy isn't about controlling users of its products, its about giving artists control and therfore power. Nacs are in a way symbollic of everything the RIAA and MPAA hate, it steals the control they are fighting so hard to maintain, and returns it to the artist, musician or filmmaker.

Why so many people can whine about MS crap like crashes, bugginess, viruses (virii) lack of security, DRM pallidium and then ignorantly dismiss Apple and the Macintosh out of hand is beyond me.

For the record, no I am not a salesman or Apple employee. I turned my back on the crap in the windows world in '95 and never looked back. Every report of a new virus or worm killing a navy ship in the middle of the ocean, or shutting down a powergrid monitoring system, or taking out an offices ability to issue visa I have to shake my head and wonder, how much more will people take?

RIAA
Viva DMUSIC Revolution!!!!

This will be the last version of Windows I own if the whole Pallidium thing goes through, remember Goerge Orwell's 1984? Big Brother is watching............

If this "would require Microsoft to verify if a user has permission to open a file on his or her computer," wouldn't that mean that one would have to have a connection to the internet? Most do these days, but there is no law (yet) that says you have to be connected while your computer is on. If this is the future, how will those without internet connection use their computer?

Hey all. First post here, been visiting for well over a year.
Anyways, I'm Canadian so maybe I'm missing something in American laws, but something doesn't quite add up here...
If Palladium or that Fritz chip I've been hearing about "would require Microsoft to verify if a user has permission to open a file on his or her computer", who will stop Micro$oft from not authorizing someone to run some sort of open source(correct term?) software like Linux that contends the parallels of Micro$oft?
Where does anti-trust laws step in here? This essentially gives Micro$oft complete control over which "competitive" software can be run on your computer. If this goes thru to become a law, then I really don't see anyone contending Micro$ofts ability to allow only their own software to be run...

I saw this site, http://www.againsttcpa.com/, a while ago and have since spread the word to some of my American friends, much all I can do from up here right now unfortunetly.

well huh, like most of us who use and deal with microsoft, i cant turn away from it, cuz linux to me is like inbetween a microsoft and an apple, and i dont like it at all, so no need to boycott microsoft, if you know what your doing, its all good.

Well.. once we kill the RIAA with http://www.thebighack.org/ it really will not matter.

Well, o98, anti-trust laws don't mean anything when legislators know NOTHING about computers (many of them are still impressed by phones probably) and are bought off by the media and OS monopolies. Microsoft with their strong-arming and RIAA with their price-fixing can get away with it because they've bought politicians. I'm sure some of these politicians also have wild-eyed fantasies of restricting such "terrorist" activities as innovation and free exchange of ideas. It would also give M$ a perfect opportunity to try killing Linux (not paying oppressive prices for software?? heresy!) I wonder how many Congresscritters have been convinced Linux was written by Osama?

I'm just not an optimist this morning. Tangentially on-topic though, good to see students saying 'enough'. Hope I can find some similarly-minded people on campus.

insulting to say the least.....this is tantamount to buying a new car and being told you cant drive in any eastern direction on odd numbered tuesdays.....the controls people try to shackle consumers with is so out there it isnt even funny

tasadar24,

Farenheit 451 fits better than 1984 -- although Palladium is pure Neuromancer.

Big Brother Bush is doubleplus ungood at newspeak.

I bought an IBM Thinkpad T40 in July. Works fine. But if I find out it has the Palidium Chip in it, I will be really upset. I will be looking into that shortly.

Under B.B.Bush, ignorance is freedom. To fight the proliferation of government tech control, I recommend good-quality LOW TECH.

Stock up on P3's P4's AMD's and all the rest while they don't have any form of spyware on them. And keep them for years. Do not invest in the newer technogies that monitor your every move. If enough $$ isn't spent on the newer tech, the the production of it would decrease. It's possible with enough people, to phase out the newer evil technology.

Also, lets develop our hacker skills. With enough tech-savvy people and a knowledgebase, we can outsmart the beast.

The moment that Palladium comes out I am switching to Linux. What am I talking about, why wait, is switching now.

a site protesting against tcpa/tcg/palladium/whatever is http://www.againsttcpa.com (alternate http://www.protectprivacy.org/) .you can subscribe and it also has forums .

Well they'll be happy to know that I haven't bought a Microsoft product in almost 10 years