Wednesday, August 03, 2005

Apple recently started shipping Developer Transition Kits that help developers test and prepare software for the switch to the Intel-powered computers next year. The kit contains a version of OS X for Intel, and a Mac computer featuring an Intel processor.

The computer features a security chip called the Trusted Platform Module (TPM), an open industry standard governed by the not-for-profit Trusted Computing Group which develops security standards.

Each TPM chip contains an encrypted serial number that allows the operating system to verify whether it is running on Apple hardware.

The upcoming Windows Vista relies on the TPM for a technology dubbed Secure Startup, which blocks access to the computer if the content of the hard drive is compromised.

This prevents a laptop thief from swapping out the hard drive, or booting the system from a floppy disk to circumvent security features.

Reynolds suggested that in the future software developers could use the chip as an anti-piracy device. The vendor would link the TPM identification number to the software registration key.