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FCC Pics of the IBM ThinkPad X41 Tablet PC
jkendrick writes "jkOnTheRun has posted pics of the rumored IBM ThinkPad X41 Tablet PC pulled from the FCC filing. It looks as expected, a nice black ThinkPad with a major exception, the swivel screen and the Tablet OS."
At my workplace we use IBM laptops. I just got done instructing all the sales staff how to use the latest cute new feature (the fingerprint scanner), and now I'll have to instruct them how to use Tablet PCs as soon as these come out.
Blargh.
____
~ |rip/\/\aster /\/\onkey
I think that's a pretty innovative feature. Instead of cramming people over your shoulder you can simply turn the screen and show 'em what you're doing or looking at. Certainly beats back seat users imho.
shop.envescent.com - Computer hardware and more.
thats one sweet concept in my opinion. put a little hole on the back so you can hang it when its in tablet mode and you have a picture frame too!
... and heres mirrordot to the rescue 0 a442b089c527c0f/index.html
http://www.mirrordot.org/stories/adae1f7a0023fd6c
Me neither. I have an old Dell, as well as a ton of older (rather stupid) models of all types. My favorite? Dell.
This is only because I didn't get that job at CMU, tho -- they'd have given me someone's old 15" TiBook for a workstation. Ah, well, at least I don't have to compile wacky mods for AFS.
Zhrodague.net - I do projects and stuff too.
Excuse me but what is the significance of this tablet PC? There're tons of these similar thingie out there...
So with photoshop and a blog, I can get on slashdot?
Sure, you just need to find a way to get your pictures hosted on an fcc.gov server as well. Good luck!
Heavy? The X series is 2.7lbs. That's not heavy. The IBM screens are great. My T42P is 14" and does 1400x1050 and is clearer than any other I've seen. They offer 15" screens now on most models if you want the extra size and weight.
Is there a price set or estimated? Is this going to be more expensive than the current X40 line?
If you RTFA there are links to the images on the FCC website.
Now... I'm not saying it is a hoax, but it looks real enough and I don't care enough that I can just leave it at that.
I sold them for many years and while they are, indeed, black, ugly, and heavy, they also tended to be sturdy and very reliable. I sold 76 to NASA for Shuttle missions (they used them onboard for several years but I have no idea what they use now).
http://www.busyweather.com/
I've got a Thinkpad R40, and I'm fairly pleased with it. I bought it because it's one of the models certified to run SUSE. It's not as fast as I'd like (Celeron 1.6), but the screen is large and bright (15"), the combo drive works as expected, and it has a ton of I/O ports (though it's missing Bluetooth). It doesn't weigh much, even though it's no flyweight, and it's sturdy as hell. The work-issued HP laptop that I have feels far flimsier.
The Spoon
Updated 6/28/2011
For open source users the ThinkPad delivers a welcome change, in that the majority of the hardware is supported without special patches or drivers. I know the X40 ThinkPads were a favorite among the Linux and *BSD community because of how well they operated. On a side note, a lot of the Dell Inspiron and Lattitude laptops tend to work about as well.
shop.envescent.com - Computer hardware and more.
Anyway, take a look at the links to the real FCC documents. Of course you can just claim the FCC is faking stuff with photoshop too.
Shouldn't the image on the screen rotate to portrait when in tablet mode?
My sigs offend the max # of people all over the world, regardless of race, religion, color, sex or creed. It's a gift.
New to the internet, are you?
"Black, ugly, heavy, and still using that nipple joystick in the middle of the keyboard."
What have you got against nipples???
I would expect that's about as close to a nipple as most of the Slashdot crowd gets to on a regular basis!
Am I the only one here that passed basic math? I could have *sworn* that screen was only rotated 90 degrees in the picture...
"The object of war is not to die for your country, but to make the other bastard die for his." - Patton
funny how he always posts this kinda stuff on tuesdays
as if tuesday has some sort of significance
Good quote, too many chars. Seriously, the slashdot 120 char limit sucks!
jkOnTheRun has posted pics of the rumored IBM ThinkPad X41 Tablet PC pulled from the FCC filing. It looks as expected, a nice black ThinkPad with a major exception, the swivel screen and the Tablet OS
Are you still reading my post? I thought you all would be running to buy the new ThinkPad.
How much did IBM pay for this advertising? Maybe I can start my own slashdot and get rich.
Rosco: "If brains were gunpowder, Enos couldn't blow his nose."
It humours me how people are unwilling to go the final step and just make a freakin slate tablet. These swivel setups always remind me of someone dipping a toe into cold water, not sure if they want to jump in or not. I bet that IBM could make an amazing slate which would rock the competition (with an exception of the Electrovaya Scribbler, perhaps). At any rate, it seems to me that this is still a laptop, albeit with a 'Tablet configuration'. It's still not a slate, and I personally still group it in the 'laptop' abstract class rather than the 'tablet' abstract class.
I wouldn't put it past the FCC run by the Bush administration! They eat babies!
</standard Bush-Bashing response>
If it's the clearest you've seen, then frankly you've only seen crap. Just about every other laptop company (excluding, interestingly, Apple) is using some very nice LCD technology that makes IBM laptops look like something from 1998.
The X series isn't what we are talking about here, though. And in addition, the X series shaves itself down by shrinking the dimensions severely. Other makers like Sharp and Panasonic make themselves thinner to make the weight.
For those who care, The notebook comes equipped with a 12.1" XGA display and is powered by an Intel Pentium M 1.50 GHz processor. The X41 was first available April 12th and will set you back at least $1,999. - nYx
RTFA? It has links to PDFs on fcc .gov
r et rieve.cgi?attachment_id=533104&native_or_pdf=pdf
r et rieve.cgi?attachment_id=533105&native_or_pdf=pdf
r et rieve.cgi?attachment_id=526692&native_or_pdf=pdf
https://gullfoss2.fcc.gov/prod/oet/forms/blobs/
https://gullfoss2.fcc.gov/prod/oet/forms/blobs/
https://gullfoss2.fcc.gov/prod/oet/forms/blobs/
And they match what's on the blog.
Come on guys, how dare you post an article where the ONLY link was a page full of pictures? :-S It's been only 3 minutes and it's /.'ed already!
--
One link. Little bandwidth. Many pictures. ONE MILLION REQUESTS.
Slashdot: The movie.
Can I get that with zVM installed?
So images of something that looks just like we thought it would now constitutes as news? Eh?
/. stories not quite as...decent as they used to be?
Is it just me, or are some of the newer
Not to mention, it's most likely that the future of "desktop" computing is certainly not in the "tablet"-style machines, anyhow. Bah. It's a waste of time.
Could someone update me on the exact status of IBM Thinkpads. I was under the impression the hardware business has been sold to Lenovo and that the latter would be allowed to use IBM's name for a few years. So would this be an IBM Thinkpad or would it be a Lenovo Thinkpad?
I can't figure out for the life of me what the mods were thinking when they modded you down to flamebait. Thanks for the mirror.
Not that I post on slashdot or anything.
They are not ugly. A purple, plasticy Toshiba or Sony shitbox is ugly. Thinkpads look purposeful, like a Hummer H1 or F-18. They're not supposed to be beautiful, they're supposed to work.
As for heavy, I don't know where you got that - have you ever used a modern Thinkpad? When I was looking for a thin, light 15" mobile desktop, a Thinkpad was all I could find.
As for the "nipple" joystick, most Thinkpads come with both the nipple and a touchpad, so you can use whatever you want. The ultraportables don't, but what do you expect? A touchpad is a waste of space and weight.
As for the screen, you're basing your opinion on shitty spy photos that were submitted to the FCC? I have a Thinkpad T42p, and the 1600x1200 screen is the best I've ever used.
IBM is the last remaining manufacturer of quality PC laptops. I'm glad to see that the sale of the PC division to Lenovo hasn't affected that.
This space intentionally left blank.
No, time will not tell. If you had clicked on the "FCC doc 1" (and 2, 3) links, you'd find that they lead to PDFs hosted at FCC.gov (the Federal Communications Commission home page). The FCC documents are part of the FCC approval process (something most electronics have to go through, including computers). So, as long as you trust the FCC, then yeah, those are facts.
For the lazy:
-David Ziegler
-
I don't know about the rest of you, but I haven't written anything longhand since 1998.
____
~ |rip/\/\aster /\/\onkey
Does Linux work on tablet PCs?
I guess I'm asking if the touchscreen works on Linux.
Now, I bet you would love to stimulate that nipple if it were on a penguin.
Maybe they are still using the joystick because some people prefer it. I seem to remember a discussion on slashdot a while back were everyone was complaining about the inconvenience of the touchpad and singing the praises of the joystick. Ah well... to each his own.
"Black" When did black go out of style?
"ugly" Yeah, because they look so different from everything but a Mac.
"heavy" Now you just don't know what you're talking about. Some are heavy, some are very light.
"nipple" Some people like them. This choice of input device is hardly a technological hinderance.
The LCD's are fine. The only thing I'd want to see is wide aspect. Basically, you're talking out your ass, and somehow escaped Troll status.
Let me be the first, to welcome our single nipple bearing overlords
I was just wondering whether "nipple joystick" was one word or two.
sigs, as if you care.
IBM demoed these for us several weeks ago, I didn't think its existence was a secret. Was a pretty nice tablet, in my opinion.
Somebody mod the parent as 'funny'! This guy thinks Dell computers are "American made". LOL
LoB
"Anyone who stands out in the middle of a road looks like roadkill to me." --Linus
...for widespread acceptance of Pen PCs. Microsoft has never given up with the tablet format (Unlike A--le), and I'm glad. I'm a big believer in this; I have a transmeta-based tablet here that's too slow for general use, and I also use the Logitech/Anoto pen for all engineering notetaking. I'm really hoping for a good tablet so I can go completely paperless...
Best Buy can have you arrested
An unpopular opinion! He blasphemes IBM! He doesn't praise Linux! Burn the witch! Burn the witch!
Put a pig in a dress and it's still a pig.
IBM doesn't make the Tablet PC platform any less underwhelming.
"Uh.. look. It's Windows XP with a touch screen. And we added this sketchpad that's more or less MS Paint."
Yeah, great. Now how about an appropriate tablet IU next time? I know it's hard being 1600 SAT, 4.0 Stanford and MIT graduates at Microsoft, but c'mon!
still ugly as hell. I didnt like the design 10 years ago, still dont. Seriously, what is with IBM's design team, I am all for function over form but cant you think of something new?
CS: It is all sink or swim...oh and did I mention there are sharks in that water?
What will IBM say to this release of data? What if they had a big release in the works? While some may say "this is free advertisement", PR departments like to do things on their schedules. Especially if they were planning, at the last minute, to scrap this thinkpad.
I mod down so you can mod up. Your welcome.
In the early 90's, when Pen for OS/2 was around, I had asked IBM about a ThinkPad where the LCD rotated around and covered the keyboard. A guy from IBM said that IBM had that but discontinued it.
I've never seen a reference to this but supposedly, IBM once had a tablet Thinkpad( heavy as a brick ) over 10 years ago.
LoB
"Anyone who stands out in the middle of a road looks like roadkill to me." --Linus
They can take a beating and STILL keep on working. Best built laptop, bar none.
I really hate it when the "zoomed in" pictures are 1% bigger than the thumbnails. 1%!!!! What's the point?!
Uh, not because its unpopular, because its troll material. 2/5 bizarre statements of personal preference, 3/5 factually incorrect statements. Now go eat a cock, fag.
I thought they already tried tablet PCs and nobody bought them. Or was the price just too insanely high?
the preceding comment is my own and in no way reflects the opinion of the Joint Chiefs of Staff
I have one of those Wacom tablets (not a tablet PC, just the USB tablet thing that you use like a mouse). It's really sweet for drawing, mainly because of the pressure sensitive pen. Do tablet PC's pens generally work the same way?
The docking connector is in the wrong place (and looks like the wrong shape) for me to reuse my existing Thinkpad dock.
Even so, it looks like a sweet design, and as long as the price isn't outrageous, I'll consider it when I replace my current Thinkpad.
Chip H.
Personally, I love the joystick/eraserhead. My Think Pad T-40 has both a nipple and a touchpad. I just turn off the touch pad and use the eraserhead.
Previous models failed for two main reasons: 1. Cost. Tablets are still generally more expensive than bargain laptops, but are now obtainable in the $1000-$2000 sweet spot. 2. Software. I have to admit, that Microsoft's Windows Tablet edition really goes a long way to making the technology useful and purposeful. The ink API's also make third-party developers able to extend the functionality easily. Now, if only the Gimp supported it!
If you don't know where you are going, you will wind up somewhere else.
Next time you're in Detroit, go on the Dell factory tour. It's awesome. It's where they make all the computers except the laptops - from the Dell Impala to the Trailblazer.
Remember, room 303 is for the Department of Psychology, as you can see from this alumni ref. from gmu http://www.gmu.edu/org/iopsa/students.htm
... and "Traci" is probably some guy trying to see just how many love-starved basement-dwelling nerds he can suck in.But then again, only time will tell ...
I am a current Thinkpad X31 owner, and I've been considering Tablet PCs for a while. The thing that has consistently held me back is the XGA (1024x768) screen. I have XGA on my current Thinkpad and it's just too small for Photoshop or some of the other programs I use on a daily basis. I've been taking a serious look at the Toshiba Portege M200, which uses 1400x1050 (SXGA+) resolution instead. While I'm excited that IBM, which is by far my favorite laptop brand (Toshiba being a close second), is coming out with a Tablet PC, I'm disappointed in the screen resolution. What really makes this Tablet PC unique? It's just like most of the other ones. I'd still rather have the Toshiba.
Simpli - Your source for San Jose dedicated servers and colocation!
Idiot.
Linux? No seriously, what kind of support does linux have or promise for tablet PCs-- I wouldnt ever want to buy hardware that wasnt going to work in Linux.
Because this is coming from IBM should we expect a very open platform?
transmission_err
I'm pretty sure that the quality of this unit is pre-Lenovo. That's not to suggest that Lenovo's will suck, just to say that this unit was probably under development Lenovo had a chance to do anything to th e line.
We need a new poll:
I had a Toshiba Tablet PC.
It was a fair laptop... not the best, not the worst, but not worth the $$$. I'm glad work bought it for me.
As a tablet? Well, it wasn't useful for me. Maybe it's good for people who need to stand and write (and digitize!) at the same time, or those who need to do light-weight doodles without the need for a graphic designer's high-quality tablet & display. But since I code, create presentations, do word processing, excel, etc, the tablet feature is next to useless.
But I'm sure some will find use for it. For now, I'll keep my smart phone and my traditional Dell laptop.
YUO FAIL IT (IT IS TROLLING)
(Use the Preview Button! Check those URLs!)
So, this is just like the Toshiba that does the same. One of my professors has been using the Toshiba for classes for several semesters. The only difference, I suppose, is that the Toshiba looks like a Toshiba and this thing looks like every other IBM laptop I've ever seen.
Even reading the article doesn't explain why this is so newsworthy, unless you've never seen a laptop with a swivel screen.
Direct away from face when opening.
I'm rather surprised that the "living room palmtop" idea hasn't taken off yet. Here's what I'd buy for sure:
:)
Price range: ~$400
Slate-like Tablet PC (pen-driven) interface
1280x1024 or 1400x1050 resolution (1600x1200 would really be ideal)
802.11b/g wireless networking
Has Windows Pocket PC or similar small OS installed, with some games, etc.
Set up so that I can Remote Desktop into my Windows PC upstairs
This would be a godsend. I'd set the thing on my coffee table and use it to just check my email without having to run upstairs to my desktop.
I know Microsoft had this with Mira a while ago, but Mira devices were costly ($900-$1200) and mostly ran at 800x600 or 1024x768. Now that LCDs have dropped so far in price, I really feel this is a good marketing opportunity. Also, put Pocket PC on it and the thing can play games, etc. without having to be connected to the PC upstairs. Marketed properly and with the right price point, I bet we'd see these in most geek living rooms. It could even double as an interactive photo album with a stand and SD card slots, or a DVD player with a USB hookup. I'd welcome a device like this at $400 or less.
Waiting patiently for the manufacturers to catch up to my imagination...
Simpli - Your source for San Jose dedicated servers and colocation!
Got to pick that nit...
"on a CGA monitor - on an XT - with 1 floppy drive"...
That would be the PC... The XT was the first major revision after the PC. The XT's main feature was that it came with a 10MB hard drive.
I saw some at the NetWorld+InterOp IBM booth ages ago. Some of the IBM employees were using them. I don't know how heavy they were, but the way the IBM folks were cradling them in their arms, they certainly weren't ten pounds.
an interesting thing you can see if you open one of the PDF on the FCC website, like the one on the X41 is that it is 210mm*297mm, also known as A4 standard paper.
I bet that thing runs slow as a 2 legged dog! And we're talkin with 2 legs on the same side!
How many freakin tray apps need to be open? When will manufactures and software companies learn?
I hate when I see that. I go to friends' homes sometimes and click the hide icons arrow and out pops the motherload! 20, 30 apps running. The computer is just sittin there breathin heavy like a chain-smoker!
Hot spreading laptops, write all over them
IBM is the last remaining manufacturer of quality PC laptops. I'm glad to see that the sale of the PC division to Lenovo hasn't affected that.
Except for, you know, the fact that IBM is no longer doing the manufacturing...
I am disrespectful to dirt! Can you see that I am serious?!
IBM did have a Thinkpad in the early 90's that the screen hinged at the bottom and then again in the middle. You poped a few clips ant the screen tilted back over itself to become a tablet. I cannot remember the model (something like 755cx) but I worked on them all the time.
Black, ugly, heavy, and still using that nipple joystick in the middle of the keyboard.
Black? The black color will be attractive to some, unappealing to others. I like the way they look, but I'm not all that picky on color.
Ugly? Again, that's a matter of opinion and I happen to like the way they look. No swoopy plastic, just well-engineered function. The keyboard is especially functional and well-constructed.
Heavy? Not sure what scale you're using, but you should get it checked. The Thinkpad line ranges in weight from 7lbs (including power brick) to 3.5lbs (including power brick). Only a few of the Sony laptops (and all ultraportables) are lighter and only if you leave the DVD drive at home. When comparing apple-to-apple functionally, the IBM has always come out lighter. It's one of the reasons I'm willing to pay more for them.
"nipple joystick"? All but the lightest of the Thinkpads have both trackpoint and touchpad controllers. Personally, I love the trackpoint and I have never managed to get the hang of a touchpad. The ability to leave my fingers near the home keys while moving the cursor is wonderful. I won't buy a laptop that doesn't have a trackpoint controller.
The screen looks underwhelming as well.
You should look at a Thinkpad screen in person. They tend to be the brightest and clearest displays I've ever seen. Few/no dead/hot pixels either. The resolution of this particular tablet is underwhelming, but I have two Thinkpads with 1600x1200 displays (a21p r50p) and I've never had a more comfortable display than those laptop displays. With subpixel antialiasing turned on, I've noted that I don't mind reading documents in electronic form. Normally, I find reading documents on a computer screen annoying and I print stuff pretty quickly to avoid it. Not if I'm at home using either of our Thinkpads.
I'm not sure what the attraction is to these Thinkpads.
IBM made the best designed and built laptop on the market, bar none. Like many others, I'm very interested to see whether Lenovo continues the trend or whether they drop the ball and drop the design standard down to the quality of the Dells, Toshibas and Gateways...
Regards,
Ross
Thinkpads, in my experience, are the only truly *good* pc laptops. They're ugly, but they do the job and if you need to you can beat a rhinoceros to death with one.
But, looking at the swivel, and knowing that IBM's selling off the Thinkpad line to the chinese company Lenovo (???), I can't help but wonder if the quality will still be what it was. This isn't meant to be a cut against the Chinese -- really it's my concern that without IBM looking over their shoulders, will the quality remain high? And it's not like the Chinese are famous for high quality manufacturing.
Regarding the form factor, the swivel seems like a good way to have your screen break off. I've seen some swivel laptops in stores, and -- for god's sake -- the demo units are creaky and nearly broken. Sure, people mess with the demo units, but those units aren't being put in backpacks or being taken everywhere you go. On *all* the demos I've seen the screens have several degrees of free play, and look like they'll break off if you look at them too hard. On a few I actually saw breakage as the friction clamp torqued out the plastic housing. Not good.
If anybody can pull this off, IBM can, but I'm not holding my breath.
And, one more rant factor -- can't anybody make a laptop which doesn't look like a frankenstein's monster of parts thrown together? There's so many air vents, access panels and other hoo hah that the damn thing looks like the death-star, but flattened into a laptop form factor. There's too many things to catch on your bag, or break off. Apple does this right -- their laptops are smooth and have nothing to catch on anything or break off.
lorem ipsum, dolor sit amet
Who among us doesn't have two or three nipples? It isnt a female specific feature....
Actually, it goes back to before OS/2.
The original concept for the ThinkPad was for a pen slate (hence the name, the inspiration came from leather notepads IBM used to give out to employees w/ ``Think!'' embossed on them). You can get the backstory on this in the book _ThinkPad: A Different Shade of Blue, building an IBM brand_ or in Jerry Kaplan's book _StartUp_.
Early models included the 701T, 703T and 730TE (slate models) and the 360PE (and a couple of other convertible models). At first they could run one's choice of Windows for Pen Computing (Win3.1 w/ HWR and some nifty pen-oriented apps) or PenPoint (but that was more expensive 'cause one had to pay the Microsoft ``tax'').
William
Sphinx of black quartz, judge my vow.
And another story just a short time later discusses an increase in website attacks against government servers. Hm...
[
A decade+ ago IBM was producing a similar box called the 360P (odd twist on the IBM 360 mainframe numbering!). That screen didnt do the neat swivel thing, but it would fold down over the keyboard so you could use it as a tablet computer (win 3.1x).
It was nice tablet box for it's day. I used it on a DARPA-SIMITAR project taht fielded the first portable commercial Internet/email enabled C4I system (PENCIL). The tablet mode was great for annotating maps, etc. The National Guard guys loved em. Heck we gave em email - back in '95.
Why does the IBM sticker on the back of the machine says "Marca Registrada", spanish for Registered Trademark?
Onda Technology Institute
Warning - anecdote:
My wife's 1998-vintage Thinkpad (well out of warranty) failed in late 2001. We sent it to a local shop for repairs - they replaced the motherboard at no charge (parts OR labor!) because IBM had had "trouble" with this motherboard before.
When it failed again a year later, it was repaired again at no charge.
You could argue that it shouldn't have failed in the first place (bad solder on a power connection), but you can't beat that support! I won't buy anything but a Thinkpad anymore.
... if I can get two things on it:
;-)
...
1. Linux. (How much of the hardware doesn't work with linux yet?)
2. Using my cell phone as a wireless modem. (This "should work", but in my exerience, plugging in any sort of external is a guaranteed sink for lots and lots of time and hair pulling.
The reasons? Well, one of the things I've been involved in is online music notation (for musicians; not recordings). The question comes up repeatedly: Can we put this on a music stand on stage? The answer for all computers so far is "No, because it'll just fall off." No current computer display or laptop seems designed to sit on a music stand. This is a total deal-killer. A laptop that rotates into a flat tablet would be workable. But not if it only runs Windows; it's gotta run OSX or linux.
And I need network access. Wifi so far covers maybe 1% of the US, and isn't advancing very fast. It doesn't work most of the places I'd want to use the tablet. But my cell phone (actually a Blackberry) has real Net access over at least 20% of the US, probably much more soon, and I have an unlimited-data plan. If I could make it work as a modem, I could use the tablet in lost of the remote places I'd like to use it.
I do have a couple of cute demos on the BB, but the screen is tiny and unreadable from as close as the end of my arm, so it's just a proof-of-concept. To be usable needs a page-size screen with reasonable resolution.
Maybe this machine is the one I've been looking for.
Maybe I should ask the nice folks at emperorlinux how soon they'll support it
Those who do study history are doomed to stand helplessly by while everyone else repeats it.
I have never understood why IBM keeps using the worst pointing device ever, the accupoint.
The trackpad, the best pointer ever, has been around for 12 years, it is better than anything else, any optical mouse, trackball, accupoint, etc. The trackpad is the only pointer I use, even with desktops.
I hope that the Chinese manufacturer who bought the PC business from IBM make the right decision and use only trackpads for their laptops.
I waited for ages for IBM to put trackpads on their laptops. When the trackpads finally showed on the T series I bought my first IBM laptop ever. The first thing I did, even before installing linux, was to remove the accupoint, so that I would not touch it accidentally. What is the use of an accupoint, if the laptop has a much better pointer, a trackpad?
I don't believe the Lenovo transition occurs until Monday. This tablet has clearly been in development for some time; development solely under IBM (excusing vendors).
heh.
And thanks for the model numbers. I finally found a site with pictures of the Thinkpad 630PE ( tp360p ). It looks pretty heavy but the design/concept was there so long long ago.
LoB
"Anyone who stands out in the middle of a road looks like roadkill to me." --Linus
For legal reasons you need to have the information written, typed, or somehow physically placed on the form you sign to attest that the information given is true. A "See Resume" is not enough. That you couldn't fill out an e-form, print it out and sign it is a bit odd, though.
2. I've been in the industry for 10 years and have a Master's degree. Does it really matter where I went to high school?
One Form to rule them all, One Form to find them, One Form to bring them all and in the darkness bind them. I would assume that either the organization had positions it needed to fill where high-school is the highest needed education level (e.g., receptionist, facilities, etc.) or that they were small enough to simply use a boilerplate form that you can pick up anywhere. Remember that, in HR, conformity accross positions is not a fetish but, in many cases, a legal requirement.
3. If it does matter where I went to high school, why do I need to fill it out THREE TIMES?
OK, you're right. It's because they're stupid.
That is all.
Good to see they made a professional backdrop by pasting A4 papers together using scotch tape.
I use that solution too for my Ebay pictures, with the exception that I dont forget to white it out using the Gimp.
I always loved the Transnote, an older Thinkpad with an integrated art tablet. It was designed for architects, engineers, etc., who liked to be able to sketch things.
Sign me up for one of these!
Thats like the Thinkpad I was talking about (not a 755 but close)....with two sets of hinges. IBM also had a model that the back of the display would snap off so you could fold it backwards onto an overhead projector.
I don't think they cover the ``ThinkPad'' name story in _StartUp_, (sloppy writing on my part, sorry) just that IBM was going to release the ThinkPad as a pen slate and how that got side-tracked. It's been a while since I read that though.
William
Sphinx of black quartz, judge my vow.
I have nothing against competantly implemented MI -- my compliant was about people (like several of the Java programmers I work with) who treat MI as inherintly evil just because C++ botched it so badly. And face it -- C++'s naiive MRO is evil. See here for a discussion of some of the considerations that go into a good one.
Yes. Honestly, I don't understand how people can defend thinkpads over being ugly. They are so clearly ugly. Black is not a color, but is rather the absence of color, and sure, some people might like that sort of thing. I'm not saying black has to be ugly, but then throw in some random bright red and blue highlight strips on buttons, a latch that sticks out the top of the monitor (really, you can't hide it and use a magnet?), and non-uniform sides where the ports reside. The overall shape of the thing can't even be classified...some sort of mutant trapezoid?
I appreciate people who admit they are designed by engineers and not designers, but for the rest of you, really, you think these things look nice?
... they used them onboard for several years but I have no idea what they use now
They still use them on ISS. They are still black, ugly, and heavy, but they are also "space rated". My impression is that "space rated" in this case means that someone has gone through it with a tube of epoxy making sure nothing will vibrate loose.
No, the ThinkPad just has spin 1/2.
Or does anyone else think that the only good idea involved in a tablet PC is the touch screen???
I am Spartacus
There are only about half dozen or so laptop mfgrs total. A PowerBook may come out of the same factory as an emachine.
It's all about mfg specifications on components.
got a T30 Thinkpad, 2 years now. Dropped it twice. Not a snigle problem with it. Runs like a Hummer.
This is the most pompus, ignorant, and off-topic post I have seen all week. Your prize is a kick in the nutsack. Report to the nearest janitor for recieval.
Just about every other laptop company, such as whom? I've used a thinkpad off and on with an HP and occasionally a Dell... my T40 is the best PC I've ever used, hands down. Very glad I own one.
I have always said that the ThinkPad looks like the official laptop of the Death Star. And I like it that way!
I bought a T41 as my first laptop purchase a year ago. The amount I paid for that has paid for itself several times over, not just because it is a laptop rather than a desktop.
About 6 months someone I work with picked up a top of the line dell M60 and has had a series of problems. The IR port doesn't work. Bluetooth is flakey. And recently, after it heats up a little, the mouse starts wandering (this appears to be a problem with the touch pad). Lockups when using a docking station are common.
After a year of very heavy use my only problems have been that DLA caused some issues reading CDs and they have removed the windows key.
meh
I had to submit one - for free - for them to test. The last test was to find the melting point for the case.... Glad I won the bid or I would have eaten the then $7,000 cost of the unit. The winner was allowed to recover the cost of the test unit.
http://www.busyweather.com/
It has been a conjecture of mine for approximately two months now that this is why the PBG5 is taking so long; they are attempting to turn it into a tablet Mac along the lines of this device. (The concept isn't new; Sony's Clie handhelds have done a similar thing for what, a year or two now?) There are mechanical problems to be worked out with such a hinge arrangement, though, which provides one reason for the delay. Another reason: time to deploy Tiger and get its bugs knocked out.
The stigmata of this are all present. Look at the features present in Mac OS X now. Dashboard. Expose. Automator. VoiceOver. All ideal for tablet computing.
There is no reason why there could not be a Powerbook G5 today; the heat issues are all bullshit, if the G5 were downclocked to G4 ranges the heat issues would be solved and it would still be a drastic improvement. The only reason that we do not have them today is because Steve is a showman; he likes to do blockbuster, grand-slam, quantum-leap rollouts that make the world drool. An incremental processor improvement to a laptop? Ho-hum. A tablet Mac dropped like a bomb at a Mac expo? Instant global geek orgasm. Steve achieves another media coup.
A tablet Mac would be a drastic improvement and would be a watershed moment for Apple, assuming that its introduction were properly handled. Examine the vigor with which Apple is snuffing leaks these days; suddenly their recent behavior becomes a lot clearer.
But what do I know - a lot of hearts have been broken predicting Apple's moves.
the quality of both hardware and software utilities are excellent - you wonder how get to live with all the jurassic features. for example, one useful feature is the active protection system that disables the hdd in case of shocks. it has a good network connection profile software. it allows me to roam in different hotspots automatically even with different settings in each. the power utility is much better as it allows me to prevent charging until the level reaches at a particular level that prolongs battery life.
i like the hardware because it is very light and small! it is sturdy enough that you can actually step on it.
i can't wait for the tablet as i am looking for one now but the features offered by others are inferior - it's like if you get those ibm thinkpads (high end models,) you can't seem to switch to others. i was so happy with the laptop when i got it that i disposed of my desktop immediately. now i'm happy as i can expect to upgrade soon. i just hope i can move the accessories to the x41 such as the extended battery and docking bay.
Live your life each day as if it was your last.
For those who care, Thinkpads and ThinkCeters and Netvistas come equipped with a Trusted Platform Module.
If you do not want to be a part of promoting the Trusted Computing rollout then DO NOT spend one bloody cent on a Tinkpad or ThinkCeneter. If you do not want to buy a computer that forbids you to know your own cryptographic keys, if you do not want to buy a computer with a chip designed to SELF DESTRUCT if you attempt to access your own master crypto key to your own computer, then DO NOT spend one bloody cent on a Thinkpad or ThinkCenter.
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- - You can't take something off the Internet! That's like trying to take pee out of a swimming pool.
Umm... and what's so bad about having the ability for almost tamper proof protection of your files? I quite like the idea myself. It's not like anyone is forcing you to use it. And why do I want to get at the keys?
There's software to remap another key to act as the windows key from IBM's website, I used my right alt as the windows key.
Thanks for that, I had no idea. Sweet. Downloaded, installed, tested.
meh
Umm... and what's so bad about having the ability for almost tamper proof protection of your files?
The point is that the design specification specifically includes enabling the system to be tamperproof against the owner. The system specification explicitly refers to the owner as an adversary.
You can get ALL of the same benefits from an identical system where the owner is allowed to know his keys. There is absolutely no valid justification to forbid the owner to know his own keys if he wishes to know them.
I'm a programmer and I've read the technical specifications. The number one design requirement is to deny the owner access to his keys, the number two requirement is to deny the owner access to his files if he tries to alter his software, the number three requirement is Remote Attestation to be able to report to other people exactly what hardware and software you have and you cannot control or alter this spy report.
It's not like anyone is forcing you to use it.
Not at the moment. Hardly anyone has a Trust chip at the moment and no one can sell software that only installs on a Trusted compliant machine and websites can't require Trusted compliance to view them and media files can't require the Trust chip etc. The Trusted Computing rollout begins in earnest with the Longhorn rollout. Your average family will go to the store and buy a new Windows machine and it will be Windows Longhorn on Trusted Compliant hardware. People won't ask for a Trust chip, it will just be standard in essentially all new PCs. You'll need a Trust chip or Windows Longhorn will only run in a reduced cripple mode - and Microsoft has publicly documented that fact. In any given 4 year period the vast majority of people replace their old obsolete machines, and they will simply be handed Trusted compliant machines.
We're talking a multi-year rollout, but not very long at all. Less than 4 years to replace the MAJORITY of all the PCs out there.
Once there is a large install base of Trusted Compliant systems it becomes increasingly possible and likely for new software to only be installable on a Trusted system. They can enforce software activation and registration. An increasing number of websites will just spit out an error message if you aren't Trusted Compliant. With the Trust chip the website can ensure you're not running a popup blocker or adblocker and that you can't save a copy of images or other website elements. The website can prevent deep-linking or 'file leeching'. They can uniquely track your machine. They can enforce cookies and prevent you from altering them or refferer headders or anything else. They can enforce registration. They can have your computer enforce pretty much any sort of terms of service they like. There are a million and one reasons websites will start becoming Trusted-only accessible, and the number one reason will be to enforce ads.
If you want to know what not using a Trust chip is going to be like, try surfing the web for a week with cookies and javascript off. You'll run into countless websites that refuse to work. Instead many of them pop up wonderful help screens explaining how to FIX YOUR PROBLEM and turn cookies and javascript on. Except websites are going to be poping up helpful messages explaining how to turn the Trust system on.
As if getting locked out of half the internet isn't bad enough, as if not being able to install any new commercial software wasn't bad enough, things could get far worse in just a couple of years. The Trusted Computing group has announced a project for Trusted internet routers, and the President's Cyber Cecurity advisor gave a speech at the Washington DC Global Tech Summit calling on ISP to eventually make exactly this sort of system mandatory as part of ISP terms of Service(obviously only possible after a substantial majority of the public has Trusted compliant hardware). And what do these routers do? They can use the Trust system to check what software is on your computer. they can check th
- - You can't take something off the Internet! That's like trying to take pee out of a swimming pool.
Calm down, I know what it can do, I know what others are trying to do and what can happen if every machine is required to have it, but do you really think that the whole world has a conspiracy against you?
There are good reasons why the owner can't get at the keys, if the owner could know the keys, how can anything else in the network trust my computer? How can I know that no one else gets access to my keys? If I can see it on my screen, someone else can make a copy of it.
Why would I want them to trust my computer? Perhaps online banking becomes so risky that banks simply refuses to allow unsecured clients, would you have a problem with that? Perhaps you are on an underground p2p system that has been locked down, or you are moving files across the network to your backup system that you haven't visited for a year or so.
Yes some music sites will demand the same type of security as the bank, but they don't have a monopoly on music. Yes commercial software have a chance at getting full control over how people copy their software. You know what? They would be great news for the open source movement. No longer can people crack photoshop if they don't want to pay it, there will be a flood of people into open source development.
As for a completely locked down internet, they can dream, but what's in it for the IT&T companies? Someone will set up a second system which will be unsecured, and it will have the benefit of talking to the rest of the world, maybe you'll need a cheap second computer to deal with the US government sites, but do you think they can convince the rest of the world to use the same system? There's a lot more to the world than just the US, if they choose to cut themselves off from the rest of us saying it's too risky, you'll be missed, but we'll move on and prosper.
As for losing access to your own files, who would be the idiot who encrypted them then? It's not like you can't still use your own software solution.
I'm a programmer and I've read the technical specifications. The number one design requirement is to deny the owner access to his keys, the number two requirement is to
Is there a website which annotates (or "fisks") the TCPA specs to more directly map the technical features to the practical effects they'll have on networked data transmission?
I'm personally tired of people complaining "remote attestation isn't really in the spec" or "you can change/disable your key if you really want" and repeatedly composing similar replies. It'd be nice if they could find answers from google, but it doesn't appear to have good references indexed.
The existing TCPA FAQs seem too vague, on the level of marketers, not programmers.
And without the key you cannot read or alter any of your files except as permitted by the Trust chip and system software.
Just a miscellaneous prediction from me: 5 years after the TCPA rollout (simultaneous with the Longhorn launch probably), a free program will come out which includes schematics for a small hardware device to emulate a keyboard. This program will be installed on a non-TCPA PC with a camera, and it will send keystrokes to a TCPA system, photographing and OCRing each page of each file on it, eventually creating DRM-stripped copies of all the data.
One year after that, TCPA-approval will be revoked from all programs whose GUIs don't include a system to detect repetitive keystrokes, to fight back against that workaround. "Sorry, you have looked through files too fast. Someone might be videotaping the documents. Please wait 60 seconds and then try to Page Down again. Meanwhile, check out this hot new single from Brittany Duff!"
Is there a website which annotates (or "fisks") the TCPA specs
Not that I know of, though it is a very interesting idea.
I probably should make a Trusted Computing website. It would save me a lot of typing in a lot of posts, but it's a daunting project to do a proper job on it. It would need both basic explanations for public consumption and detailed pages for the geekliterate.
I can talk authoratitively on the subject as I've read the 300+ page technical spec and I often offer to back my points up with page number citations in the spec (which virtually no one takes me up on), but you're right... it would be a huge help to have a site that other people could use to get the critical specification quotes. There are lots of great quotes in the spec. It quite often makes explicit points and quite often uses phrases like "MUST NOT". It's also nice they way they put "MUST NOT" in all caps, chuckle. The chip MUST NOT allow the owner to see or alter his PrivEKey and MUST NOT allow the owner to know his RootStorageKey and that any nonmigrable keys and any data protected by them MUST be irretrivably lost if the chip dies.
The existing TCPA FAQs
Yes, sadly the FAQs are generally (IMO) pretty poor sources. The FAQs from the Trusted Computing Group and friends are PR spin-city, and virtually every FAQ on the anti side suffers from one or more myths.
the practical effects they'll have on networked data transmission?
That's a tough one to directly cite, it's a high level effect. The hardware spec generally makes very little mention of things up at the software level, and even the Trusted Software Stack (TSS) stuff is generally about functional capabilities without addressing the implications of the capabilites.
I can cover the capabilites and effects in a nutshell. Well, a big nutshell chuckle. The system can send a tamperproof log of the hashes of your software from the initial BIOS all the way up to the currently running program. The person getting this log over the network knows exactly what BIOS and OS you are running and all of the trusted software you've run, and they know exactly what software is currently running. They know exactly what software they are currently talking to. Remote Attestation. The other party can then reject the connection if they are not happy with your system. If they do approve, then they can send encrypted data and encrypted keys that only that specific program can decrypt, or that only the OS can decrypt. You never get to see these keys. You cannot read or alter data saved to the harddrive without these keys (you could delete/destroy it, but that's pretty pointless). Any attempt to alter any software has two effects, (1) anyone who asks for Remote Attestation will reject the connection for having "tampered" software and (2) the chip gives the altered software entirely different keys that are useless for reading existing files. Modified software *runs* just fine, but it does't *work* because it can't connect over the net and it can't read existing files.
Naturally you don't want to have to analize someone's entire software system for each network connection. Instead you go through this process with some Certificate Authority (CA). They scan your BIOS version and bootloader version and operating system version and all of your drivers etcetera. If they approve of your setup then they send your OS a signed certificate saying you have a "secure" system. Then when you go to a server or something the OS just sends the certificate and the chip's certification that the OS has not changed and the identity of the currently running application. The server checks for an authentic certificate and that they are talking to the exact application they wanted to talk to.
It's essentially a spy system (Remote Attestation) married to a broad DRM enforcement system.
Just a miscellaneous prediction from me:
Ok, you can copy text out of DRM. Probably easier to do it by hand anyway. It doesn't do muc
- - You can't take something off the Internet! That's like trying to take pee out of a swimming pool.
I probably should make a Trusted Computing website. It would save me a lot of typing in a lot of posts, but it's a daunting project to do a proper job on it.
You've already produced more than 14 pages worth in the past 36 hours. That should really be more than enough. Put it in a slashdot journal entry for easy hosting.
Probably easier to do it by hand anyway.
No. Have you ever scanned a book?
It doesn't do much good for extracting other data
Yes it could.
do you really think that the whole world has a conspiracy against you?
I don't think the world has a conspriacy against me.
However Microsoft and well over 100 other computer companies are in a "conspiracy" to make it "ubiquitous", and for it to be standard in all new PCs and in virtually all consumer electronics. Just look at the membership list of the Trusted Computing Group for starters. And the publishing industry (BSA and MPAA and RIAA and probably others) are certainly developing and pushing it for DRM purposes. And powerful people in the US government and in the EU government and in UN work groups are working on it and pouring tens of millions or possibly a hundred+ million dollars per year into grants and work groups to develop it. Developing the Next Generation Network and Securing the (inter)National Internet Infrastructure against viruses and terrorists etc.
It's certainly not targeted at me personally, but it fits pretty well under most definitions of "conspiracy".
There are good reasons why the owner can't get at the keys, if the owner could know the keys, how can anything else in the network trust my computer?
Are you claiming I do not have a right to unscrew my computer case and examine my chip under a microscope and see my key? It may be a serious pain in the ass for me to do so, but it is certianly possible.
We're talking basic property rights here.
If I do have that right then you have no reasonable expectation that I not know my key.
It is impossible for me to "attack" myself, it is impossible for me to "attack" my own property. It is absurd for my property to consider me to be an enemy. It is absurd for my property to be "secure" against me. It is absurd for my property to be expected keep secrets from me.
Do you have any objection to me going into business reading out other people's keys for them for a few bucks each? Giving them full control over their own property?
How can I know that no one else gets access to my keys?
I have no objection to you buying a system that does not come with it's key, or to buy one that does come with the key and to immediatly burn that key. I just want to be able to have mine if I want it. And I'd rather not need the resources of a college laboratory to get my key out of a booby trapped self destructing chip.
If I can see it on my screen, someone else can make a copy of it.
You're right that on-screen may not be the best arrangement. My sample solution is to get a sealed printed copy of of your key when you get the machine. You could buy one without that key. Your choice. I'm saying I should not be denied the choice to get a fully compatible system *with* my key, and for me not to be penalized for doing so.
Perhaps online banking becomes so risky that banks simply refuses to allow unsecured clients, would you have a problem with that?
An owner can still have his computer secure. It will be secure from viruses and hackers and only running the software the owner wanted to run. You just can't expect the owner's computer to be secure against the owner.
It would be a colossally stupid assumption for the bank to make anyway. Even if you don't sell chips with their keys, someone can still extract their key in a suitably equipped college lab. Any reliance on the idea of computers being secure against owners actually leaves you MORE vulnerable.
Perhaps you are on an underground p2p system that has been locked down, or you are moving files across the network to your backup system that you haven't visited for a year or so.
I can't speak for other people on this "underground" P2P system but I can certainly have my computer fully secure, and I can have my backup system fully secure.
commercial software have a chance at getting full control over how people copy their software
Copyright infringment? HAHAHA. That's about the least signifigant implication of Trusted Co
- - You can't take something off the Internet! That's like trying to take pee out of a swimming pool.
Well written reply, it's a shame I don't have the time for much further discussion, the key reason I'm not worried about what the US does in trying to enforce the trusted computing environment is most of the computers are built in Asia, better still they don't all trust each other, and so as long as they continue to manufacture our computers, I will continue to be able to run new software on new hardware. If trusted computing adds a dollar to the cost of a computer, I'm sure there will continue to be vendors that will sell computers without it. As for subsidies, once the majority of computers need subsidies, how long can they last?
Speaking of other countries, can you imagine a country like France allowing the US to decide exactly what software is permitted on their networks? What about countries that have already decided to go with open source software? Find me a country that does something that UN for the sake of doing what the UN wants. They all choose to listen when it suits them.
Another point is, most software is written in-house for a company's own use, if everyone who works on such software can sign applications then there is no security, if only a handful can then it might be secure for a while, but there will be a rebellion at the cost. Will they lock down java applets as well? What about excel macros? What about custom ecommerce sites? The public only care about spyware because it makes their computer unusable, they don't care about security. If they did they'll all be using macs.
As for there being nothing on the "freenet" afterwards, what you will have left is everything minus some US sites,the ones I care about will have "international" mirrors, the ones that don't will have free replacements.
Perhaps I'm wrong, but if I am I will have much more pressing matters than worrying about vendor lock in, they would already be in control of what and how I can think.
can sign applications
This is the biggest myth/misunderstanding about Trusted Computing. It seems to be everywhere.
Trusted Computing is not about signing applications. You do not need any signature on new code. Trusted Computing will not prevent anyone's code from running.
Trusted Computing essentially does two things:
(1) Files encrypted with the Trust chip can only be read or modified by the exact unmodified software and machine that created the file. A new additional optional ability. That original unmodified software may then, if it wishes, choose to grant access to that file to some other exact unmodified software on some specific machine. If you attempt to alter the software then the chip gives the software different encryption keys - in other words the chip denies the software the key to existing files. The Trust system allows you to write and run any software you like, but that software will be unable to read or modify existing Trusted files. To put it simply, it's DRM. You can write a music player, but it cannot read Trusted music files. You can write and run an e-mail program, but it cannot read "secure" e-mail.
(2) It's a little spy inside your computer - one that can tell other people exactly what hardware you have and what software you are running. It's a new additional optional ability. You can choose to give a spy report if you wish. If you do so you cannot control or alter the contents of that spy report. The catch here is that other computers - such as websites - can decide they do not want to talk to you unless you "voluntarily" offer a spy report. They can choose not to talk to you if the spy report reveals something they do not like. For example a website can lock you out if you are not running an approved Trusted web browser - one that prohibits you from running a popup blocker or ad blocker. One that prohibits you from saving ("stealing") a copy of images or media or text from the site. One that prohibits deep linking. One that enforces their registration process. One that enforces their terms of service. One that does not securely store cookies (meaning secure against you tampering with them). There are countless reasons websites will use the Trust system, but the biggie will definitly be to prevent you from accessing the site with any sort of ad blocker. An important point here is that it's the website deciding whether they want to talk to you or not, the website deciding what software they are willing to talk to. It is not the US or Microsoft imposing anything and there is no anti-trust issue. It's just that Microsoft's webbrowser will happen to enforce these sorts of things and it will be the standard software that all websites approve of and will be willing to talk to. The Trust chip simply enables you to offer this spy report, and thus enables websites to decline to speak to people who don't offer it. The Trust system allows you to write and run any software you like, but it can and will be locked out by other machines on the internet. No one will have heard of the web browser you wrote, or the email reader you wrote, so no one is going to recognize it and no one is going to put in on their webserver's "approved" list to talk to. And a website certainly aren't going to put your new browser on their approved list if it allows ad blocking or if it doesn't enforce DRM on the files they are serving.
And again, this is not about signing software. The chip generates a hash for any software, and the chip tells other people this hash. All software is it's own signature.
You can certainly use signatures on top of the Trust system, but it's not a part of the Trust system and really has nothing directly to do with the Trust system.
So the trust chip does not prevent you from running anything. It only prevents unauthorized software from reading secured files and enables other computers to choose not to talk to you. When it's one website doing this, they are cutting themselves off and making themselves suffer. When it is millions of websit
- - You can't take something off the Internet! That's like trying to take pee out of a swimming pool.
* There will continue to be a large group of users and developers who will use and develop untrusted documents and software. As long as they exist people will
* People with new copies of the software must be able to exchange documents with old versions, MS had bad support for Office 95 documents in Office 97, they had to fix that and we haven't had major problems since. If 99% of the population can't open your emails then it's obvious who has the faulty email client. Unless they get over 90% before they change the default to secure clients only, almost no one will believe I have the broken client.
* Media player disabled DRM by default on new WMA files, there must've had a good reason for that, I assume it's because enough people complained about it.
* Browser lock in appears to be on the decline.
* Finally, because it's only a matter of time before stories about people being locked out of their wedding photos/old love letters/company payroll system hit the news. I expect to be able to hold out against the worst of it until the that happens and the tide turns.
I had a quick look at the wikipedia article, it seems interesting, it would've saved us some time going over just what trusted computing is, but it doesn't address all the points we've raised. I'll think about it some more.
Yes, those are some helpful points. The most helpful development is that Microsoft has broken the intended bond between Trusted Computing and the Longhorn release next year. The plan was that the new Windows OS would *ONLY* be available on Trusted-compliant hardware. No hardware maker would have been able sell non-compliant hardware. You simply cannot survive in the PC hardware market selling a product that is incompatible with the latest Windows release.
Now Longhorn will run on non-compliant hardware, but it will only do so in a semi-cripple mode. So at least noncompliant systems will still be sold. It is Microsft that will have to bite the compatibility bullet and be compatible with nonTrusted machines, rather than PC makers having to bite the bullet and be compatible with Trusted-only Windows. A major crack in the Trust rollout.
A major part of the Trust rollout plan is to gently phase it in over time, and they are looking five and ten years out. You won't see any of the negative effects at all until there is a signifigant install base. It would be suicidal for software or websites to attempt to require it until most people have it. They would be locking themselves out rather than locking us out. The problems won't appear at all until most people have it. And once we hit that point it's too late.
PCs get old and replaced very quickly on that timescale. Simply by replacing obsolete machines with compliant machines they will be able to go from a harmless 40% market share to a critical 60% market share in in a span of 8-10 months. That's period where the crunch kicks in. Websites and software can start requiring it, and then people are pressured into buying compatible machines to get access. The market share abruptly exceeds 80% and it's all over. From 40% and no visible abuses of the system and no visible problems with the system to 80% and a death-grip in little over a year.
Christ, I depress my self explaining it. I see all this and more, I see exactly how they plan to deploy it, I see exactly how they intend to harness natural market forces in their favor, I see exactly how they can succeed.
BTW, they've been planning very long term. This al started over ten years ago. Remember the Intel CPU-ID numbner outrage? That was actually intended to be an intitial step in a Trust-type system. With the outrage over it, Intel was natually very quiet about the new 'features' and 'capabilites' they had planned to introduce in later models. They were going to grow a Trust system feature by feature. After the public outcry killed it, they developed you broad industry coalition for the Trusted Computing Group. They got the Microsoft support and hardware industry support and US government support and the EU projects and the content industries and started the UN workgroups. And they did all the development in advance, to deply a fully capable system in one shot. Oh, and they's done tons of work on the privacy issues. It's still got that "CPU-ID" feature in the chip keys, but now they have "privacy features" so that you can usually keep it secret. You go though anonymizing privacy Certificate Authorites. They're now trying to sell it as a privacy enhancing system, that it will protect your identity better than normal computers. Sure it will, and I'm the tooth fairy. But they have privacy protecting features in the spec and the're going to use it as a selling point. They'll pour on the spin that it's a GOOD thing for privacy.
I forgot the name (some three-letter acronym), but they set up a shill group pretending to be a grass roots consumer privacy advocacy group. Of course if you check the member list it's all the key industry players that are pushing the Trust system. And this phony consumer privacy group is already lobbying the government for "privacy and consumer protection" standards - and those privacy and protection "demands" just so happen to exactly match the intended capabilities and support systems of the Trusted Computing Group. And when Trusted Computing is deployed, they get
- - You can't take something off the Internet! That's like trying to take pee out of a swimming pool.