NO TCPA

[spiridion]

Anyone have any opinons on this:

http://www.notcpa.org/

I'm sure you do>

 

[Beau]

my opinion? the guy uses quotes way too much.

 

[Ferocious]

" It's no longer possible to install linux"

Something to think about I guess.

 

[Ken g6]

Wow! This is the only thread I turned up in a search for TCPA threads.

I found out about it from a link in someone else's sig, to another site.

 

[yoda291]

IMO, it'll never float. People buy computers today on the assumption that they'll be able to do all the thing they could do b4, but faster and prettier. God help the internet if everyone had to run IIS and purchase all accompanying licenses for. Also, this'd kill the freeware developers and open sourcers everywhere. I know if people were forced to use a commercial application to replace a freeware one, it wouldn't hold very long and this whole initiative would get trounced.

 

[notfred]

Apple computer is conspicuously absent from the list of members

 

[ProviaFan]

AgainstTCPA is a better site. StopPoliceWare is another.

The not being able to run Linux complaint is valid, but only to a certain point. If you disabled the cop-chip (also called a Fritz chip, read the StopPoliceWare site I linked above to see why), you would be able to run any kind of Linux or BSD you like, with any custom kernel. The trouble would arise if the TCPA chips / Palladium hardware would be mandated by a legal means such as the CBDTPA. Then, you would not be able to disable the cop chip, and thus you could not run any system or software that had not been "signed" by a certification authority (probably Microsoft, thus the chances of any Linux distros being signed are nil).

Edit:

Originally posted by: notfred
Apple computer is conspicuously absent from the list of members

Yea, that's encouraging. As long as they're not forced to join by the CBDTPA, an Apple laptop is definitely in my (hopefully near, if I can get the money) future.

 

[ViRGE]

Originally posted by: Ferocious
" It's no longer possible to install linux"

Something to think about I guess.

As much as I hate the TCPA, I hate FUD just as much. TCPA doesn't stop you from running "insecure" software, it stops you from running "secure" software. What it boils down to is that as security is passed along from the BIOS, to the OS, etc, everything must check out. If something seems "amiss", then it will prevent you from running programs/files requiring complete security, in order to maintain security. You would be able to however, run insecure programs in a "sandbox", although something more extravigant(device driver perhaps) that can't be sandboxed should still be able to run, but will disable your ability to run secure software. You can run Linux all you want; you just can't use an "insecure" version to run secure software. TCPA does have other uses, but to cry that it won't run Linux is nothing but straight-up FUD.

 

[ProviaFan]

Originally posted by: ViRGE

Originally posted by: Ferocious
" It's no longer possible to install linux"

Something to think about I guess.

As much as I hate the TCPA, I hate FUD just as much. TCPA doesn't stop you from running "insecure" software, it stops you from running "secure" software. What it boils down to is that as security is passed along from the BIOS, to the OS, etc, everything must check out. If something seems "amiss", then it will prevent you from running programs/files requiring complete security, in order to maintain security. You would be able to however, run insecure programs in a "sandbox", although something more extravigant(device driver perhaps) that can't be sandboxed should still be able to run, but will disable your ability to run secure software. You can run Linux all you want; you just can't use an "insecure" version to run secure software. TCPA does have other uses, but to cry that it won't run Linux is nothing but straight-up FUD.

And to defend TCPA hardware like it's nothing that's going to hurt you and there's nothing to be afraid of is just as silly. The BIOS checks the OS to make sure it's ok. If TCPA has been "enabled" and the OS checks out (i.e. is a legal version of Windows, or is a [somehow miraculously] certified version of Linux), then the computer can boot. Otherwise, the OS can not be booted unless TCPA is disabled in the BIOS. Of course, as you said, programs requiring security would then not run in such an environment.

As I said before, where this becomes a problem is if the CBDTPA passes, mandating TCPA controls that can not be disabled. Then it would be a problem to run Linux (or any other free non-certified or customized OS).

 

[ViRGE]

Originally posted by: jliechty

Originally posted by: ViRGE

Originally posted by: Ferocious
" It's no longer possible to install linux"

Something to think about I guess.

As much as I hate the TCPA, I hate FUD just as much. TCPA doesn't stop you from running "insecure" software, it stops you from running "secure" software. What it boils down to is that as security is passed along from the BIOS, to the OS, etc, everything must check out. If something seems "amiss", then it will prevent you from running programs/files requiring complete security, in order to maintain security. You would be able to however, run insecure programs in a "sandbox", although something more extravigant(device driver perhaps) that can't be sandboxed should still be able to run, but will disable your ability to run secure software. You can run Linux all you want; you just can't use an "insecure" version to run secure software. TCPA does have other uses, but to cry that it won't run Linux is nothing but straight-up FUD.

And to defend TCPA hardware like it's nothing that's going to hurt you and there's nothing to be afraid of is just as silly. The BIOS checks the OS to make sure it's ok. If TCPA has been "enabled" and the OS checks out (i.e. is a legal version of Windows, or is a [somehow miraculously] certified version of Linux), then the computer can boot. Otherwise, the OS can not be booted unless TCPA is disabled in the BIOS. Of course, as you said, programs requiring security would then not run in such an environment.

As I said before, where this becomes a problem is if the CBDTPA passes, mandating TCPA controls that can not be disabled. Then it would be a problem to run Linux (or any other free non-certified or customized OS).

If that's the case, I would worry about the CBDTPA, not the TCPA. It's not the tool that's the problem, it's the law that forces its use(Just ask P2P'ers). I don't like a forced TCPA, but as a technology(especially the sandboxing system), it's quite amazing and does have good uses.