[DMCA-Activists] Phoenix Developing DRM-Equipped BIOS

[Seth Johnson]

(Forwarded from NY Fair Use Discussion list; originally forwarded from Pho
list.  -- Seth)

-------- Original Message --------
Subject: [fairuse-discuss] pho: Phoenix Developing DRM-Equipped BIOS  (fwd)
Date: Wed, 3 Sep 2003 23:32:59 -0400 (EDT)
From: Jay Sulzberger <address@hidden>
Reply-To: address@hidden
To: address@hidden



 ---------- Forwarded message ----------
 Date: Wed, 3 Sep 2003 22:16:31 -0400
 From: Shawn Yeager <address@hidden>
 To: address@hidden
 Subject: pho: Phoenix Developing DRM-Equipped BIOS

 One more step toward Wintel vs. Apple becoming a choice of total
 lockdown versus (only slightly limited) freedom. It should also put
 some fire under initiatives like OpenBIOS <http://www.openbios.info/>
 so that Linux doesn't find the BIOS it sits has become subterfuge.

 <http://www.extremetech.com/article2/0,3973,1237519,00.asp>

 Shawn

 --

 shawnyeager.com
 +1 416 305 4142


 Phoenix Developing DRM-Equipped BIOS
 By Mark Hachman

 BIOS maker Phoenix Technologies said it is currently shopping a
 digital-rights-enabled BIOS system to top PC OEMs, the most aggressive
 use of DRM technology to date.

 Phoenix executives said Wednesday that they've developed a prototype
 version of its Core Management Environment (cME) using DRM technology
 in conjunction with Orbid Corp., a DRM technology provider. The
 software was designed to assist content providers to authenticate and
 track software moving from PC to PC.

 Although DRM technology has moved steadily forward, consumers have had
 some choice whether to implement it. Selected software providers in
 various markets, such as Intuit and Macromedia, have chosen to
 implement DRM, allowing consumers to choose DRM-less alternatives.

 Phoenix's efforts, however, represent a more fundamental sea change.
 Phoenix is a manufacturer of BIOS software, the underlying code which
 ties together a PC's operating system and the system hardware. Since a
 personal computer must have BIOS installed to boot, a user could be
 forced to use the DRM technology whether he or she chooses to or not.

 The final version of the cME is due to launch in the fourth quarter,
 Timothy D. Eades, senior vice-president of corporate marketing for
 Phoenix, said in an interview.

 Phoenix's customers include four out of the top five PC OEMs. Dell
 Computer uses a heavily-modified Phoenix BIOS from 1988 on its
 notebooks and desktops, a Dell spokesman confirmed, and Phoenix BIOSes
 have appeared in Pavilion desktops and notebooks from Hewlett-Packard.

 The Phoenix-Orbid deal was designed to allow content providers the
 ability to "track and trace" content which might be shared from one
 user to the next, Eades said.

 "DRM seems to be becoming a bigger and bigger issue, particularly
 in…entertainment," Eades said. "Track and trace downloads and the
 authentication of those downloads is a big issue, but a number of
 companies do that. Track and trace of a particular solution, however,
 is done by very few companies."

 The Orbid DRM software will be built into the cME, which provides an
 enhanced BIOS that allows greater interaction with the operating
 system. While the cME isn't directly a part of Microsoft's
 Next-Generation Secure Computing Base (NGSCB), known previously as
 Palladium, Eades said the technology is "complementary".

 Orbid's 4DRM software creates a secure area to store public keys, which
 can be used to tie any file to that specific PC. The 4DRM system
 creates a unique identifier for both the content as well as the system,
 allowing the content providers to manage the content on a user's PC.
 Orbid previously developed "watermarking" solutions to identify content
 and prevent it from being distributed or copied, which it calls "gray
 trading".

 Phoenix and Orbid have created a working version of the software that
 Phoenix is now demonstrating for its OEM customers, Eades said. The DRM
 software will be shipped as a default option inside the cME package.
 "It's up to the OEM whether or not to insert it on the machine," he
 said. "We are offering it as a default option and it's up to them to
 remove it."

 An OEM will also have to decide whether or not to allow an end user to
 turn the DRM feature off, Eades said.

 Whether or not OEMs will adopt the new technology remains to be seen.
 Microsoft's NGSCB technology is currently tied to Longhorn, Microsoft's
 OS revision due in about two year's time.

 At Dell, the company purchased a BIOS solution from Phoenix in 1988,
 and since then has assigned Dell engineers to update it with support
 for the latest hardware, a spokesman said. "We make it pretty clear
 that Dell writes the BIOS for a particular system," he said.

 Intel ships BIOSes designed by Phoenix rival AMI with its desktop
 motherboards, an Intel spokesman said. Intel will discuss its own
 security solution, LaGrande, at its Intel Developer Forum in two weeks'
 time.

 The Phoenix software could also turn up in consumer electronics
 devices. Phoenix has relationships with several consumer electronics
 manufacturers, including Pioneer and Matsushita, which have announced
 that they will use embedded versions of the Phoenix software in their
 next-generation televisions. Other CE customers include Sony and
 Toshiba, Eades said.

 "Initial customer feedback from the entertainment industry in general
 has been very favorable," Eades added.


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