Content in lockdown – An unbreakable link between media and its delivery end point is near – InfoWorld.com: I’m increasingly aghast at the erosion of the traditional freedom we’ve enjoyed to do whatever we please with our personal computers — but intrigued by the science behind it.
My latest revelation came during a recent visit to AMD for a day of briefings. During that visit, I got the briefest of updates on ATI’s new GPU technology. It will ship with software that plays movies on Blu-ray discs. The AMD rep spelled it out in words that would have been undiplomatic coming from me: He said that the new chips will “block unauthorized access to the frame buffer.” In short, that means an unauthorized party can’t save the contents of the display to a file on disk unless the content owner approves it.
There is a short list of parties who will be unauthorized to access your frame buffer: You. There is a long list of parties who are authorized to access your frame buffer, and that list includes Microsoft, Apple, AMD, Intel, ATI, NVidia, Sony Pictures, Paramount, HBO, CBS, Macrovision, and all other content owners and enablers that want your machine to themselves whenever you’re watching, listening to, reading, or shooting monsters with their products.
Just to let you guys know, I will NOT be buying anything that puts limits on content that I have legally bought. When will companies realize that treating customers like criminals doesn’t work? EMI realized this and is finally putting out music without DRM. Kudos to them. I’m planning on buying some of their music just because they’ve started treating customers like people.
Two thoughts
1: How long it will be before some kid cracks it?
2: While that happens, users simply will tend to move towards open, DRM-free systems, and avoid difficult to play content. We will not be able to watch the last from Tom Cruise … so?
Hmmm… Implemented in hardware?
$10 someone with a good linux install will break this supposed hardware implementation within 6 months of release BUT someone with Vista will be stuck for much longer – if not forever.
Combine this with the imminent demise of XP and you have yet another reason to dump M$ from your computer.
As much as I enjoy my normal user experience in XP and don’t really want to learn how to fully use Linux (choose your version – I choose Ubuntu), I feel I have no choice but to AT LEAST create a dual boot Linux machine on my next computer, whenver I make that.
Let me sum up, Microsoft, content creators and now unfortunately, AMD, once a rebel bastion of computing freedom, are shooting themselves in the foot. They are killing their own software and hardware.
Do these guys work for Bush? They are so stupid!
Which is why Intel will rule the world … hahaha
“There is a short list of parties who will be unauthorized to access your frame buffer”…. That’s interesting. Who’s on the short-list?
I want to know if this plan is O.S. specific (I’m guessing not). Also, does this only preclude you from getting a screenshot of video or other protected content or would it also include web pages, etc.
Instead of participating in a reasonable review of (or support for) Fair Use, AMD, like M$oft, caves in to their country club buddies from the MPAA by designing a product allowing no alternatives to DRM. Just one more corporate thug who will not get my willing support and hard-earned dollars.
I see a great future for non-Intel/AMD CPU manufacturers in the future.
The death blow to AMD has been delivered.
They can pry my framebuffer from my cold dead hands
AMD’s largest boosters have always been techies — the same group who are DRMs biggest bashers. Talk about gratitude! Can VIA build and market a hot stuff processor? If so I’m a willing customer.
And I liked AMD … they had better, cheaper processors … for a bit – now Intel has the Core2, and AMD is baking in DRM – fun …
AMD can kiss their world goodbye.
DRM built in… boy I can hardly wait for their spiffy marketing spin on this rubbish! “It’s like trusted-computing only better!” 🙂
Well I know I won’t be buying an AMD chip or ATI card in the future, though I’m sure Intel will follow suit. The customer is just constantly watching any control over his stuff disappear.
sufficient reason to never buy AMD again
So what’s the alternative to DRM? Unfettered stealing of creative content? I remember a million years ago when I first stumbled upon Napster. My first thought was “this is the single greatest computer app of all time”. And my second thought was “ohmigod…this is stealing. Why would anyone ever buy a CD again?” And then…why would anyone ever CREATE a CD again if there was no financial reward. We belittle DRM and yet it is an extraordinarily complicted matter and anarchy is really not an answer.
I am a long time AMD and ATI customer but after reading this I will definitely be buying Intel and Nvidia. Exactly who would be dumb enough to buy into this new technology?
And this will be hacked in….already been hacked.
R.I.P – AMD – 1969 – 2007, it passed away suddenly when it caught a severe case of DRM. it will be long remembered.
4. I have built and repaired THOUSANDS of computers. AMD was certainly not better than INTEL, cheaper yes, never better, always slower, always. Maybe they excelled in gaming, but I wouldnt know, or care, becuase its business support that makes the rent.
I would never believe AMD the next time they blame Intel for their slow sales.
AMD will be dead to me…
Does anyone know where Intel stands on this issue?
Not too many years ago, fair use of big studio movies was deemed to be: you go to the theater, give them money, then give them twice as much money to buy popcorn and a coke. Period. You wanted to see it again. Back to the theater and repeat.
Maybe it would be best, certainly for we consumers, if we reverted back to those heady days for the movie moguls.
Let’s see if they can survive that business model again.
I’d like to do the same to AMD and Microsoft. Return to the good old pencil, paper and analog days. Fair use is a joke. It’s fair only for the people who sell you the product. If I can’t copy something I bought, to be put away for safe keeping, or to be used on another piece of equipment I also bought, the heck with them. That’s not stealing…it’s my fair use.
Don’t all jump on the Intel bandwagon at once, dear lemmings. Remember VIIV (Jan 2006)? Don’t think for a second that Intel isn’t all over the same type of technology.
Since I’m not a hardware guy, does anybody know if a BIOS hack could get around this? Perhaps some homegrown software available for download could pose as the MPAA / RIAA. I would hate to believe this is completely unhackable. If so, most above posts are correct — adios AMD.
If it is hackable, AMD (like M$) can just say “Well, we tried” and keep kissing Hollywood’s butt.
Note: Wonder how many CPU cycles this nonsense takes?
Correct me if I’m wrong, I didn’t read the whole thing, but I think they are talking about GPU and not CPU …..
By the way this new spam filter sucks!!!
Good thing we have China and its infrastructure to create non DRM implementing hardware products. Sorry USA.
How much is land at the 49th parallel in China?
Hmm.. prolly no property rights…
Yet
I remember when Intel first put a serial number in their chips (Pentium I think) and the outcry was so overwhelming that they disabled it shortly thereafter. This was such a big deal back then that even the mainstream media was all over it.
Today, however, I fully expect that the consumers will roll over yet again and put up with this crap.
Can someone please tell me why all the hardware manufacturers feel beholden to the content producers?
America’s only export any more is crappy entertainment content and we have to do everything we can to protect it.