Apple Drops Trusted Computing

Sam,

Essentially what TPM provides is the ability for content owners (either individual users or corporations) to control on what machines and with which applications (and even which users) can access files. The most obvious use-case for TPM would be Apple putting something into OS X which checks to see that the proper TPM chip is present on the motherboard (thus ensuring that it is an Apple machine) before booting the system. Additionally, content with DRM can more easily be locked to individual hardware devices.

What Amit did was create a program which allowed individual users to protect their own files with TPM. So, for instance, I could specify that I only want hello_world.txt to be able to open in Text Edit and only on my PowerBook, and only when I'm logged in.

Hope this helps,
Dan

Through true, Nicholas, the risk remains that content accessed on the machine could be restricted with the same technology. Considering the hard push for more DRM in the developing digital marketplace it would only be a matter of time before the hardware would be used to restrict or withhold access. Cory makes a good point in his BoingBoing post, if Apple had promised that the chip was for user security and not to exert control over the user's machine, then the inclusion of TPM would be a boon for privacy and security.

I read through Amit's page on the TPM, but the purposes of enabling the chip were still fairly abstract to me. Can anyone explain in simple english the benefits of using the chip?

Can you hardware encrypt your whole hard drive, or just use it to encrypt some files? For the benefit of those who are not familiar with advanced security methods, an explanation might be beneficial.

This doesn't seem to be a good thing, unless one really is paranoid. The TPM offered the hope of several useful functions, including one avenue by which a computer owner could ensure that only authorized software runs. While these uses have yet to materialise in the real world, a properly implemented hardware approach to security will offer end-user benefits and is not something always to be condemned.