AMD attempts to "shoot the messenger" over Palladium

Dear INQUIRER

I saw the comments on your site and thought I'd throw some more in to balance things.

See AMD's Opteron won't reject unlicensed content

I didn't make a mistake in attributing comments to Moorhead that he didn't make.

See Bit by bit, digital freedom disappears.

If you go through the original article line by line you will see that comments that he made are attributed to him, other background information is added to give context as is standard practice in reporting any complex technical issue.

Paraphrasing of my reporting may have muddied the waters, but I assume most smart readers will go back to the source.

Regardless, AMD is trying to confuse the issue with "spin" by shooting the messenger. Nowhere does the article say that Opteron will run only Palladium-enabled content:

"But it will also refuse to play *certain* (emphasis added) content if it is not digitally signed by Microsoft or an authorised party."

This is the whole basis of the TCPA's digital rights management trusted >systems at the core of Palladium and is not in dispute.

And as you also point out, the original article quoted Moorhead saying it will be "opt in":

"But he says AMD believes that these technologies should be "opt-in" -- that the user should control it -- not government mandates."

There is no discrepancy here.

But the interesting thing is AMD has not denied that Opteron will be TCPA-enabled. During questioning over Palladium and trust, an issue which Moorhead said analysts told him was the "number one issue driving this technology gap", AMD tried to suspend questioning.

When I asked Pat Moorhead would anything cause AMD to reconsider adding TCPA functions, he said: "It's not (a case of) considering or not considering. I think we're committed to protecting the trust of privacy and trust of the end user because that's what they want."

Earlier he said that consumers can't get access to content because there is no digital rights management to protect the owners of intellectual property such as films and music.

"We're getting our information based on a) market research and also people who are interacting with them. The Metafacts study found 40 per cent of all people who have a computer their biggest issue is trust, next to price.

"I would like to separate the issue of trust, DRM and security. AMD strongly takes a stand that these technologies should be opt in, the user should control it. The government should not be mandating innovation, that's the Soviet model, I've never seen that work. We're fairly active in lobbying that the government should be staying out of this debate.

"The end user has been unfairly branded that everyone wants to steal content. The reality is the record and movie industry have the most to gain from these technologies. Their business models are 100 years old, they have the most to gain. What we're seeing play out in the audio industry is quite good with sites like Pressplay using DRM solutions that will give the user choice there. The whole Palladium concept is not about DRM, but to keep nasty viruses off their computers and their information private.

"Throwing out DRM means people won't get access to great content.

"I fundamentally disagree that users (don't want DRM). Users are willing to pay for content and I believe they are fair. There needs to be a tracking mechanism to know where it's (content) going.

"The fundamental thing is I don't believe the content will be available to end users unless there is some sort of DRM in place and in music there are solutions for that. At the end of the day the end user is given the right to say yes or no.

"It's hard to talk about Palladium because its 3-4 years away. If you believe that users want access to content in an easy to use manner there needs to be technology put in place to deliver that like PressPlay. (eg when DVD burners become widespread).

"The end user is penalized if content is not made available. Palladium and TCPA are two separate elements.

"From an advocacy role we are developing a privacy policy neutral and to ensure that at the end of the day there is an opt-out ability."

I hope this puts the information back into its correct, and original, light.

Regards
Nathan Cochrane
Deputy IT Editor
The Age and Sydney Morning Herald
The Age