News
Microsoft Unveils Palladium
- By Scott Bekker
- 06/25/2002
Microsoft is working with hardware companies to get security hardware into new systems to be used by a future version of Windows, possibly the Longhorn release, according to published reports.
Microsoft officials told Newsweek that they are working on a project code-named Palladium that is a Microsoft-only feature of the operating system that would interact with security hardware to provide encryption, virus protection, spam blocking and privacy protection.
According to Newsweek, Intel and AMD have signed on, and Microsoft is working on selling PC makers on the idea, which would add to the cost of making computers.
If the plan gets momentum, it could still be awhile before the chips are ubiquitous enough to change users' experiences. For one thing, the Longhorn release won't ship until at least 2004 and recent indications are that it could be later than that.
For another: “We have to ship 100 million of these before it really makes a difference,” Microsoft vice president Will Poole told Newsweek.
About the Author
Scott Bekker is editor in chief of Redmond Channel Partner magazine.