Apple uses Trusted Computing techniques in its Intel dev kit
Not that it should come as any huge surprise, but apparently recipients of the Apple Intel Developer Kit DVD (which has been "officially" leaked, and is on all the big torrent sites as we speak) have discovered that portions of Rosetta do in fact use trusted computing techniques to ensure system integrity. Users have already begun on making workarounds, but if you're familiar with trusted computing, you know that workarounds are only very temporary once the wheels of the system get rolling. For those uninitiated with "trusted computing" and its many distracting monickers (Trusted Platform Module [TPM], Palladium, Next-Generation Secure Computing Base [NGSCB], LaGrande Technology (LT), Secure Execution Mode (SEM), Transmeta Security eXtensions (TSX), Embedded Security Subsystem, ThinkVantage Technology, SafeKeeper, Super I/O, Core Managed Environment (CME), FirstWare Vault, ProtectTools, ActiveArmor, Padlock, etc.), it's basically a hardware-based encryption mechanism that affords software and hardware companies complete and total control over what software does and does not run on "your" machine. Besides making it theoretically impossible for viruses to infect your machine, it also makes it theoretically possible for Microsoft to say, flip the switch off on any/all open-source software, or in this case, for Apple to disallow x86 OS X to run on non-developer machines.
[Via slashdot]
