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I noticed that the newer Dell business laptops have the options to select an included TPM module for an additional $30. With people saying this is going to spread to common consumer end-users in 5 years - I am really wondering if Trusted Platform will really work... Unless there is some government regulation stating all computers need TPM chips inside them - the whole Trusted Platform movement could end up being a whole lot of nothing...

NeRve wrote:

I noticed that the newer Dell business laptops have the options to select an included TPM module for an additional $30. With people saying this is going to spread to common consumer end-users in 5 years - I am really wondering if Trusted Platform will really work... Unless there is some government regulation stating all computers need TPM chips inside them - the whole Trusted Platform movement could end up being a whole lot of nothing...

Why the government?

mattsteg wrote:

NeRve wrote:

I noticed that the newer Dell business laptops have the options to select an included TPM module for an additional $30. With people saying this is going to spread to common consumer end-users in 5 years - I am really wondering if Trusted Platform will really work... Unless there is some government regulation stating all computers need TPM chips inside them - the whole Trusted Platform movement could end up being a whole lot of nothing...

Why the government?

From what I understand about TP is that an ideal situation would be when ALL computers within a network to have TPM - which then there will there be total control/security. Yet now it seems like a TPM chip is more of an optional luxury addon option - which most techno-savy consumers will not even bother getting unless they require it in a job with high-security. I just can't see this trickling down to mainstream consumer markets...

NeRve wrote:

mattsteg wrote:

NeRve wrote:

I noticed that the newer Dell business laptops have the options to select an included TPM module for an additional $30. With people saying this is going to spread to common consumer end-users in 5 years - I am really wondering if Trusted Platform will really work... Unless there is some government regulation stating all computers need TPM chips inside them - the whole Trusted Platform movement could end up being a whole lot of nothing...

Why the government?

From what I understand about TP is that an ideal situation would be when ALL computers within a network to have TPM - which then there will there be total control/security. Yet now it seems like a TPM chip is more of an optional luxury addon option - which most techno-savy consumers will not even bother getting unless they require it in a job with high-security. I just can't see this trickling down to mainstream consumer markets...

Once again, what does that have to do with the government? The vast majority of us are not on government networks. Also, there is never total control/security.

mattsteg wrote:

Once again, what does that have to do with the government? The vast majority of us are not on government networks. Also, there is never total control/security.

The government could do a mandate that every computer manufactured from 20xx and sold to US consumers be required to have a TPM chip inside (the same thing with V-Chips in TVs). Now you ask - why would they do this? It could be to instigate massive DRMs to please big media, to ensure that nobody was tries to hack the Pentagon, anti-terrorism, etc... Again this scenario is very unlikely as such a thing would only affect people in the US (any other country without TPM-mandates could have computers sold completely un-neutered.)

NeRve wrote:

mattsteg wrote:

Once again, what does that have to do with the government? The vast majority of us are not on government networks. Also, there is never total control/security.

The government could do a mandate that every computer manufactured from 20xx and sold to US consumers be required to have a TPM chip inside (the same thing with V-Chips in TVs). Now you ask - why would they do this? It could be to instigate massive DRMs to please big media, to ensure that nobody was tries to hack the Pentagon, anti-terrorism, etc... Again this scenario is very unlikely as such a thing would only affect people in the US (any other country without TPM-mandates could have computers sold completely un-neutered.)

Yet again, what does this actually do? The presence of a TPM, in itself, does nothing.

The far more likely scenario for widespread adoption is integration on Intel's chipsets.

It already has with the Dell laptops - but it seems to be an optional (more expensive) option.... TPM chips costs money and unless Intel wants to subsidize it for the consumer, it will probably be an optional chip for all future Intel boards...

NeRve wrote:

It already has with the Dell laptops - but it seems to be an optional (more expensive) option.... TPM chips costs money and unless Intel wants to subsidize it for the consumer, it will probably be an optional chip for all future Intel boards...

Do you realize how much of what's integrated into today's average southbridges started out as an added-cost add-on?

The ThinkPads have that option for a long time already, so I don't think this is something new for Dell.

If you are thinking government-mandated TPM installations with the purpose of DRM from the content owners, then yes, it may likely come in that form as shown in the now-dead CBDTPA (definitely go read up on that stuff, and may be trace the history of Hollings, this isn't the first time). We have not seen the last of that stuff that's for sure.

However, as it is, there is no law or even a concerted effort by vendors to force this on the unsuspected public. There have been some movement with TXT but that's with Intel chipsets, and I think this works with a TPM. That's not really for DRM. Intel, with Microsoft and a few others on the Trusted Computing Group, have been instead promoting authorized code execution to cut down on malware (which can be used for DRM, but that's not what they are promoting of course). That of course drew fire that can be misused to abuse monopolistic software policies, so that didn't go that far.

Intel-based Macintoshes already contain a TPM to "protect" the OS, but I think that's just for booting only.

As for the future, who really knows?

OP Do you even know why most people buy laptops with tpms in them?

thecoldanddarkone wrote:

OP Do you even know why most people buy laptops with tpms in them?

Better ask him if he even knows what he is asking. Seems like he reads something and then immediately asks stuff without doing his own homework first.