MICROSOFT WANTS TO change the fundamental architecture of the PC, adding security hardware prior to the release of the next generation of its Windows operating system around 2004, according to a media report and an analyst briefed by the company. The Redmond, Wash.-based company wants future PCs to contain a security technology called Palladium, and is in discussion with Intel and Advanced Micro Devices to develop the chips, according to a report in the July 1 issue of Newsweek magazine published Sunday on the MSNBC Web site. Microsoft owns a stake in MSNBC. Please press read more for further info. Among possible applications of the technology are authentication of communications and code, data encryption, privacy control and digital rights management (DRM), according to the report. The system is comprised of three components, an authentication system, hardware chips and software, called the "nub," that handles the security tasks, according to Martin Reynolds, a research fellow with market analysis firm Gartner, which is based in Stamford, Conn. Reynolds was briefed on Palladium by Microsoft. The three components will work in parallel to the operating system, with security tasks shunted from the operating system to the Palladium system, rather than as an integrated part of it, he said. Palladium is a security foundation upon which to build other security features, more than a system itself, he added. As such, Palladium "is a very clever system," Reynolds said. "You can't crack it in the conventional sense." Read the rest at Info World