Norman, it hurts to hear you complaining about how slow your 33K modem is, since I'm still operating at 28.8. Oh, well. Anyway, welcome aboard our little ship -- sorry that the welcome hasn't been more...welcoming, but obviously things have sort of crazy lately.
So here's a further stab at your questions. First, the serial number that Intel is punching into the hardware is just a number. It's nothing more, so it doesn't do any of the stuff that Embassy does. In fact, the whole complaint about that number is that it's not secure, it would be (if not turned off) accessible to anyone who wanted it. Now, if it were stored in Embassy it would be a different story. Bottom line: having this serial number on the processor chip doesn't have a whole lot of bearing on the metering/security functions of Embassy.
Next question. Intel cannot provide the same functions that Embassy provides for one big reasons: patents. WAVX has patents on metering of digital information and on digital broadcasting which the company states (and there is little reason to doubt it) are very solid. Now, there are some functions of Embassy which Intel could put on a chip -- most obviously the encryption/decryption functions. But even if they did this we have several advantages. First, Embassy is already available. Second, it's got export aproval.
I hope that helps. I think I've got this more or less right. I'm sure that someone else will correct me if I haven't. |
