Jules,
January 25, 1999
Intel Alters Chip After Boycott Threat
By JERI CLAUSING
ntel Corp., facing a boycott by privacy advocates who fear its new computer chips will make it easy for online marketers and others to track consumers on the Internet, on Monday announced plans to alter its new technology.
A company spokesman, Tom Waldrop, said that the software for the new Pentium III computer processing chips that contains an identifying serial number will be changed so that the identification system is automatically disabled unless the computer user voluntarily turns it on.
The company will also offer free software to allow customers to easily turn off the feature permanently, the company said.
"Privacy groups had raised a concern that the fact that the user would have to turn it off, even though it's a pretty easy process, was something they felt was not optimal," Waldrop said. "What we are going to do is go a step further, make it so that the control will by default turn off the processor serial number, unless you tell it you want it on."
Marc Rotenberg, executive director of the Electronic Privacy Information Center, which along with a group called Junkbusters Inc., organized the Intel boycott that was announced on Monday, said "It looks like we won Round 1."
However, he said, much said more needed to be done.
"They've got a software patch. It's a temporary fix. It can be as easily disabled as enabled. It can disappear in future version. It can be turned off by network managers or Web sites," Rotenberg said. "There's not enough assurances here that the chip will not be misused.
"It's important for consumers to look at what's inside Intel."
Gee..... You don't think that's Phoenix Inside do you?
Hope your day went well. That RMDY looks very strong.
Marc |
