wrt the so called privacy advocates--
There are lots more ways to track unsuspecting consumer then using the CPU ID in a PentiumIII. These groups like Junkbusters and EPIC have had a very hard time getting their name in the paper on Internet privacy until Intel came along. Now that Intel is here, they are going to grab on hard.
The bottom line is IT managers like this feature for asset management and tracking. Consumers will most likely leave it turned off until they want to use it as another form of authentication (not the only form) when shopping, investing, or banking online... or when someone offers an incentive to use it (discounts for example). Consumers are already being tracked while online, and the CPU ID will neither enhance this or reduce it... only more education for the users, and knowing who your visiting will reduce it.
Of course, if you want to buy any item that is not "bits" then you will need to give a shipping address and most likely a credit card (yes there is cybercash, but they still have to ship the stuff) which is a sure way to track you.
If you're embarrassed about who's going to find out about your "weird" buying habits, I suggest that you go to the bank machine and get some cash and go across town to shop where you will not be recognized. Me, I'll place my orders online and feel better about it when I can tell the merchant to look for my CPU ID in addition to my password. And for all of you who will start screaming that I am locked to one machine... I can always instruct the merchant to ask a few more authentication questions when I'm away from my own machine... it's all about making it easier and more secure for me.
So, if you support the rights of the consumer, write you congressman and tell him/her to let Intel give you another form of authentication that you control. You can also write to consumer groups, magazines and newspapers if you choose. Just don't sit back and let a small handful of people tell the world that you're too stupid to have a CPU ID feature.
Nitt |
