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07/18/2005 Archived Entry: "disposable PCs"

As if I needed another reason not to buy Intel, The Inquirer reports that Intel's new "digital media platform", a.k.a. East Fork, is going to be locked into Microsoft...and into Digital Rights Management.

"The transcoding will basically add DRM to anything that touches the box, preventing you from using any fair use rights, and preventing legal sharing."

Thank you, no. I'll buy AMD instead. And maybe it's time to invest in a stockpile of pre-DRM computer hardware, like I suggested buying VCRs before they disappear from store shelves. Fortunately, there may soon be a glut of used PCs. Apparently users are tossing their old PCs when infected with viruses and malware, and buying new ones, rather than try to disinfect them:

"In the face of a constant stream of pop-up ads, malfunctioning programs and performance slowed to a crawl or a crash -- the hallmarks of spyware and adware -- throwing out a computer 'is a rational response,' said Lee Rainie, director of the Pew Internet and American Life Project..."

No, here's a rational response: why not install secure and stable software on your PC, rather than an overpriced, bug-ridden, cobbled operating system whose lifetime on the Internet is measured in minutes?

No wonder Dell will no longer sell you PCs with Linux installed. The repeat business is better with Windows.  —brad