“The Insider technology is a chip feature that unlocks high-definition movies from online streaming services,” Shah reports. “Controversy has dogged the technology, with audience members at the Consumer Electronics Show saying Intel may be trying to gain control over online movies by requiring users to have Sandy Bridge processors.”
“But Intel defended the technology, saying the company is trying to provide a security layer that will encourage studios to stream high-definition movies to PCs instead of keeping them locked,” Shah reports. “The Insider technology establishes a secure connection between streaming services and PCs with new Core i3, i5 or i7 chips, which are based on the Sandy Bridge architecture. The latest processors, launched at CES on Wednesday, have specialized authentication and encryption hardware and firmware to establish the secure connection.”
Shah reports, “But Insider is not intended to be digital rights management technology, and it is not intended to limit the availability of content to users, said Josh Newman, graphics marketing director at Intel… Studios don’t have to implement Insider technology to stream 1080p movies, but they are choosing the hardened security at the hardware level, Intel’s Newman said. He did not comment on licensing the technology to other chip makers, or whether Insider technology would be implemented on other chips.”
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MacDailyNews Take: Misguided digital restrictions management by any other name is still misguided digital restrictions management.