I’ve already written about what a bad idea trusted traveler programs are. The basic security intuition is that when you create two paths through security — an easy path and a hard path — you invite the bad guys to take the easy path. So the security of the sort process must make up for the security lost in the sorting. Trusted traveler fails this test; there are so many ways for the terrorists to get trusted traveler cards that the system makes it too easy for them to avoid the hard path through security.
Daily Archives: June 12, 2005
Miller on DRM Lock-in
Ernest Miller on Apple & Microsoft DRM (Digital Restrictions Management) Lock-in:
Look at it from Microsoft’s point of view. Every song you purchase from iTunes with Apple’s proprietary, DMCA-protected DRM is one more bit of lock-in to Apple. When you’ve got a hundred or two hundred or more of your favorite (let’s face it, you buy your favorites first) songs in iTunes format, you’ve got some significant lock-in in the form of very high switching costs. Just the way Steve Jobs likes it.
And that lock-in is growing at a rate of millions of songs every month.
Very useful post, Ernie!
More on GM Janesville
Brian Bull on GM Janesville’s prospects in light of recent statements by CEO Rick Wagner that additional plants would be closed.