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To thwart hackers and foster online commerce, the next generation of computers will almost certainly cede some control to software firms, Hollywood and other outsiders.

That could break a long-standing tenet of computing: that PC owners ultimately control data on their own machines.
Microsoft calls its technology "Palladium." Intel dubs it "LaGrande." An industry group that includes these companies, IBM, Hewlett-Packard and 170 others terms it "trusted computing."

Though the initiatives have technical differences, they share the goal of hardwiring security into silicon and related software — a leap beyond today's less-secure mechanisms, which are coded into programs to protect data.
"This is a fundamentally new approach as opposed to taking a software-only, Band-Aid approach," said Narendar Sahgal, a software planning manager at Intel.


The efforts would help protect movies and other digital content from piracy and even personal copying, and critics see few benefits for consumers.
"I don't think the kind of trustworthiness they seek to deliver is at all desirable," said Ross Anderson, a security researcher at Cambridge University. "It's not security for me. It's security for them."

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News source: Yahoo Tech News

But he believes "there is a growing trend for more external contacts -- for example remote or virtual sales forces. You can spend less money on a sales force by giving them the Web. They can share visuals on products and services."

Today, he added, "pretty much everyone is sitting at a desk and has Internet access," so arranging an electronic sales call with video and audio is likely to become more common.

He admits that "nothing replaces the quality of a face-to-face meeting," but he also believes that travel has become less of a priority within some companies since the events of Sept. 11, and people are looking for alternatives realizing that "work is not the No. 1 priority, when you can spend time with your family."

Gadi Tamari, chief executive officer for RADVISION Ltd., a New Jersey-based company that calls itself one of the industry's leading providers of products and technologies for videoconferencing and related services, says "80 percent of communications in big companies are inside those big companies and most of the travel is also within those companies, site to site.

"So if you want to save money you definitely can do it with video communication using their own networks ... putting applications right on top of existing networks. This was a dream but now it a dream of necessity," he added.

The fixed-site conferencing centers that must be booked in advance and require participants to leave their desks to participate are likely to become "dinosaurs," he added.

"The single biggest problem is do we really feel comfortable with electronic communication? Is it really replacing person-to-person meetings? Not completely. It really isn't the best way but maybe you meet the first time in person and then you can follow up with electronic conferencing."

Adding a desktop camera and audio to existing intranet systems allows for meetings with far-flung colleagues with the tap of a key on an instant messaging icon or other path, he said.

Sue Soares, director of teleconference services at AT&T adds: "I think the technology is going to get even more user friendly and I think we'll see this trend continue. We see that part of our business growing well."

More on RADVISION can be found at http://www.radvision.com while information on Genesys, which originated in France and has its U.S. headquarters in Colorado, is at http://www.genesys.com.

On a related topic a recent study found that the 10 cheapest major U.S. cities in which to hold a meeting were, in order beginning with the least expensive: Jacksonville, Florida, Indianapolis, Atlanta, Tucson, Arizona, Dallas, Salt Lake City, Chicago, New Orleans, Tampa, Florida, and Philadelphia.

The survey, conducted by GetThere, which provides online booking technology, looked at the 50 biggest cities and the cost estimates were made calculating the expense of sending 100 people to a three-day autumn meeting at a four-star hotel with 21-day advance purchase air fare and estimated food, beverage and meeting facility costs.