Developer preview models of Apple"s forthcoming Intel-powered computer contain a security chip that has come under fire for its ability to compromise the privacy of users. Apple recently started shipping Developer Transition Kits that help developers test and prepare software for the switch to the Intel-powered computers next year. The kit contains a version of OS X for Intel, and a Mac computer featuring an Intel processor.
The computer features a security chip called the Trusted Platform Module (TPM), an open industry standard governed by the not-for-profit Trusted Computing Group which develops security standards. The chip"s inclusion with the Apple hardware does not come as a complete surprise. It has been previously suggested that Apple could use the TPM to prevent computer users installing the OS X operating system on a non-Mac computer.