Mac OS only on Apple’s x86’s?
Apple announced a few months ago that they are planning on switching from Motorola’s PowerPC processors to Intel’s x86 processors. Today, we have a demonstration from ZDNet of OS X running on a Toshiba laptop with an x86 processor.
Their article mentions that Apple’s intent is that the Mac OS will be “bound directly to the hardware by a special security chip,” says ZDNet. What I’m wondering is why Apple is adding the security chip when they know that it won’t work. Just as the DRM encumbering songs from the iTunes store is cracked rapidly and repeatedly, Apple must expect that their security chip will be quickly circumvented.
Why bother? The security chip cuts into their profits– is it supposed to act as a symbolic deterrent?