 Microsoft moves to integrate Windows with
BIOS
October 3, 2003- May 2008
A deal with BIOS maker Phoenix Technologies would allow the
operating system to directly control hardware. It also raises
concerns over who controls the software in PCs
Microsoft has expanded its relationship with BIOS maker
Phoenix Technologies in a deal designed to more closely
integrate the basic building blocks of the PC with the Windows
operating system.
The relationship, announced this week, is designed to make PCs
simpler and more reliable, the companies said. The move is
likely to put consumer rights advocates on their guard,
however, since both Microsoft and Phoenix are involved in
plans to integrate digital rights management (DRM) technology
at the operating system and hardware level. DRM is designed to
give copyright owners more control over how users make use of
software and content, but has been criticized as eroding
consumer rights.
A BIOS, or basic input/output system, is the software that
ties the operating system to a PC's hardware. Traditionally,
it has carried out basic tasks such as hardware and system
configuration, and has been standardized and simple enough to
allow the installation of alternative operating systems,
including Linux.
Phoenix's Core System Software (CSS) is a next-generation BIOS
with a more sophisticated integration of operating system and
hardware, for example making it easier for system
administrators to remotely monitor the hardware configurations
of their systems. CSS is designed for non-PC systems such as
blade servers and embedded industrial devices as well as
traditional desktops.
Microsoft said integration should mean simpler and more
reliable computers. "This is a pivotal change for the
industry, and it will rapidly advance serviceability,
deployment, and management for servers, mobile devices, and
desktops," said Microsoft general manager of Windows hardware
Tom Phillips, in a statement. "Effectively, Phoenix is
creating an entirely new category of system software."
Microsoft said the next-generation BIOS would allow future
versions of Windows to manage server blades when they are
connected to a system, without needing to be turned on. The
BIOS would also allow better control of unauthorized devices
connected to a system, Microsoft said.
Phoenix is one of the biggest BIOS providers, its customers
including four of the top five PC manufacturers. Its products
are also used by consumer electronics makers such as Pioneer,
Matsushita, Sony and Toshiba.
Both Microsoft and Phoenix are currently arguing for closer
integration of Windows with PC hardware, and DRM integrated
throughout. Microsoft is planning to tie Windows DRM features
to the hardware platform via its controversial Next Generation
Secure Computing Base (NGSCB) project, formerly known as
Palladium. NGSCB is associated with the next version of
Windows, code-named Longhorn, which is due in about two years'
time.
Phoenix recently said it is touting round a BIOS with built-in
DRM technology to major PC manufacturers. In September the
company said it had developed a prototype of its Core
Management Engine (CME) including DRM from Orbid. The DRM
technology would allow content providers to identify which PCs
and devices were authorized to play particular files, more
effectively controlling content distribution, file-trading and
moving software from one machine to another, according to
Phoenix.
Phoenix said the DRM-enabled CME was not part of Microsoft's
NGSCB, but that the technology was complementary. The CME
would allow PC makers to embed digital rights management
directly into the hardware, though they would have the option
of allowing users to turn it off.
Consumer electronics makers are particularly interested in the
technology, according to Phoenix.
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