Following the ruling against Napster earlier this week, Microsoft has introduced a new digital
media security solution dubbed Secure Audio Pathway (SAP). What this aims to do is force Windows
Media Player to only play files that have been authorized to do so by the content owner.
This functionality first appeared in Windows ME and will be bundled in Microsoft's next consumer
OS release, Windows XP, formerly Whistler. (According to Microsoft the XP stands for "Experience,"
as in the greater experience it's suppose to give users. A more accurate description would be the
"pain-in-the-ass" experience it's going to create when users see their systems crash and when
they have to download bug patches every week. But that's another story.).
Microsoft's operating system will basically force Windows Media Player to check for a SAP before
it passes the audio or video file (that requires video and audio cards to authenticate them)
on to any device. If there's no authentication then the media won't get sent on to, for example,
the sound card and it won't play.
By performing this check beforehand, Windows Media Player can verify whether or not the media
it's playing is secured and authorized or not.
There's nothing to worry about right now as the SAP function is currently turned off, but once
the unsuspecting public embraces Windows Media Player above all other players and Microsoft dominates
this field, like it currently does in the OS arena, then the company will simply flip the switch
to activate it. Once that's done, Windows Media Player will only play files that have been signed
by the yet to be named authority.
Since no other company will be able to build their content protection technologies on top of
SAP, Microsoft will end up controling and dictating which way the technology will develop. According
to Microsoft, because the "Secure Audio Pathway is a component of Windows," it will only work "with
Windows Media technology in order to keep the system truly secure."
As for whether or not there will be a charge to content providers to encrypt their media,
Microsoft hasn't decided.
What's scary is if Microsoft dominates in this area of content distribution and playback. In order
for an encrypted file to play, Microsoft has to approve the driver for your soundcard and videocard
and sign it. Without the signed driver, the file simply won't play. Therefore, Microsoft could
end up controlling what hardware it will allow to run under Windows, as if Microsoft doesn't
already have enough of a control on the market.