Currently, some of the issues surrounding Palladium--how digital-rights management will be applied to e-mail and media files, Palladium's apparent ability to block spam, and the reaction of the public and of PC and consumer-electronics companies--are simply not known. Executives said they've tried to factor in all of these concerns in what will undoubtedly be an intensely sensitive issue.

Privacy is a top concern of the Palladium initiative, AMD's Strongin said. When Intel tried to place a unique identification string within its Pentium CPUs, privacy advocates were outraged at the potential ability of a Web site to discover exactly who was accessing it, rather than getting access only to a semi-anonymous IP address.

Strongin originally said that the Palladium policy would be opt-out rather than opt-in, but changed his stance when asked for clarification.

"We're neutral on opt-in or opt-out," he said. "It's very fundamentally different than when the Pentium processor contained a serial number that was open and accessible. (In Palladium), when you have things turned on any ID is cryptographically protected, and is not identifiable to the Web."

But Strongin also said he hoped that security and privacy were not mutually exclusive. AMD is a member of the ISTPA, he said. "We are extraordinarily sensitive to privacy issues, and the missteps in this space," he said. "All that is forewarned and forearmed... When you turn cookies off you have a lousy Web browsing experience. The key is to have cookies on, have good privacy and be protected from attacks that exploit cookies."

Additionally, Microsoft has been involved in the TCPA, along with partners such as Compaq, Hewlett-Packard, Intel and IBM, for several years. According to the mission statement posted at the TCPA Web site, the alliance's goal is to "drive and implement TCPA specifications for an enhanced HW- and OS-based trusted computing platform that implements trust into client, server, networking, and communication platforms." There are over 170 member companies in the TCPA, and regular meetings. However, Microsoft's Juarez is quick to emphasize that Palladium is a much more forward-looking effort for the company than anything that's gone before, for Microsoft. "This is not TCPA," says Juarez. "This is a forward looking thing that's very much designed to meet needs tomorrow, as the world becomes more interconnected. This initiative won't reach full steam tomorrow or next year, but Palladium will be built into a future version of Windows. It's too early to say specifically when that will happen." Juarez also says Microsoft continues to believe in the goals of the TCPA, and characterizes Palladium as a complementary effort.