[ Thanks to Nobody for this link.
]
“The Secure Audio Path (SAP) adds “static” interference to media
files that require video and audio cards to authenticate themselves
with Windows software before they can be played. The company would
be able to verify that a media player isn’t playing an “unsecured”
file, which according to Microsoft would eliminate much of the
threat of piracy….”
“The SAP system was first included in Windows ME, and will be
bundled in Windows XP, Microsoft’s operating system that the
company is expected to describe in detail during a Tuesday press
conference.”
“Microsoft has engineered its operating systems to check for SAP
before passing the files on to any device, such as a
soundcard….”
“By controlling the SAP, Microsoft could conceivably drag its
feet when it came time to authenticate a soundcard developed by
Linux engineers, Weekly wrote. He speculated that if Microsoft gets
what it feels is sufficient market penetration, the company could
begin charging content companies every time they wanted to encode
music or videos for play on Windows computers.”