Power Technology offers Pentium ID alternative

Power Technology has introduced a proprietary identification scheme for Pentium chips that it says provides an alternative to the ID capability Intel plans for its Pentium III processors, without unnecessary intrusions on users' privacy.

A manufacturer of DSP-based PC software and hardware products, Power Tech's IP-Safe functions with all current Pentium and Pentium type processors, and will support the new Pentium III processor - even if the user has turned off Intel's electronic serial number.

IP-Safe creates a unique machine ID for each particular user's Pentium type processor and motherboard combination. Officials say the user's ID "is sufficiently unique to support software and content copy protection, but not so unique that it fully identifies a particular user, thus eliminating concerns over loss of privacy."

Additional information is available online at http://www.power-t.com .