There has been a great deal of buzz in the tech media this week about Palladium, Microsoft's new long term project that yearns to fundamentally change the architecture of the PC with the stated goal of improving security. With partners like AMD and Intel already signed on to the project, Microsoft pundits see this as the final step toward complete domination of the technological landscape by Ballmer and company.

What happens when one of the world's largest software manufacturers releases plans via a glowing mainstream news outlet article to develop an entirely new architecture designed to improve security? What if that company is Microsoft, consistently known to be one of the least security conscious companies over the last decade?

The idea is this: This new architecture would see a new security chip used for encryption added to PCs (and other devices), along with new APIs (Application-Program Interfaces) designed to let applications to be written to take advantage of Palladium. Palladium may also cover chipsets, graphics processors and USB (Universal Serial Bus) input/output systems, according to Mario Juarez, group product manager for the content security business unit at Microsoft, in this infoworld article. The Palladium technology would paste a digital certificate on every byte of data and PC on the web, then encrypt the data on the processor level. Some media outlets are assuming Palladium is the code name for a new Microsoft OS, but it's obviously a much broader initiative.

It's a somewhat scary proposition, even by those who generally don't hate Microsoft. The web has sprung up with no shortage of critics for the new technology, this commentary by ZDNET standing as a fairly standard reaction to the new plan. Others like Robert Cringely go into a bit more detail, poking at the shiny exterior to get to the real goal of the technology. Once Cringely gets done being impressed with himself, he makes a frightening point that Microsoft's true goal is to replace TCP/IP with a "more secure" MS designed protocol.

Cringley goes on to suggest that the best way to trick consumers into switching to the new protocol, would be to release a flurry of TCP/IP exploits onto the web, faulting current technology for the security lapse, and shortly thereafter announcing "a better way". Cringely is obviously on one side of the see-saw of opinion, but take a brief tour of the Palladium coverage on the web, and you'll see he's certainly not alone.

The question exists then: Perhaps a new security architecture IS a good idea, but is Microsoft the company that should be developing it? Microsoft's track record of shifty behavior isn't getting any cleaner. The most recent example is a Microsoft triggered raid of a game development house named Mindark. Microsoft urged local Sweden court officials to raid the software developer looking for rogue, unlicensed copies of Microsoft products. At first glimpse this seems like simply protecting your own, until you realize that Mindark is the developer behind a promising Multiple Player on-line gaming venture known as Project Entropia, which may threaten Microsoft's own on-line game Asheron Call.

The raid on Mindark occurred two months ago, but the company released the news yesterday as they announced they were planning to sue the company for damages caused by their action, according to Wired News. The safer, kinder, and more secure Microsoft pushed by Steve Ballmer a few months ago has so far yet to materialize.

The problem companies like Microsoft face when they have their hands into so many technological pots, is that it's almost impossible not to be accused of conflict of interest. Palladium however, is quite a bit broader and intrusive than anything attempted before, bringing big name companies on board to create a new elite cyber-club developed technology standard that will fundamentally change computing. Anyone who doesn't agree with the standard could find themselves on the outside looking in. Open source, Linux variants, and Apple could easily be left in the cold (ok, further out in the cold). Take a look at this Register article that examines fears of how the technology could eradicate GPL.

At the end of the day it will be a tough sell for the boys in Redmond. Trust in Microsoft within the internet community isn't exactly brimming over. The global community isn't thrilled by an American created standard either, as noted by the New York Times. Palladium will likewise be an increasing target for privacy advocates and critics of the RIAA, as the technology offers extensive digital rights management features. Features that can be sold as spam killers, but also utilized to control and contain digital media.

A tough sell may just be the understatement of the century.