Whatever Microsoft's motives really are, I think that eventually consumers will inflict their wrath upon both MS and Hollywood. The entertainment industry needs to find new revenue models that reflect the realities of digital media and consumer preference. By kissing up to the Hollywood powers, Microsoft is only delaying the inevitable and siding with the bad guys against its own customers. On the cutting edge of customer relations: Microsoft.

Brad King of Wired is on it already:

Today, manufacturers seem more likely to produce computers that operate more like VCRs or DVD players than the PCs people are accustomed to. These machines have copy-protection embedded in the hardware, much like home recorders that keep people from making copies of videos they have purchased.

The security sounds like a good idea, but it increases corporate control over networked systems. The code for those digital rights management systems is closed to outside developers.

....Manufacturers and technology developers are steadily adding security components to their devices. Digital TVs will likely come with a broadcast flag that limits where you can watch recordings. Music companies are testing CDs that won't play on computers. DVDs won't play on computers that run certain operating systems.

For such restrictions to work, media companies must be able to hunt down and stop anyone who attempts to get around those controls. The DMCA allows them to do just that.

The threat of lawsuits has motivated companies to develop locked-down, closed computers. And those restrictions no longer mean a product won't sell.

Analysts believe Microsoft's new version of Windows XP — which is intended for PCs sold as digital entertainment systems, and locks video recordings onto an individual computer — will fail in the marketplace. They could be right, since TiVo gives consumers more flexibility.

But it will take time for the courts to decide what TiVo can — and can't — do. Microsoft will likely use that opportunity to push its new device.