The Riverhall Membership System

Riverhall have been running membership and registration systems for various clients for a number of years.

So far we have always built these systems in a bespoke manner independently for each client.

Now we have re-analyzed these systems, looking at what is common across many of the systems we have built, and what is unique to each client.

Managing memberships is about treating each as an individual.

Based on this analysis and our accumulated knowledge we have put together a series of modules that we can use to build customized systems for new clients. These modules mean that we can build systems faster, better, and cheaper than ever before.

The unique selling point of Riverhall's approach is to create a rich set of data on every member, and then provide the ability for our clients to communicate with their membership in a truly targeted way.

But in addition to that, customers don't need to make extensive changes to their web sites to use our system. It simply drops into place and can be used to provide members with registration and update facilities with only a small change to the customer's site. No database is required because we look after all the data.

The new membership system is launched this month with a revamped page on our web site.

Let us have your feedback. All comments and suggestions are of great interest to us.

If you'd like to read more about this system, please visit our products page.

Who Controls Your PC?

You probably think you control your PC - or maybe your company does. But in fact, you have less control over it than you might think and you can look forward to even that being eroded very soon.

New technology, under the guise of Microsoft's Trusted Computing initiative, will force you to trust your PC because no longer will you be able to control what it does.

Consider this: a supplier gives you a technical specification for a product. You buy the product but it fails to meet its specification and costs your company thousands in lost revenue. Naturally, you'd seek reparation and you'd have your copy of the specification to back you up should the matter go to court.

If we move forward just a year or so and repeat the scenario, it might change like this: a supplier gives you an encrypted technical specification in a new locked format Word document. It is impossible for you to open the document without the key but your supplier has registered the key with Microsoft and granted you access to view it.

All types of computing devices will be affected - including notebooks and mobile phones.

When you try to open the document, Word checks with Microsoft over the Internet whether you're permitted to view it. The Microsoft service confirms who you are and the key is passed back so you can view the document - and only view it - you haven't been granted rights to print it or copy and paste from it.

As before, the product you bought fails to meet its specification and you threaten to take the supplier to court. The supplier panics and not only withdraws your right to view the document but actually requests all copies be deleted. The next time you try and view the document, it vanishes.

The central validation service has logged that this document should be deleted and each time a copy is accessed, these instructions are carried out.

The implications for information transfer and retrieval are enormous. No more government leaks. No more corruption revelations. As soon as an incriminating document is leaked, it is wiped off the face of the planet. Any copies that aren't deleted can't be read anyway - the encryption is too strong.

In this new world, emails will automatically delete themselves when the sender requests it; the originator of a document will know who reads it and when; and documents will be absolutely bound to the program that created them.

Once this infrastructure is in place, you will be tied to Microsoft, leaving the company free to move to a subscription-based pricing structure for Windows and Office. If you don't pay your subscription fees the software will stop working and you will no longer be able to read your documents or even boot your computer.

You can see that the music and movie companies are getting very excited about this prospect. There would be no more piracy and they would be able to rent you your entertainment and sell play-once movies.

Others aren't so sure.

Many freedom advocates see this as a move in the wrong direction. It would put Microsoft and companies like Sony in control of what you can do on your PC. Neither company has demonstrated that they have your best interests at heart.

What is perhaps even more worrying is that it could put governments in control of information. What if a document appeared that was critical of a government action or revealed state secrets? Could the law be used to remove it from existence?

The technology exists now. Only the boundaries of its use remain uncertain.

This is only a hint at what Trusted Computing is all about. If you'd like more information, see Further Reading.

Further Reading

• Trusted Computing (a short movie). If you have any trouble downloading this movie and would like a copy on CD, please email us.
• Trusted Computing Frequently Asked Questions
• Can you trust your computer?
• Trusted Computing: Promise and Risk