BitLocker, a security feature of Windows Vista, may serve not just one purpose, but two, according to a post on The Register. BitLocker is Microsoft's catchy name for hardware-based encryption that is designed to protect your data if your PC is stolen. But it may also be designed to keep you from dual-booting Linux, according to the report.The BitLocker features will make it more difficult to set up dual-boot on a PC -- so that you can run both Vista and Linux, for example -- the Reg quotes security guru Bruce Schneier.

"You could look at BitLocker as anti-Linux because it frustrates dual boot," Schneier said at the Infosec conference last wee in London.

Apparently Schneier doesn't think Microsoft is using BitLocker as an implement of evil intent, but just hasn't made it truly usable. "A lot of work needs to be done on the user interface," he said.

What do I think? I remember the old joke (at least I think it was a joke) about the slogan of the Word development group in Redmond: "Word isn't done until Lotus won't run."