*ID or how we stopped worrying and love universal unique identification.

Quite some time ago, I reckon it must have been around 2000, Intel decided to beef up the CPUID feature of their processors a bit: They added a globally unique, unchangable ID to the processor which could be read out by software - unless disabled in the BIOS. Public outcry ensued.

Then even a panel of the European Parliament decided that legislation should be provided that would prevent these chips from being installed in the computers of European citizens.

In the end, Intel did not add the "feature" to later versions of the Pentium III processor or its successors.

Fast forward to today: An iPhone has at least three unique identifiers, the iAd ID (which can be reset), it's universal device ID (UDID) plus the International Mobile Equipment Identification (IMEI). All of them can be read out in software. Android or Windows Phone are no different.

We are cured, alright.