[Lancaster] windows 8 and uefi

[andy baxter]

On 11/06/12 01:38, andy baxter wrote:
> HI,
>
> Just letting people know, in case you haven't seen it already, about a 
> move by Microsoft to require that all PCs certified to run Windows 8 
> will be designed in a way that they cannot run any other OS unless the 
> developers have bought an encryption key signed by Microsoft.

More good stuff in this article:

http://www.softwarefreedom.org/blog/2012/jan/12/microsoft-confirms-UEFI-fears-locks-down-ARM/

It looks like the core specs for UEFI (the new BIOS which enables 
kernel-signing) allow users to disable 'Secure Boot', or to add 
additional keys for other OSes they want to run. Microsoft are being 
canny about this, and designing their certification requirements 
differently for different platforms. On the PC platform (where they risk 
an anti-monopoly case to stop them), they are allowing certified OEMS to 
leave this option available to end users, whereas on ARM devices (mainly 
phones), they are insisting that this feature is removed.

So it looks like for the time being, you'll still be able to buy a new 
PC, disable secure boot, and install the OS of your choice, whereas 
phone manufacturers will be forced to choose what to support at the time 
of manufacture.

andy