[Lancaster] windows 8 and uefi

[Cefn Hoile]

They've already done it, Ken, and the fines will be worth it, if it
means they maintain their de-facto monopoly over the desktop into the
next generation.

So long as firmware 'bios' builds are being specified with the normal
engineering lead time, we will already have a host of vendors
committed to Windows-only devices based on this certification
announcement, built that way from the ground up before even seeing the
light of day in the market. Once built that way it will be easier for
vendors to leave them that way.

The only reason IE is now lagging is its bad engineering, and that
people had a choice. The monopoly position was established and worked
well for a long time. In this case, there's no exit, so people can't
migrate away when they realise Microsoft is the worst thing they could
possibly do to their great-great-grandchildren.

The only thing we can hope is that the comprehensive shafting Nokia is
getting in the marketplace, siding with Microsoft, will lead vendors
towards Android+Ubuntu offerings instead.

Cefn
http://cefn.com

On 11 June 2012 12:21, Ken Hough <kenhough at btinternet.com> wrote:
> Andy, et al,
>
> Thanks to Linux Format Magazine, and Micromart magazine, I was well aware that
> Microsoft are hoping to block non MS OSes from running on new PCs.this,
>
> I really can't see the EU and other governmental/legal bodies letting
> Microsoft get away with doing this. They have already been pulled up and fined
> for trying to force everyone to use Internet Explorer, which by comparison was
> a minor matter. Open source/Linux is now being used by corporate/government
> bodies throughout Europe (UK is lagging behind in this respect)
>
> Even Microsoft must know that there would be an almighty stink generated if
> they were to try to block PCs in this way. Probably more of the usual
> Microsoft generated FUD!
>
> WRT Windows 8: I can't remember exactly where I saw it, but I did read a
> review of the pre-release version of Windows 8. Suffice it so say that the
> review was not very enthusiastic, particularly wrt the new desktop. The
> general conclusion was not to bother with it!
>
> Microsoft seem to be trying to play catchup in the world of mobile phones and
> touch pads and some of the new features in Windows 8 appear to be aimed at
> that market.
>
> I found it amusing that some of the new "features" that were being trumpeted
> have been available under Linux for years. For example, under Windows 8, it
> will be possible to mount an ISO file to run as an additional hard drive. Wow!
>
> I was under the impression that we have been able to do something similar for
> years via the 'mount' command.
>
> My existing main desktop PC (Intel Core 2 Quad 8200 with 4GB Ram on a ASUS PQ5
> SE2 mobo) continues to run 64 bit Debian 6 very well indeed! I'm not into
> serious gaming, so hopefully this will continue for some years to come.
>
> By this time, and with a bit of luck, Microsoft will have shot themselves in
> the foot so often that they will have lost all credibility.
>
> Regards
>
> Ken Hough
>
> On Monday 11 June 2012 01:38:51 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.
>>
>> This is obviously a pretty severe threat to the future of linux, and of
>> people's right to decide for themselves what they want to run on their
>> computers. Even if linux developers compromise by buying a key from
>> Microsoft, as Red Hat have done for example, this still leaves MS as the
>> gatekeeper of general purpose computing devices, in a way which is
>> hardly healthy for the future of the computer world. (I would have
>> thought).
>>
>> If any of you are thinking of buying a new computer to run Linux, now
>> might be a good time to do so, as the release date for Windows 8 is
>> likely to be later this year. It would be a good idea to check
>> specifically that the machine /isn't/ certified for windows 8.
>>
>> There's a good background on the subject here:
>> http://fsfe.org/campaigns/generalpurposecomputing/secure-boot-analysis.en.h
>> tml
>>
>> The wikipedia page:
>> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Unified_Extensible_Firmware_Interface
>>
>> Linus Torvald's reaction (which seems pretty lame to me):
>> http://www.zdnet.com/blog/open-source/linus-torvalds-on-windows-8-uefi-and-
>> fedora/11187
>>
>> An article on Linux for you:
>> http://www.linuxforu.com/2012/02/uefi-should-linux-users-be-worried/
>>
>> cheers,
>>
>> andy
>>
>>
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