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Phoenix's BIOS Roadmap
An anonymous reader writes "Phoenix Technologies Ltd. unveiled a vision and roadmap for a next generation of system BIOS firmware that the company calls "core system software" today, at its Strategy 2004 conference. As defined by Phoenix, CSS is a new category of core system firmware that transcends the boundaries of traditional BIOSes and to deliver "extensible firmware that provides the critical foundation of trust, manageability, and connectivity required for networked computing," in a broad range of devices including desktop and laptop PCs, servers, and handhelds gadgets. Specific technologies that Phoenix is integrating into its d-NA CSS firmware include: support for the Trusted Computing Group (TCG) specification, remote diagnostics and error-checking, intelligent configuration checking and integrated system policy management, automated provisioning of servers and server virtualization, "radically enhanced" device power management, embedded TCP/IP, remote management functions including dynamic provisioning, load balancing and software resource control, and an XML and SOAP standards-based interface to CSS functions."
And the people dehacking these BIOSes will probably be the same folks who dehack DVD firmware, like these guys.
The trick will be getting past the DRM in the unhacked BIOS to install the dehacked BIOS. Considering the skill of these hackers, it'll probably take them five minutes.
Personally, I think the best way to contest this is the age-old adage: Bote with your wallet. Don't buy mobos with these BIOSes -- buy the competition, even if it's not as useful. Make it clear to the mobo manufacturers that you won't buy a mobo with that BIOS, and because they used it you won't buy their stuff. If enough people refuse to buy this stuff, it'll sink faster than the Titanic (or the Itanic).
SCREW THE ADS! http://adblock.mozdev.org/ Proud user of teh Fox of Fire - Registered Linux User #289618
"Will there be Windows-specific APIs in the BIOS? Are they available to other operating systems? Are these APIs cryptographically hidden from reverse engineering? Legally, do these APIs belong to Microsoft or to Phoenix? Is this a loophole with respects to the anti-trust settlement? This raises a lot of questions about the ability of hardware that includes this new Phoenix BIOS to run non-Microsoft operating systems. Would they run? Would they be crippled it they run? Would Microsoft customers switching to Linux have to change hardware as well, if their PCs run this BIOS? "
Tread very carefully.
Crypto API is about strong encryption and non-pseudo-random-number-generators, and it also isn't new but has been around since NT4. see: Crypto API.
I thought hardware support would just speed up those functions, so disabling it wouldn't disable the features (which were around years before this hardware), just make them slower.
Custom BIOS code is no new thing. Perhaps now, more people will use it...
It's annoying beyond belief to me that the most common general purpose hardware platform around has such brain-dead firmware. It's nice to know that this may not last. It's too bad that they're choosing to disregard all the work Intel put into EFI though. That should be the future....
Either way, you should expect Pheonix alternatives to start gaining development support should Pheonix decide to make the "trusted computing" features mandatory. Judging by how thier software works now though, it will be the motherboard manufacturer that will decide which features are compiled into the BIOS you get, and which features can't be turned off. I'll bet that you'll see some big name brand machines from manufacturers that are in Microsoft's pocket ship with this in a permenant "on" position, and the enthusiast motherboard market to ship with this feature easily to disable.
I can't remember the last time I even saw a Pheonix BIOS in any hardware, let alone stuff I bought. I'm guessing getting into microsoft's hip pocket is about the best business plan Pheonix can come up with.
They lost their BIOS market share fair and square by sitting on their butts, thinking the BIOS product was mature and not for the end user to muck about with. AMI and Award showed us (and the OEMs) what a BIOS could really do and the rest is history, including Pheonix's bottom line.
This latest move is their last ditch effort to re-invent themselves in Microsoft's shadow... and it just might work, unfortunately for the end users.
It could set a good example for other BIOS developers if Phoenix retracts their decision and removes CSS from their BIOS. Please send them an email and let them know of your opinion. Whether or not you use, or would use Phoenix products, lets let other manufacturers know we won't stand for this type of activity.
+ us /
http://www.phoenix.com/en/about+phoenix/contact
To: americas_sales@phoenix.com
Subject: Phoenix CSS BIOS
Just wanted to let you know ahead of time, that I won't be purchasing any product that includes your CSS BIOS, and I will go out of my way to avoid it. I will also make sure that any product recommendations that I make to my current employer will not include your BIOS. Just thought I'd let you know of my opinion, as a consumer, and someone who's owned motherboards with Phoenix BIOS in the past. I hope you reverse your decision, until then, I'll shop elsewhere.
Thanks for your time, and consideration on this matter.
Jon
again free your bios!
I suppose you've never tried running Linux on any non-clone x86 box right? The BIOSes on the HP/Compaq blade and DL-series enterprise servers are pretty advanced. While the iLO (integrated lights out) feature on the Compaq BIOS is not perfect (it's too damn slow for one, especially when your console goes to graphics mode), it almost gives you a fully functional console over a 100 MBps Ethernet link. In fact, this is the only way to access the console on a BL20p or similar blade server. Basically the only thing you can't do with iLO that you can do on the physical console is insert and eject removable media. Yeah, with this feature you can network boot into single user mode when your disks and filesystems go bad and do hardware diagnostics too.
No, this isn't meant to be anything even remotely resembling these remote management features. Phoenix is seriously in bed with Microsoft, and well, this their monster offspring is meant to be the first step toward Palladium or NGSCB or whatever the hell Microsoft calls it now.
Qu'on me donne six lignes écrites de la main du plus honnête homme, j'y trouverai de quoi le faire pendre.
Erm, his name is "Foghorn Leghorn" though.
If its stupid but it works, its not stupid.
Why would you ever want to buy a fab? Forget that unless you plan on running a chip business. For working on a prototype you need to check out MOSIS. They might do low volume production also - I never checked into it.
I fab'ed my MS thesis project through MOSIS. Die area was approx 3.7mm square in 0.5um CMOS, and it cost about $3000 for 25 samples. Worked great. If I was ever going to do another private project I would go that route.
You do realize that AWARD which is used by the vast majority of mobos is owned by Phoenix these days, don't you?
As usual, the ideal solution would be free firmware, but a big step forward would be the adoption of OpenFirmware, a Forth-based open standard already used in Alphas, Sparcs and Powers.
Leandro Guimarães Faria Corcete DUTRA
DA, DBA, SysAdmin, Data Modeller
GNU Project, Debian GNU/Lin
Award was bought by Phoenix a long time ago (and IMO, when they did, Award BIOS's took a turn for the worse). AMI BIOS based machines are today, few and far between. I'm not sure why Award BIOS's were so popular, back in the day, but when Phoenix bought Award, they became the biggest BIOS vendor instead. I get the feeling that Award BIOS 6.0 was really just Pheonix BIOS in disguise (instead of the old two column list menu, it tries to pretend it's a dropdown menu).
I used up all my sick days, so I'm calling in dead.
You should also check out the OpenBios project. They are working towards making a working openfirmware solution that will work on the x86 platform.
Jumpstart the tartan drive.
Also, I can see a day when manufacturers advertise their LinuxBIOS compatibility. There's obviously money to be made from Linux...
"You're right," Fisheye says. "I should have set it on 'whip' or 'chop.'"
That's not much per unit over the retail price Phoenix's partners sell their BIOS updates for -- $85 each, last time I checked (about 2 years ago). And I'm sure a run of a few thousand would have got you a more competitive price.
~REZ~ #43301. Who'd fake being me anyway?