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How Microsoft Can Lock Linux Off Windows 8 PCs
Julie188 writes "Windows 8 PCs will use the next-generation booting specification known as Unified Extensible Firmware Interface (UEFI). In fact, Windows 8 logo devices will be required to use the secure boot portion of the new spec. Secure UEFI is intended to thwart rootkit infections by using PKI authentication before allowing executables or drivers to be loaded onto the device. Problem is, unless the device manufacturer gives a key to the device owner, it can also be used to keep the PC's owner from wiping out the current OS and installing another option, such as Linux."
Trusted Boot prevents the use of alternative boot disks. It is controlled from chips soldered onto the motherboard and PKI keys.
No key, no boot. Replacing drives or using external drives does not help. There is no "BIOS Reset" option and you can't short jumpers to clear it.
Google uses it on the CR-48 Chromebooks, but also includes a little switch under the battery to turn it off. With it turned on, the system boots only Google-signed images and nothing else. Period.
Learning HOW to think is more important than learning WHAT to think.
Microsoft said they're trying to figure out how to allow users to dual-boot. In the //build/ video discussing the new Windows 8 boot process, the presenter said they were trying to figure out how to keep boot secure but still allow users to boot into Windows 7, since Windows 7 doesn't support this.
And if it works for Windows 7, it'll probably work for Linux.
Disclaimer: I'm in the PC retail business.
There are no "Microsoft contracts" up here in Canada, certainly not with the individual shops as that would be a logistical nightmare to administer, even for MS. What does happen is skeevy shop owners like to sell an overpriced OS with every PC, because it's often the only profitable part of the deal on low-end machines. They make up these ominous sounding "contractual obligations", to which the alternative is to buy the PC unassembled with only a 30-day (in-store) warranty rather than the usual 1-to-3 year deal. A lot of customers don't know any better, so they fork over an extra $150-200 for an OEM license of W7HP.
With the big-box brands it's a bit different, because they love the preloading business. They still get paid to put bloatware on your machine - McAfee and MS Office trials - and of course they get a deep "volume" discount on the OS itself. There's still nothing that can legally force them to shove an OS down your throat, but since they don't list a price for an OEM license of the OS, nor many of the core components in the machine, they can argue that it's included in the base price, so there is no point in asking them to remove it since it's "free". They really could sell you a machine without Windows if they so wanted, and for larger corporate purchases you can specify that (or provide your own ghost image), but for the consumer stuff they would much rather sell you a preloaded PC that's ready for the average casual user. Just the support calls alone, from clueless users who bought a naked machine and don't know what to do with it, would be a PR nightmare and a huge cost sink. I've lost count of the times people bought naked machines from me, claiming they didn't need an OS, then returned a day later to buy the damn disc.
Think back a few years, when Dell briefly offered Linux-ready PCs. They cost more than the Windows-loaded versions of the same machines. Now you can run up and down with your conspiracy theories about MS bribes and whatnot, but the reality is that charging a little bit more for the Linux-ready variant ensured that the average Joe Random would buy the cheaper Windows one, even if the difference was only $30 or so, it's sufficient. This, in turn, probably saved them countless frustrating support calls from irate morons. Then a bit later they started preloading Ubuntu on there, to at least have the machine boot to an internet-ready OS.
-Billco, Fnarg.com
Because if you RTFA you see that Microsoft is mandating that all manufacturers do this. They mandated this. They know exactly what they are doing