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No Windows 8 Plot To Lock Out Linux
First time accepted submitter Bucky24 writes "ZDNet's Ed Bott decided to contact major PC makers to find out the truth about Windows 8 SecureBoot. The responses are encouraging for those of us who run third party operating systems. Dell plans to have a BIOS switch to allow SecureBoot to be disabled, and HP assures us that they will allow consumers to make their own choice as to what operating system to run, though they have not given details as to how."
The requirement to disable Secureboot in order to run a non-Windows OS will imply that the other OS is less secure. Just another way for M$ to try and make the hardware pseudo-proprietary. This is not much different than the 'Windows Key'. Ask yourself, Is this an attempt to incorrectly solve a problem that doesn't exist or just another FUD tactic from a behemoth corporation?
When they do it by including undocumented workarounds for a known standard, yes it certainly is evil. And in the case of ACPI, it didn't just affect people that wanted to have pure code, it also affected all the other projects that depended upon the code being implemented to standards. It took years to sort that out and ultimately, just served to benefit MS.
Had MS actually implemented the standard that everybody else was using, the one that Intel provided a validator for, it wouldn't have been an issue.
I think the issue is n00bs will try Linux for the first time, fail, and think it's no good. Ubuntu, etc will have to plaster "turn-off SecureBoot" all over their site. Of course, like most BIOSes, it will be poorly translated, and you'll have to hunt all over for the right setting. People are always saying how closed Apple is on this site, but they specifically wrote a BIOS emulator so you could run Win/Linux on a Mac. Apple will be the most open hardware maker after this!