Microsoft lied! (So, what's new?)

[GreyGeek]

http://www.softwarefreedom.org/blog/...ocks-down-ARM/

This is what they SAID:

"Microsoft’s philosophy is to provide customers with the best experience first, and allow them to make decisions themselves."

This is what they did:

Microsoft has wasted no time in revising its Windows Hardware Certification Requirements to effectively ban most alternative operating systems on ARM-based devices that ship with Windows 8.

The Certification Requirements define (on page 116) a "custom" secure boot mode, in which a physically present user can add signatures for alternative operating systems to the system's signature database, allowing the system to boot those operating systems. But for ARM devices, Custom Mode is prohibited: "On an ARM system, it is forbidden to enable Custom Mode. Only Standard Mode may be enable." [sic] Nor will users have the choice to simply disable secure boot, as they will on non-ARM systems: "Disabling Secure [Boot] MUST NOT be possible on ARM systems." [sic] Between these two requirements, any ARM device that ships with Windows 8 will never run another operating system, unless it is signed with a preloaded key or a security exploit is found that enables users to circumvent secure boot.

While UEFI secure boot is ostensibly about protecting user security, these non-standard restrictions have nothing to do with security. For non-ARM systems, Microsoft requires that Custom Mode be enabled—a perverse demand if Custom Mode is a security threat.

Any questions about WHY Microsoft is called EVIL?

[DoYouKubuntu]

Re: Microsoft lied! (So, what's new?)

Any questions about WHY Microsoft is called EVIL?

Not from me. I've KNOWN they're evil for decades, which is why I don't touch any of their crap.

And don't you just LOVE this?:

"Microsoft’s philosophy is to provide customers with the best experience first, and allow them to make decisions themselves."

Let me see if I'm understanding this correctly. Micro$oft is saying that providing customers with bloated, insecure, unstable systems that get bogged down in malware, adware, spyware, and viruses, and which cannot be TRULY customized [as Linux can], and which requires continually paying for upgrades, and continually makes hardware obsolete, and frequently needs to be reinstalled to fix its plethora of problems, is the BEST EXPERIENCE. Correct? So that's the best, and THEN customers can choose, what?, something INFERIOR...gee, I wonder if M$'s implication is that windoze is superior to Linux. Morons. >

[de_koraco]

Re: Microsoft lied! (So, what's new?)

I don't see why everybody is so worked up about this. The rules explicitly state that the certificate holders will have to allow for disabling Secure Boot on x86 devices. So this ends all the fears about not being able to install Linux on a laptop, netbook or desktop. Locked down bootloaders are the norm on ARM devices, peopole have been hacking and chrooting into Android tablets, and I don't really know of many that allow for multiboot. Plus, Windows is just coming into the tablet game, it will just flop.

So, you'll have a small array of locked down mobile devices ARM running Windows 8, and a huge amount of x86 machines running Windows 8, but guaranteed to be able to run other operating systems. The fact that one or two obscure OEMs are planning to produce ARM ultrabooks doesn't change that.