[ubuntu-uk] efi boot, Windows 8 and Linux

[gazz]

On Thu, 2011-09-22 at 00:06 +0100, Alan Bell wrote:
> On 21/09/11 23:29, Bea Groves wrote:
> > Just read the following. Comments?
> >
> yeah, it is potentially very nasty.
> To be Windows 8 certified computers will have to be able to do this 
> secure boot thing. Most will include an option to turn it off, exactly 
> like the google chromebooks do, they have a switch to turn off the code 
> signing requirement so you can run unsigned operating systems. The OLPC 
> also has this exact same feature, but you can get a dev key and turn it off.
> The problem is that some manufacturers might start not bothering to 
> include an off switch. So that would creep in as a set of machines 
> (probably quite mainstream high volume ones) that won't run anything but 
> the pre-installed Windows 8 or above.
> The big problem is that Windows 9 might *require* secure boot to run. 
> This means it won't run on older machines (driving hardware sales, the 
> industry likes that) and means that more manufacturers will fail to 
> include an off switch for the secure boot. If the market doesn't punish 
> them by people avoiding these pre-bricked computers then they will keep 
> doing it. Microsoft will carefully not require OEMs to fail to include 
> an off switch, because that would be anti-competitive. Virtualbox and 
> VMware and so on can include the public keys and provide a secure boot 
> environment, or run unsigned code for developing drivers and running 
> Linux, but you won't be running Linux on the hardware, only virtualised. 
> It is kind of like the current trend for using up 4 primary partitions 
> and not creating extended partitions to make dual booting harder, but 
> this one you potentially can't get round. I can see a time when you have 
> to get a laptop chipped to run Linux like you would a DVD player to do 
> multi region.
> 
> Alan.
> 
> -- 
> Libertus Solutions http://libertus.co.uk
> 
> 
Yes, agree this is what is likely to happen. It would effectively
confine Linux back to a small, techie ghetto - and that's assuming that
it will still be possible to buy motherboards without the keys or with
an 'off' switch. 

When I'm talking to voluntary sector orgs they frequently say to me that
Microsoft Windows is 'part of the computer' and if you change the OS it
won't work properly any more. This could make that current misconception
actually true! 

What's Canonical's view on this? It seems tempting to team up with a
producer such as Aleutia to ensure that unlocked PCs are still out there
- and with an 'eco' selling point. 

Paula