Linked by Thom Holwerda on Tue 18th Oct 2011 21:03 UTC, submitted by Dirge
"The Free Software Foundation released a statement open for public signing, titled 'Stand up for your freedom to install free software'. The statement is a response to Microsoft's announcement that if computer makers wish to distribute machines with the Windows 8 compatibility logo, they must implement a system called 'Secure Boot'. The FSF statement warns against the danger that, if done wrong, this system would have to be called Restricted Boot, because it could make computers incapable of running anything but Windows." Signed.
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RE[5]: "Secure boot" vs "Restricted boot"
by Lennie on Wed 19th Oct 2011 08:20
in reply to "RE[4]: "Secure boot" vs "Restricted boot""
Member since:2007-09-22
Features
Linked by Thom Holwerda on 05/24/13 17:26 UTC
So, the Xbox One disaster continues. Microsoft's policy for dealing with the used games market has reportedly leaked - and it's a clear and direct attack to destroy the used games market. Prices for used games will be set at the retail value of a new game, and retailers have to hook into Microsoft's computer systems and comply with Microsoft's terms and conditions.
Linked by Thom Holwerda on 05/21/13 21:38 UTC
At an event earlier today, Microsoft unveiled the next Xbox - the third model, but confusingly named Xbox One. The big focus was TV, integrated Kinect, and all the other stuff we all expected to be forced down our throats. I think it took them 25 minutes to actually come to what should be the core of the story: gaming. Nothing groundbreaking in the gaming department, except for how Microsoft intends to handle the used games market and borrowing games from friends: pay up, buddy!
Linked by Thom Holwerda on 05/20/13 11:29 UTC
The day has finally come! Jolla has finally announced the launch device for its Sailfish operating system - and by god this is a looker. It's decidedly different from other phones out there, but it has good specifications and carries a relatively reasonably price tag - EUR 399, and it's up for pre-order today, shipping in the fourth quarter of this year.
Linked by Thom Holwerda on 05/18/13 21:33 UTC
Why does Google get so much credit in the technology industry? Why, despite the company's many obvious failings, do many geeks and enthusiasts still hold a somewhat positive view on the all-knowing technology giant? A specific talk at Google I/O this week provides the answer.
Linked by David Adams on 05/16/13 4:23 UTC
OSNews is a sponsor of this year's O'Reilly OSCON in Portland, Oregon, USA. A lucky OSNews reader will win a free three-day pass, including two tutorials days. To win the pass, post a comment on this story saying something about Open Source Software or OSCON. We'll pick a winner at random next week. If you don't have an OSNews account, you may email us your entry. Part of the conference is the 9th annual Open Source Awards, and today the 16th is the deadline for nominations. If you'd like to nominate an outstanding open source contributor, do it here. Read on for more information about OSCON. Update: The 20% discount code for OSNews readers is "OSN."
Linked by Thom Holwerda on 05/11/13 21:41 UTC
"Windows is indeed slower than other operating systems in many scenarios, and the gap is worsening." That's one way to start an insider explanation of why Windows' performance isn't up to snuff. Written by someone who actually contributes code to the Windows NT kernel, the comment on Hacker News, later deleted but reposted with permission on Marc Bevand's blog, paints a very dreary picture of the state of Windows development. The root issue? Think of how Linux is developed, and you'll know the answer.
Linked by Thom Holwerda on 05/08/13 14:22 UTC
This is one of those news items that's fun to write, fun to read, fun to comment on, and where no one will be able to say anything unkind. It's all just one big ball of awesome fluffiness. TuneTracker, the BeOS radio automation software, has just released something very special: TuneTracker System 5, the first version designed entirely and specifically for Haiku. In fact, it actually includes Haiku in the software package. Better yet, TuneTracker also unveiled several system-in-a-box products - which have Haiku and TuneTracker pre-installed.
Linked by Thom Holwerda on 05/02/13 15:28 UTC
Exactly twenty years ago, a document was published that played a huge role in establishing the web as we know it today. Twenty years later, and this simple and straightforward document is proof of an irrefutable fact: while closed technologies can change markets, open technologies can change the world.
Linked by Thom Holwerda on 04/29/13 21:06 UTC
Oh multitasking. That staple of computing that got thrown out the window with many modern smartphones. We got some rudimentary thing in its place - but even as multitasking on phone and tablets improves, its user-visible side remains cumbersome. Windows 8 has a neat implementation, and now it's time Android follows in it footsteps.
Linked by Thom Holwerda on 04/24/13 22:24 UTC
They're here! Whether that excites you or not remains to be seen, but the Galaxy S4, which will most likely become the best selling Android smartphone of the year by a huge margin, has been reviewed by all the major sites, and there's lots of interesting conclusions in there - although I think most of you will get the gist.More Features »
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2011-01-28
Lennie,
"That depends on the OEM. If for example the OEM gives you a boot-CD (or some BIOS-option) which can be used to load other keys, in that case you can use it for other OS too."
Everyone should read the UEFI spec, specifically section 27.5. Here is a partial extract.
http://www.uefi.org/specs/agreement/survey_form/process
*** BEGIN ***
27.5.2 Clearing The Platform Key
The platform owner clears the public half of the Platform Key (PKpub) by calling the UEFI Boot Ser-
vice SetVariable() with a variable size of 0 and resetting the platform. If the platform is in
setup mode, then the empty variable does not need to be authenticated. If the platform is in user
mode, then the empty variable (just the monotonic count) must be signed with the current PKpriv.
The name and GUID of the Platform Key variable are specified in chapter 3.2, “Globally Defined
Variables”
*** END ***
The above piece describes a method under the spec to remove the hard coded public manufacturer key, however it requires the the private manufacturer key to do it, so it's useless. Read it carefully, the manufacturer CAN NOT create a secure generic unlock disk using this mechanism. If the manufacturer signs any end user platform keys to enable them to unlock secure boot, then any of those users can then use this signature to install malware keys on any system sharing the same manufacturer platform key.
*** BEGIN2 ***
The platform key may also be cleared using a secure platform-specific method. In this case, the
global variable SetupMode must also be updated to 1.
*** END2 ***
So, the spec leaves the possibility for keys to be reset using unspecified methods. But what are the chances "designed for win8" computers will provide this at all? If it's not supported, bootling alternate operating systems on this hardware could be impossible (say a live cd). If it is supported, the methods to boot alternate operating systems could become platform specific.
It's good to have a security feature to secure the bootloader, it's bad that this feature is under third party control. Third party control is not a necessary function of secure booting. The design of it is actually quite poor and it seems to me that the underlying goal was to secure microsoft windows from end user modification rather than to secure the end user from malware.