Microsoft Forces OEMs To Lock Devices Into Windows 8 Using UEFI
Linked by Thom Holwerda on Fri 13th Jan 2012 16:20 UTC, submitted by moondevil
Windows And so the war on general computing continues. Were you looking forward to ARM laptops and maybe even desktops now that Windows 8 will also be released for ARM? I personally was, because I'd much rather have a thin, but fast and economical machine than a beastly Intel PC. Sadly, it turns out that all our fears regarding UEFI's Secure Boot feature were justified: Microsoft prohibits OEMs from allowing you to install anything other than Windows 8 on ARM devices (the Software Freedom Law Center has more).
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lucas_maximus
Member since:
2009-08-18

well, because Linux supported devices won't be available in any sensible choice? Because I won't be able to use economy of scale to my (price) advantage. Or finally (and that's imo important for non geeks to) if windows8 turns out ti be flop I'll not be able to put android on that. All this makes windows 8 arm devices having less futureproof than even HP touchpads.


You are a niche market. It is like with with Bicycle components, I pay for the fact I have specific requirements.

If you really cared that much about using your operating system of choice, you would produce the hard cash ... that is what I do with my rather custom Push bikes.

This might open a whole new market up for tablets that run Alternative Operating systems and create jobs ... but all you care about is saving a few pennies.

Reply Parent Score: 0

dsmogor Member since:
2005-09-01

Besides, think about all efforts to put Linux on recycled pc's for African people. In five years the same will concern all the tablets running obsolete versions of windows, but will be utterly impossible.

Reply Parent Score: 3

lucas_maximus Member since:
2009-08-18

Besides, think about all efforts to put Linux on recycled pc's for African people. In five years the same will concern all the tablets running obsolete versions of windows, but will be utterly impossible.


And the governments said we will have Windows PCs, because everybody uses Windows and we need people to have relevant IT skills.

Reply Parent Score: 0

dsmogor Member since:
2005-09-01

Few pennies for me are a living in less fortunate countries.
MS couldn't care less about them. By forcing independent producers to remove features that don't hinder first users of those devices but could enable reuse they are simply doing wrong.

Reply Parent Score: 2

dsmogor Member since:
2005-09-01

Well Linux used be a niche product too but now it brings smartphone revolution to the masses. Without easily accessible commodity hardware it would have never grown past hobby status. As for bike analogy I can easily mix and match parts from various producers to build my dream vehicle. This is antithesis of what ms is doing.

Reply Parent Score: 4

lucas_maximus Member since:
2009-08-18

Well Linux used be a niche product too but now it brings smartphone revolution to the masses.


And my argument is that the masses do not care that it happens to run android. They by the phone, not the operating system.

Without easily accessible commodity hardware it would have never grown past hobby status.


No without large companies such as IBM, Google, Redhat it would have never got past hobby status.

As for bike analogy I can easily mix and match parts from various producers to build my dream vehicle. This is antithesis of what ms is doing.


No you cannot mix and match parts on a bicycle. Not since the early 90s.

Shimano have 4 different incompatible bottom bracket splines, and that is one component on a bicycle from one manufacturer. Some older cheap kit might work well together such as 5speed to 8 speed systems and resistance levers ... but anything modern such as STI flight deck shifters ... they won't work correctly.

Even a bicycle chains these days (10 speed compatible) have different proprietary joining mechanisms. KMC has a completely different joining mechanism to a shimano 10 speed chain, which again has a different joining mechanism again to a SRAM produced chain.

I could go on, about various braking systems that won't work together, but I think you get the point.

Edited 2012-01-14 08:57 UTC

Reply Parent Score: 2

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