Linked by Thom Holwerda on Mon 4th Feb 2013 22:10 UTC
"People are, unsurprisingly, upset that Microsoft have imposed UEFI Secure Boot on the x86 market. A situation in which one company gets to determine which software will boot on systems by default is obviously open to abuse. What's more surprising is that many of the people who are upset about this are completely fine with encouraging people to buy Chromebooks. Out of the box, Chromebooks are even more locked down than Windows 8 machines." Good point.
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RE: One little difference
by Thom_Holwerda on Mon 4th Feb 2013 22:43
in reply to "One little difference"
Member since:2005-06-29
RE[2]: One little difference
by chithanh on Mon 4th Feb 2013 23:37
in reply to "RE: One little difference"
Member since:2006-06-18
RE[2]: One little difference
by TechGeek on Tue 5th Feb 2013 00:21
in reply to "RE: One little difference"
Member since:2006-01-14
"You can easily turn SecureBoot off on a Chromebook, even the ARM version. Enable developer mode, and there you go. Can I turn that off on an RT tablet?
So you didn't read the article. "
Actually he has a good point, depending on how you define security. I don't consider a Microsoft tablet with RT secure as Microsoft is likely watching what you do. The same with the Chromebook with its native OS. I don't care how impossible it is to bypass Microsoft's security protocols since I don't trust Microsoft to start with. I do trust open software that anyone can vet for privacy breaches. And the Chromebook with dev mode lets me set up a device I can actually trust.
RE[2]: One little difference
by segedunum on Tue 5th Feb 2013 00:31
in reply to "RE: One little difference"
Member since:2005-07-06
The statement that Chromebooks are more locked down than Windows 8 machines is somewhat wide of the mark for the reasons the OP stated.
Garrett also states this:
In contrast to Chromebooks, Windows 8 certified systems are required to permit the user to install their own keys.
Anyone who believes this will be implemented on all but the most expensive of motherboards has taken leave of their senses.
Features
Linked by Thom Holwerda on 06/13/13 14:35 UTC
The third and final WWDC product I want to talk about is - of course - OS X 10.9 Mavericks. While iOS 7 was clearly the focus of this year's WWDC, its venerable desktop counterpart certainly wasn't left behind. Apple announced OS X 10.9 Mavericks, the first OS X release not to carry the name of a big cat.
Linked by Thom Holwerda on 06/11/13 17:07 UTC
We already talked about iOS 7 yesterday (after a night of sleep, it's only looking worse and worse - look at this, for Fiona's sake!), so now it's time to talk about the downright stunning and belly flutters-inducing new Mac Pro. As former owner and huge, huge, huge fan of the PowerMac G4 Cube - I haven't been this excited about an Apple product since, well, I would say the iMac G4. This is the Apple I used to love.
Linked by Thom Holwerda on 06/10/13 23:13 UTC
Apple held its big keynote event thing at WWDC earlier this evening, but since I was away with friends I've had to read up on it later in the evening. The company announced iOS 7, OS X 10.9 Mavericks, and they gave a preview of the new Mac Pro. Especially the Mac Pro impressed me, and while iOS 7's new Holo/Metro-inspired theme looks messy and garish to me, I do commend Apple for finally breaking the mold. This news item will focus on iOS 7 - I'll dive into the Mac Pro and OS X 10.9 tomorrow (it's late here now).
Linked by Thom Holwerda on 06/08/13 14:57 UTC
And yes, the PRISM scandal is far, far from over. More and more information keeps leaking out, and the more gets out, the worse it gets. The companies involved have sent out official statements - often by mouth of their CEOs - and what's interesting is that not only are these official statements eerily similar to each other, using the same terms clearly designed by lawyers, they also directly contradict new reports from The New York Times. So, who is lying?
Linked by Thom Holwerda on 06/07/13 11:40 UTC
This story is getting bigger and bigger. Even though most Americans probably already knew, it is now official: the United States government, through its National Security Agency, is collecting the communications and data of all American citizens, and of non-Americans using American services, through a wide collaboration with the large companies in technology, like Apple, Google, Microsoft, Facebook, and so on. Interestingly enough, the NSA itself, as well as the US government, have repeatedly and firmly denied this massive spying on Americans and non-Americans took place at all.
Linked by Thom Holwerda on 06/04/13 12:45 UTC
Ah, patents - the never-ending scourge of the technology industry. Whether wielded by companies who don't actually make any products, or large corporations who abuse them because they can't compete in the market place or because they're simply jerks, they do the industry a huge disservice and are simply plain dangerous. According to The Wall Street Journal (circumvention link), president Obama is about to take several executive actions to address patent trolls - which may seem like a good idea, but I am very worried that all this will do is strengthen the positions of notorious patent system abusers such as Apple and Microsoft.
Linked by nfeske on 05/31/13 10:12 UTC
With version 13.05, the developers of the Genode OS Framework take measures to ensure that Genode continues to scale well with a growing number of users and the steadily broadening platform coverage. Further highlights are the improved SoC support for Exynos 5, OMAP4, Raspberry Pi, i.MX, and new components for realizing headless systems.
Linked by Thom Holwerda on 05/29/13 16:59 UTC
At the D11 conference, Apple CEO Tim Cook once again took the stage to be interviewed by Walt Mossberg and Kara Swisher. While most of the interview can be replicated by picking and reading 10 random Apple fanblog stories - there were still a number of very interesting things that warrant some closer scrutiny.
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!More Features »
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2008-07-15
You can easily turn SecureBoot off on a Chromebook, even the ARM version. Enable developer mode, and there you go. Can I turn that off on an RT tablet?
For me, what matters is not if the machine has a secure boot mechanism or not, it's whether I am the one in control of whether that feature is turned on or off. It's the same reason I don't mind OS X 10.8 being limited to signed apps by default: I can turn it off with a few clicks and the way to do this isn't even obscure or hidden. So, in the case of a Chromebook, I am the one in control of the feature, so it wouldn't bother me that it's there.