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: Do Microsoft Respond Like This?
by mjg59 on Tue 5th Feb 2013 00:55
in reply to "Do Microsoft Respond Like This?"
Member since:2005-10-17
Windows 8 systems and Chromebooks both default to only running signed software. Windows 8 systems and Chromebooks both permit you to disable all signature validation. Windows 8 systems permit the end user to choose to use their own keys instead of the vendor ones. Chromebooks don't. The user doesn't have the freedom to deny unwanted software from running on their system. It's a valuable freedom that Google don't currently provide, and it's completely fair to say that the Chromebooks provide less user freedom as a result.
RE[2]: Do Microsoft Respond Like This?
by vapier on Tue 5th Feb 2013 01:05
in reply to "RE: Do Microsoft Respond Like This?"
Member since:2011-12-07
is there a GUI to replace keys ? no (although there are scripts to do so). is it possible to wipe/replace the keys ? yes -- toggle the hardware write protect. thus you are provably wrong.
is the bios source released for *any* device shipping windows 8 ? pretty sure not. how about any mobo out there where the target is windows ? no ? how about chromebooks ? ignoring the first 3 devices, the code is published for devices since released (coreboot & u-boot and the embedded controller [ec] that manages the keyboard/battery/etc...).
so go ahead, download the source, build it & embed whatever keys you want, and flash the device. now you have a fully secure system where only you own the keys.
sadly, the article is simply trolling.
RE[2]: Do Microsoft Respond Like This?
by segedunum on Tue 5th Feb 2013 21:53
in reply to "RE: Do Microsoft Respond Like This?"
Member since:2005-07-06
Windows 8 systems permit the end user to choose to use their own keys instead of the vendor ones.
No, they don't. That is purely at the behest of the hardware manufacturer and you've provided nothing to back up that Microsoft will enforce this in any way. Stop repeating this crap.
You will be reporting on manufacturers not implementing modifiable key systems in no time, mark my words. The only reason you can disable Secure Boot now is because of the bootable software that users and companies still need to be able to run on current hardware.
Chromebooks don't. The user doesn't have the freedom to deny unwanted software from running on their system.
That's a curious way of putting freedom and a very curious way of painting what Microsoft is doing with this.
Edited 2013-02-05 21:55 UTC
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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2005-07-06
http://mjg59.dreamwidth.org/22465.html?thread=856257#cmt856257
I can understand why they're using Secure Boot like this given what they want the Chromebook to actually be. Wiping user data when someone (could be you, could be someone else) installs another system on it is something you actually want to happen and you certainly do if you're an organisation with remote workers with these machines all over the place.
The tricky part here is differentiating between a legitimate person who wants to modify his/her system and someone malicious with a stolen machine and keeping the actual security usefulness of Secure Boot intact for the end user.
I have never seen an answer from Redmond on that topic.
The notion that Chromebooks are more locked down that Windows 8 machines is bollocks.