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[7]: One little difference
by mjg59 on Tue 5th Feb 2013 22:17
in reply to "RE[6]: One little difference"
Member since:2005-10-17
There's no reason for a distribution to get itself signed by Microsoft if they're happy documenting how to handle key enrolment on every different firmware implementation. Many distributions aren't happy having that as a requirement.
I take it that you're not willing to take me up on my offer? You're the one who said that this functionality would only be included on the most expensive boards. If you're right, you get a free motherboard and the satisfaction of proving me wrong. If you're sure you're right, this should be a great opportunity.
RE[8]: One little difference
by segedunum on Sat 9th Feb 2013 21:26
in reply to "RE[7]: One little difference"
Member since:2005-07-06
Hmmmm, I'm afraid you're squirming now. The main and inescapable point is that you're putting how you control your computer in the hands of Microsoft and what manufacturers will implement now and in the future. You're trying to paint this as some benefit to users who can supposedly choose what their computers will boot.
I think we can all see where your pay cheque is coming from here.
Edited 2013-02-09 21:28 UTC
Features
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.
Linked by Thom Holwerda on 04/18/13 11:21 UTC
Nokia has posted its quarterly results for the first quarter of 2013, and just like the quarters that came before, there's not a whole lot of good news in there. The rise in Lumia sales still can't even dream of making up for the sales drop in Symbian phones, and when broken down in versions, the sales figures for Windows Phone 8 Lumias in particular are very disappointing. In North America, Nokia is getting slaughtered.
Linked by Thom Holwerda on 04/16/13 9:29 UTC
The day has finally come: Google has started shipping Google Glass to the lucky few early adopters. Now that it's shipping, Google has also unveiled a lot more about the API and the specifications of the device itself. While the company had already given out substantial details at earlier occasions, there are still a few surprises here.
Linked by Thom Holwerda on 04/15/13 22:44 UTC
Almost exactly three years ago, I wrote about why OSNews was no longer OSNews: the alternative operating system scene had died, and OSNews, too, had to go with the times and move towards reporting on a new wave of operating systems - mobile, and all the repercussions that the explosion of smartphones and tablets have caused. Still, I was wondering something today: why aren't we seeing alternative operating systems on mobile?More Features »
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Member since:
2005-07-06
Heh. Let's put it this way, if there was any confidence in this then Linux distributions wouldn't be getting themselves key-signed by Microsoft, would they?
You will be reporting the demise of pretty much all key management on all but high-end systems on your blog in future and I will happily be around to point you back to this........ I haven't heard anything from you about how Microsoft is going to enforce this. Motherboards will have Microsoft's key and that's all that matters.
The only reason Secure Boot can be disabled is because of the massive amount of bootable software users and companies use and still need to use on their hardware - namely previous versions of Windows, imaging software and VMware - which will be dropped off the face of the map at a later date.
Chromebooks implement Secure Boot in the way that they do because it's more difficult to differentiate a legitimate user who has physical access and someone more malicious. I can understand it because of their function, but I hope Google will find a way to do it in future. Secure Boot on PCs will marginalise software you can boot and make hardware ridiculously expensive.
You also sail right over Windows on ARM which is a platform that has no such legacy problems for Microsoft and where you get absolutely no quarter given whatsoever. That's where we will end up.
Edited 2013-02-05 22:18 UTC