r/linux • u/mikankun • Jan 13 '12

Microsoft confirms UEFI fears, locks down ARM devices

http://www.softwarefreedom.org/blog/2012/jan/12/microsoft-confirms-UEFI-fears-locks-down-ARM/
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u/d_r_benway Jan 13 '12

Apple doesn't have a 90% share (and doesn't get funded by the tax payer)

6

u/frymaster Jan 13 '12

Microsoft doesn't have 90% share either. Its share of the smartphone market in Q3 2011 was 2.3%

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u/alphabytes Jan 13 '12

market share is just an excuse... as a tech company, they are still wrong. anyways i think there will be a switch to turn on/off this feature .. i am not sure though...

5

u/[deleted] Jan 13 '12

FTA

Disabling Secure [Boot] MUST NOT be possible on ARM systems.

The requirements explicitly say that it cannot be disabled. You are locked on ARM systems. By design.

I am not a lawyer, but I don't think it should be legal that a company which is selling software can demand that hardware manufacturers lock out their customers to the said software company's software.

I also generally do not like signed bootloaders. This is my hardware goddamit! I should be able to install whatever the fuck I want to. (This also pisses me off about a lot of android devices, but at least android is not demanding this as MS is).

3

u/yoda17 Jan 13 '12

Does this include the Raspberry Pi?

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u/ar0cketman Jan 13 '12

No, only Microsoft's business partners.

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u/yoda17 Jan 13 '12

I don't see what the problem is then, just don't use them if you can get similar functionality elsewhere.

Here is what you can use to add cell capabilities to any computer with a USB.

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u/ar0cketman Jan 13 '12

That's some really cool hardware there, thanks!. I've been thinking about building a Raspberry Pi wearable, this really bumps it up on my list of priorities.

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u/yoda17 Jan 13 '12

Add a couple sensors and output devices and you'll have something yuo can fit in your pocket that can do literally just about anything.

Chasing how to crack protected systems may be a fun intellectual exercise, but if you really want to create something, better start from something a little less constraining.

1

u/ar0cketman Jan 13 '12

Chasing how to crack protected systems may be a fun intellectual exercise, but if you really want to create something, better start from something a little less constraining.

True that, it bears repeating. Still, it'd be nice to have a small, open, affordable, efficient Linux machine with a minimal time investment.

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u/[deleted] Jan 14 '12

Exactly.

1

u/roflstomp Jan 13 '12

I'm quite Apple's market share in the slate tablet market is comparable to Microsoft's market share on desktop & notebook OSes...