Read about Microsoft's latest news regarding UEFI Secure Boot. Soon,
you won't be able anymore to turn it off.
Ahhh, man, why would they do that? What's that good for?
Then my reality bubble burst. I'm using GNU/Linux (and a little BSD)
for so long now that I forgot that there's still people out there
using Windows. I really forgot that. I have so little contact with
Microsoft and Windows that it's so easy to just forget they exist.
Simple as that.
But, why does Microsoft want to lock Linux users out? I mean, what do
they expect us to do? Start using Windows again? Sure, a certain
percentage will do that, but I'm pretty convinced that this is not an
option for the majority. So why bother? Microsoft won't gain new
customers. If anything, they'll piss people off.
It'll be interesting to see what Apple will be doing. Do they kick out
Linux users as well? Because if they don't, then I'm very sure that
quite a few Linux users will buy Apple hardware -- just to erase Mac
OS and install Linux.
I have little knowledge about the asian and african market. But from
my "western" perspective, Microsoft's move is just plain stupid.
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That being said, I recently ordered a Tuxedo Notebook[1]. I already
use one of these at work, so I know they're good. And with that Secure
Boot crap in mind, I think it's very important to support companies
who build computers explicitly for GNU/Linux. Don't buy stuff that
will "most likely" work with Linux -- instead, buy something that is
*intended* to work with Linux.
Companies like Dell or Lenovo work closely with Microsoft. They
recommend using Windows. They build their hardware to be used with
Windows. The fact that some hardware somehow works with Linux as well
(YMMV) is just a bonus for them. Any minute, they can decide to drop
any kind of "Linux support". You don't want to support that.
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Well, okay, the question is: What is Microsoft's plan for the next 20
years? What's their vision? Are they planning to sell "PC boxes" that
are similar to today's consoles? A piece of hardware that runs only
proprietary commercial software, communicating using only proprietary
protocols? No freedom of choice regarding anything? No way to write
your own programs in C? Just "buy this, buy that, shut up"?
Most likely. For me, that's utterly boring. Not interested. Have fun
doing that, Microsoft.
Of course, most non-nerdy people will still buy that. I guess that's
the whole point. 20 years ago, only nerds used computers, so big
companies had to care about them. Today, both nerds and non-nerds use
them. 20 years from now, maybe only the non-nerds will continue to use
"standard computers" -- the ones sold by Apple and Microsoft and
probably Google. What are the nerds going to do? I don't know. But
we'll find a way to keep ourselves entertained. :-)
Still, what I don't understand is: Why lock us out? I could understand
if they simply didn't care about us. But they're actively locking us
out, like we're some kind of threat. We're not. Linux won't ever reach
The Desktop because it's software made by nerds for nerds (or
servers). The big companies can safely ignore us. They don't need to
lock us out. See, it's extra work for them. They have to spend time
and money implementing all that stuff, they have to design new
hardware, they have to negotiate with hardware manufacturers, they
have to risk being sued, and so on. Jesus, I don't get it.
Maybe I'm a naive idiot. I have no idea.
Or maybe it is indeed a stupid move that will lead to Microsoft's
bankruptcy. I seriously have no idea.
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1.
http://www.tuxedocomputers.com/
