The end of dual boot?

psionl0

Skeptical about skeptics
psionl0
Joined
Sep 29, 2010
Messages
22,090
Location
31°57'S 115°57'E
It looks like Microsoft is trying another way to force PC buyers to use their latest OS:

Microsoft to stop Linux, older Windows, from running on Windows 8 PCs

Summary: It doesn't take much reading between the lines to see that Microsoft is going to try to keep Linux, older versions of Windows, and other operating systems off Windows 8 PCs.
< --- snip --->
Matthew Garrett, the Red Hat engineer who first spotted Microsoft's new sneak attack on alternative operating systems, has taken a new look at Microsoft's latest announcements and Garrett and Red Hat after "discussing the problem with other Linux vendors, hardware vendors and BIOS vendors [to make] sure that we understood the ramifications of the policy in order to avoid saying anything that wasn't backed up by facts. These are the facts:"
  • Windows 8 certification requires that hardware ship with UEFI secure boot enabled.
  • Windows 8 certification does not require that the user be able to disable UEFI secure boot, and we've already been informed by hardware vendors that some hardware will not have this option.
  • Windows 8 certification does not require that the system ship with any keys other than Microsoft's.
  • A system that ships with UEFI secure boot enabled and only includes Microsoft's signing keys will only securely boot Microsoft operating systems.
Click to expand...
http://www.zdnet.com/blog/open-source/microsoft-to-stop-linux-older-windows-from-running-on-windows-8-pcs/9589
 
mikeyx said:
There will, whether mickeyshaft likes it or not be ways around this.
Click to expand...


I expect this will be the case.

And not only because of alternative OS installs ...

(From the OP article.)

"What does this mean for the end user?" continued Garrett. "Microsoft claims that the customer is in control of their PC. That's true, if by 'customer' they mean 'hardware manufacturer.' The end user is not guaranteed the ability to install extra signing keys in order to securely boot the operating system of their choice. The end user is not guaranteed the ability to disable this functionality. The end user is not guaranteed that their system will include the signing keys that would be required for them to swap their graphics card for one from another vendor, or replace their network card and still be able to netboot, or install a newer SATA controller and have it recognize their hard drive in the firmware. The end user is no longer in control of their PC."
Click to expand...
Etc., etc.

I think (although I may be mistaken) that within the consumer market the strongest historical impetus for hardware and software improvement has been from games and multi-media, with other uses taking advantage of the horsepower and space created by those demands.

As much as I have always liked and respected the open-source software movement (I had a copy of MINIX running on an XT compatible back in the late 80's.), there are going to be plenty of other interests along with the Linux crowd which will resist too much proscription by Microsoft.

It's probably a bit early to get outraged ... or even worried.
 
Last edited:
With virtualization I'm not sure why this is even a concern anymore.
 
Gentlemen, Please rest your Sphincters!

The article you posted is a year out of date. Check out these more recent posts from the same web site:

http://www.zdnet.com/blog/bott/linux-wont-be-locked-out-of-windows-8-pcs-but-fud-continues/4343

http://www.zdnet.com/blog/bott/leading-pc-makers-confirm-no-windows-8-plot-to-lock-out-linux/4185

And finally from the Linux foundation website:
http://www.linuxfoundation.org/publications/making-uefi-secure-boot-work-with-open-platforms

You will be able to dual boot WIN8 and Linux
 
Maus said:
With virtualization I'm not sure why this is even a concern anymore.
Click to expand...

Yes, much less risky and more convenient than multi-boot, with only a minor performance penalty as long as you have lots of memory. Why one-at-a-time it when you can be running three OSes at once, copying-and-pasting and transferring files between them?
 
quadraginta said:
I expect this will be the case.

And not only because of alternative OS installs ...

(From the OP article.)


Etc., etc.

I think (although I may be mistaken) that within the consumer market the strongest historical impetus for hardware and software improvement has been from games and multi-media, with other uses taking advantage of the horsepower and space created by those demands.

As much as I have always liked and respected the open-source software movement (I had a copy of MINIX running on an XT compatible back in the late 80's.), there are going to be plenty of other interests along with the Linux crowd which will resist too much proscription by Microsoft.

It's probably a bit early to get outraged ... or even worried.
Click to expand...

case and point : dvd encryption, hacked by a teenager very quickly, legal brew ha ha, linux plays dvds just fine. and they're arguably obselete factoring in streaming
 
This is kinda concerning if you like your Branded OEM PC, preloaded with Windows H8 but considering how many manufacturers sell boards and other equipment with all kinds of brand speciality modifications. I would expect to see a market for Linux capable and Windows Legacy boards.

Heck you'll probably see most of the Dual Bios boards come with a bios for each scenario it has to run in.

Also with virtualization I have yet to need to dualboot, that doesn't mean there are scenarios where that might be desired. Mostly for me the games and communications run on the windows 7 host and the dev n work are done in the linux virtual. As long as I got the ram and cpu both systems run without any major performance hits.
 
Modified said:
With virtualization I'm not sure why this is even a concern anymore.
Click to expand...
Yes, much less risky and more convenient than multi-boot, with only a minor performance penalty as long as you have lots of memory.
Click to expand...
Well, limited computer resources might be one reason someone might prefer dual-boot over virtualization. Not everyone can afford a computer with 4+ Gig of RAM.

Then of course there's the issue that when you use virtualization, you become dependent on the host operating system... if win8 gets corrupted (by virus, etc.) your virtual machines aren't accessible either. If you're using dual-boot and your main Win8 partition goes down, you can at least access your alternate OS.

(Not that I'm saying dual-boot is better than virtualisation... it should be dealt with in a case-by-case basis.)
 
alphahelix said:
This is kinda concerning if you like your Branded OEM PC, preloaded with Windows H8 but considering how many manufacturers sell boards and other equipment with all kinds of brand speciality modifications. I would expect to see a market for Linux capable and Windows Legacy boards.

Heck you'll probably see most of the Dual Bios boards come with a bios for each scenario it has to run in.

Also with virtualization I have yet to need to dualboot, that doesn't mean there are scenarios where that might be desired. Mostly for me the games and communications run on the windows 7 host and the dev n work are done in the linux virtual. As long as I got the ram and cpu both systems run without any major performance hits.
Click to expand...

if theres a demand it will be there. Vmware viewer and any one of a number of linux based VM's if that's the only avenue, but Microshlock is not ever going to win this war.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Back
Top Bottom