[Cialug] Restricted boot a very real possibility

[Matt Stanton]

It won't "kill" open source operating systems, because people will always find a way around these hurdles, but it will make it so that an "average user" won't bother even trying.  Enthusiasts will hack anything, whether it be an iPod Touch, Asus Transformer, or a regular PC to create a hackintosh, but if you really want linux to make it into the desktop consumer market, you can't have it violating a warranty or posing the possibility of "bricking" the system.

It seems to me that this is what the real danger will be.

-- Matt

Sent from my ASUS Transformer

-----Original Message-----
From: Nicolai <nicolai-cialug at chocolatine.org>
To: Central Iowa Linux Users Group <cialug at cialug.org>
Sent: Tue, 18 Oct 2011 6:23 PM
Subject: Re: [Cialug] Restricted boot a very real possibility

On Tue, Oct 18, 2011 at 04:53:59PM -0500, Josh More wrote:
> The point I was trying to make involves branding.
> 
> If no computers are listed as "Windows 8 Compatible", the first manufacturer
> to cave and do this gets a disproportionately larger slice of the market.
> This provides encouragement to the other manufacturers to get "compatible"
> so they can defend their slice.  Over time, this means that everyone has a
> compatible system.  Sure, it's just sticker, but those stickers are on
> almost all systems available today.  Microsoft used to require that to get
> the "Windows 98" sticker, manufacturers were contractually forbidden from
> offering any alternate operating systems.

Choice of pre-installation of OS has vastly different consequences than
an OEM preventing their customers from running a chosen OS.  Do you
believe this "secure boot" thing will prevent open source OS
choice?  Because I'm saying no, and it sounds like you're disagreeing
with me.  If you disagree, and given that you say "Over time, this means
that everyone has a [Windows] compatible system" then there is either

 1. nothing to worry about (problems will be addressed etc.) or

 2. open source will effectively die

And since #2 is absurd, I don't see the cause for concern.

Nicolai
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