
Linux can now run on UEFI Windows 8 PCs - seminatore
http://blogs.computerworld.com/linux-and-unix/21768/hurrah-linux-can-now-run-uefi-windows-8-pcs-itbwcw
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dhimes
Well, I have to give props to Microsoft for helping out. I was pretty
skeptical, but unless I'm being duped here it looks like they did a good
thing.

Does anybody know the problem with the ARM technology? Or is it a licensing
issue?

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lucian1900
Microsoft is unwilling to provide the same for ARM. They want it to be much
like iOS, under their full control.

~~~
richij
...and the FTC Consent Decree doesn't cover Windows RT, according to
Microsoft's general counsel

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jebblue
All I had to do was turn all the secure boot crap off in UEFI, delete all the
Windows 8 partitions and then install regular Ubuntu.

~~~
etherealG
the point isn't to get it to work without secure boot enabled, it's to have
the benefits of secure boot as well as your own choice of OS. there's no
reason to have to compromise on security now like you did.

~~~
laumars
Secure boot doesn't offer any practical security.

Most attacks are just social engineering, spyware and daemons for DDoS
attacking. Basically all stuff that can be run from user space. There's no
real advantage in writing rootkits in our current climate as it's
significantly more complicated and not nearly as profitable.

The cynical side of me thinks secure booting was intentionally developed to
lock users into their respective platforms and only later sold as a security
mechanism to avoid a massive outcry (a la the "terrorism" excuses that Apple
used to argue against jailbreaking).

~~~
MichaelGG
Secure Boot, TPM, etc. are all good if the user wants them on. I'd like my
laptop to be as tamper-resistant as possible. With a TPM, I know you can't
just pop a USB key in or change my BIOS settings or otherwise intercept the
boot process. (At least not easily; and I'm aware of TrueCrypt's (IMO
misplaced) disdain for TPM.)

With Secure Boot, I have a higher level of confidence that even if I mess up
while using my computer, software cannot have me unknowingly running something
other than the OS.

It's not a magic cure-all, and there's potential use for evil. But being able
to lock down a machine to the _configuration I want_ is a positive.

~~~
laumars
The problem is the temptation for evil is too attractive (as seen by
Microsoft's policy on ARM).

After all, the Microsofts and Apples of this world don't become big without
being at least a little cut-throat.

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kclay
I just installed Ubuntu 12.10 on a pre-loaded windows laptop and it works just
fine with UEFI/Secure Boot enabled. I just could't boot from CD but a LiveUSB
install worked just fine with UEFI/Secure Boot enabled.

~~~
g8oz
Thats because Canonical paid the extortion fee for that privilege on your
behalf.

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Selfcommit
hurrah Linux? New Distro?

~~~
lvh
It appears the "!" got stripped from the article; perhaps a moderator should
simply remove the "Hurrah" :)

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richij
As the idiot who originally wrote that headline, I object to my creative
wotchamacallits being corrupted in that way...

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budu3
Ahh, when I read the headline I assume Hurrah Linux was the name of the Linux
distribution.

~~~
trebor
Don't feel too bad, the title misled me for a few seconds too.

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drucken
Does Windows 8 not run on UEFI systems without Secure Boot enabled?

Or is this fix just due to pre-installed OEM Windows 8 configurations with
Secure Boot enabled?

~~~
richij
Sadly, some OEMs do not permit it to be disabled.

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recoiledsnake
Which OEMs? Reference? Or are you regurgitating hearsay FUD from Reddit
comments and SJVN?

~~~
jmj42
I believe the Windows 8 certification _requires_ that the user be able to
disable secure boot on x86.

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cooldeal
Yes, but some OEMs may ship machines without Windows 8 certification, and
Microsoft cannot do anything about them shipping with no way to turn Secure
Boot off, an ironic consequence of the DoJ lawsuit against them.

Thus, the OEMs need to be named and shamed. However I am not holding my breath
for richij (who also appears to be the article author) to name the OEMs.

~~~
takluyver
And even with the OEMs who do get Win8 certification - do we trust Microsoft
to enforce their own rule? If they omit the switch, or it doesn't work, will
Microsoft withhold certification?

Maybe they will. But I'm glad Linux has strategies that don't rely on that.

