Advice Request Windows 8's locked bootloaders: much ado about nothing, or the end of the world ?

[Jack]

Windows 8's locked bootloaders: much ado about nothing, or the end of the world as we know it?

Microsoft has published the hardware requirements that manufacturers must follow if they want to slap a "Designed for Windows 8" sticker onto their systems. In among many innocuous requirements—multitouch systems must support at least five points of touch, there must be at least 10 GB of free space available to the user, and more—are a set of requirements for Windows 8 systems' firmware. These requirements have reignited Linux users' fears that they will be locked out of Windows 8 hardware.

The concerns revolve around the use of a new feature called UEFI Secure Boot. All Windows 8 systems that meet Microsoft's certification requirements must use UEFI firmware with Secure Boot enabled.


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[Ink]

Don't most Linux users build their own custom PCs, or run it on old hardware... or is that just a myth?

 

[anitac]

Dont't know but many run it on a laptop and they aren't custom built.

 

[iPanik]

off-topic:
Did microsoft chop 30GB of the minimum requirements?

 

[Hungry Man]

It's already been confirmed that for regular PCs/Desktops linux won't be locked out - only ARM devices.

 

[Ink]

Ah yes, my mistake. Thank for reminding me Hungry Man.

But it's nothing new, since Apple already do this.