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The problem is not that enthusiasts who want to run an open source operating system won't be able to choose appropriate hardware to run that OS. The problem is
by mhw 15y ago
The problem is not that enthusiasts who want to run an open source operating system won't be able to choose appropriate hardware to run that OS. The problem is that Secure Boot may remove the option of buying a Windows PC and then at some later time deciding that you want to run an open source operating system on it from those who weren't thinking about open source operating systems to begin with.
At the moment, every PC sold is a potential target for a Linux distribution or other open source operating system, and hence every PC sold increases the size of the potential market. Secure Boot has the potential to disrupt this: a PC with Secure Boot may deny the owner the ability to install and run an unauthorized operating system. This could significantly reduce the potential market for open source operating systems.
Look at it this way: at the moment if your mum/dad/grandparent/whoever is willing to try a different operating environment, you can install pretty much any Linux distribution (or other open source operating system) on their hardware, or if they can do so themselves. And by 'can' here, I don't just mean that you personally are able, but also that the original manufacturer allows that kind of thing to happen.
In the future, computer manufacturers may sell computers to people on which you (or they) will no longer be allowed to install an open source operating system for them to try out, even if they want to.
- keithpeter 15y agoI would also like to mention the common use of Linux on recycled or older computer hardware. There is a mountain of hardware sitting in warehouses or going into landfill. Many of these machines are usable with Linux. If restrictive boot-loaders become common on consumer grade hardware, that option is closed off.
- bad_user 15y agoThis is a win for computer makers -- why recycle old hardware when you can throw it away to buy new stuff?
- bergie 15y agoA lot of the second-hand computers go to charities, and end up in schools of developing countries, etc. These are often places that wouldn't be able to afford computers otherwise. On long term, the people who learn computing this way may be a market for new computers, and that makes it good for computer manufacturers. Besides that, computers in a landfill is a terrible idea, ecology-wise.
- rbanffy 15y agoMost CEOs don't think long-term. By the time long-term arrives, they'll have moved on to other companies. They would probably prefer government programs to let those places buy new "modern" computers right now.
- bestes 15y agoDo you have any data to back this up? I've been tasked with getting rid of old computers before (at a large company) and it was a very painful process. Schools wouldn't take them. I can't even imagine trying to send them to another country! We ended up actually paying someone to haul many of them away.
- keithpeter 15y agoHello bad_user. Yup your comment is probably spot on for the £300 15.4 inch 'household laptop' that is very popular in the UK for consumer purchase. I suspect as pad devices and mobile phones take over the real mobile use cases, laptops will get a bit more expensive as the market shrinks. There is an opportunity to build them a bit better and to make them a bit more recyclable/upgradeable. Each product manufacturer has to make small decisions like this across all areas if we are to achieve sustainable consumption. The tricky bit is encouraging manufacturers to make those decisions.
- slowpoke 15y ago> The problem is that Secure Boot may remove the option of buying a Windows PC and then at some later time deciding that you want to run an open source operating system on it from those who weren't thinking about open source operating systems to begin with. Exactly. This is how I got into GNU/Linux in the first place, and I'm sure I'm not the only one. Removing this option will severely hinder the adoption of better, free operating systems.