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posted by martyb on Saturday May 30 2015, @01:52AM   Printer-friendly
from the Embrace-Extend-Extinguish dept.

At its WinHEC hardware conference in Shenzhen, China, Microsoft talked about the hardware requirements for Windows 10. The precise final specs are not available yet, so all this is somewhat subject to change, but right now, Microsoft says that the switch to allow Secure Boot to be turned off is now optional. Hardware can be Designed for Windows 10 and can offer no way to opt out of the Secure Boot lock down.

The presentation is silent on whether OEMs can or should provide support for adding custom certificates.


[Original Submission]

 
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  • (Score: 1, Insightful) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday May 30 2015, @02:45AM

    by Anonymous Coward on Saturday May 30 2015, @02:45AM (#189953)

    It's been their OS being used in offices and at home by virtue of it being a flexible tool to run programs that's kept it alive.

    The windows dynasty has been losing steam for awhile, home users are no longer excited about their offerings and we all have a general dislike of the company due to their antics. The web is stealing the thunder from their cherished office suite. It seems losing the browser war and giving into web standards wasn't enough of a wakeup call that there is an environment around them which they need to move with not against.

    A company is symbiotic with the environment around it and survives by persuading that environment to exchange energy for service.

    The problem is the service is not worth the energy their asking. Doubling down like a landsdown baptist in a gay debate by acting like they have "the shit" so they can pull these stunts shows them to be delusional. I've got 2 systems running linux now, not for fan boy reasons but because linux makes for awesome web servers (I really have no reason for windows other than playing cracked games). Competitive offerings will continue to evolve and eventually whoever has the best structure for their tool in terms of extensibility and utility will prevail.

    If they would like associate crippled operation with their OS on top of crippled security that is an illogical and insane move.

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  • (Score: 4, Insightful) by hash14 on Saturday May 30 2015, @01:43PM

    by hash14 (1102) on Saturday May 30 2015, @01:43PM (#190097)

    One simple word: vertical integration.

    (That's one word, right?)

    I think it's bonkers that a software company[1] should be allowed to control the hardware on which it is allowed to run without running afoul of anti-trust law. It is clearly obvious that Microsoft is using its dominant position in the software world to impose conditions and restrictions outside their domain which would not be feasible if there were more competition in the marketplace. All these 'certified for Windows' stickers that hardware vendors put on their machines are a means for Microsoft to force adoption or deprecation of technologies of their choosing which has an undue and adverse effect in many domains. It is unfortunate that nobody has seen this anti-trust argument and taken action based on it, and this is what makes me sceptical that anyone will do so with this additional step of monopolistic abuse.

    [1] In this case, the market share of Windows as well as the horizontal breadth of applications for which it is used is an important factor: in many embedded applications (as an example), software makers require precise control of the hardware - but since these are narrowly-tailored, specific applications this argument shouldn't apply to Windows.

  • (Score: 1, Insightful) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday May 30 2015, @05:04PM

    by Anonymous Coward on Saturday May 30 2015, @05:04PM (#190150)

    home users are no longer excited about their offerings

    Two random family members asked me when is windows 10 coming out (no prompting). They want to upgrade, from .... Vista. Apparently my computer going from off to desktop in ~10 seconds makes them think their computer sucks for some reason. So I would say it is more along the lines people are just keeping computers longer. You only need 'so much' computer to run office and surf the web. In fact much of that usage is taken up by using an iPad. But that novelty is sorta waining or found it as a nice extra to normal computers (extending the lifespan of both). Those who wanted one have one. The remainder do not like typing on them. Neither are going away.

    I've got 2 systems running linux now
    I have dozens. And about 50 or so more at work. Whats your point?

    I really have no reason for windows other than playing cracked games
    Ah its not about freedom. Its about 'free shit'. Nice.

    Doubling down like a landsdown baptist in a gay debate
    and a bigot on top of it. real nice.

    You must be a very nice person how can I unsubscribe from your newsletter?