Linux Phones and Unlocked Bootloaders?

Or are computers gonna just go the smartphone route and you can’t instal another OS?

I mean, Chrombooks are the first example of computers being more locked down. Will compouter manufacturers do the same? Mifrosoft now requires TPM on windows 11, could they make “Secure Boot” mandatory for windows 12? (Thereby preventing a linux install)

  • krigo666@lemmy.world
    0·
    8 days ago

    I have predicted a few years ago that the “PC”, ie x86 IBM PC compatible computers, will rift into different devices, some running locked Windows, some running other OS like Linux-based ones, BSD, etc that value freedom and openness. The issue is that it is Microsoft who designed and controls Secure Boot. And they will close it more and more. They are even extending it to ARM-based devices.

    After 30+ years of Microshaft shenanigans, I just don’t trust them and never will.

    • Zwuzelmaus@feddit.org
      0·
      8 days ago

      different devices, some running locked Windows

      That unforgettable moment, when you stand before that machine where you should be able to self-manage that value-card for some prepaid money for some special purpose, and that machine shows you nothing but a good old bluescreen, and it is a bluescreen from a 15 year old Windows…

    • NeatNit@discuss.tchncs.de
      0·
      8 days ago

      I just recently looked into Secure Boot and from my understanding it’s not a Microsoft lock-in. Many Linux distributions are signed with keys that are loaded by default, and advanced users can even add custom signatures to their computer so Secure Boot would accept them. The original fear around Secure Boot was legitimate, but by now we know the worst outcome of it didn’t come to pass.

      That said, I did disable it on my new PC because I think the chance of it causing issues is greater than the chance it will actually protect me from bootloader malware, and I’m willing to accept that risk and responsibility.