In the Windows 8 vs. Linux Debate, a Windows Pundit Makes a Great Point

[ Thanks to An Anonymous Reader for
this link. ]

“Recently, in response to the brouhaha over its reported effort
to implement a specification called Unified Extensible Firmware
Interface (UEFI) that could make it impossible to run Linux on
Windows 8 PCs, Microsoft officials responded with an extensive post
that explains exactly what kinds of flexibility UEFI (Secure Boot)
will offer. However, members of the Linux community in Australia
have formally opposed UEFI, and many critics of Microsoft’s defense
of it argue that Microsoft is simply going to hand off the right to
exclude Linux from Windows 8 PCs to hardware manufacturers, some of
whom may choose to do so. Now the debate is getting a second wind,
and a writer in the Windows corner has one of the best points
yet.

“Noted Windows pundit Ed Bott has weighed in on UEFI with a post
titled ‘Why Do Linux Fanatics Want to Make Windows 8 Less Secure?’
where he writes:

“‘The Free Software Foundation (FSF) is organizing a
petition-signing campaign over Microsoft’s announced support for
the secure boot feature in next-generation PCs that use Unified
Extensible Firmware Interface (UEFI) as a replacement for the
conventional PC BIOS. My ZDNet colleague Steven J. Vaughan-Nichols
is urging his readers to sign the petition with a bit of
deliberately inflammatory language, calling it ‘UEFI caging.’ …
Don’t fall for this FUD.'”

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