On Wed, 27 Jan 2016 04:49:59 -0500 Hendrik Boom <[email protected]> wrote:
> On Tue, Jan 26, 2016 at 05:57:45PM -0700, Gregory Nowak wrote: > > > > I heard that M$ is forcing the laptop makers to enable TPM, and > > prevent it from being disabled, else they aren't allowed to install > > windows. Having a choice of OS to install is great, but doesn't TPM > > mean that GNU/Linux can't be installed because TPM won't recognize > > its signature, if it is signed in the first place? So, getting a > > machine without windows on it is all well and good, but what about > > the issue of disabling TPM, or is that not an issue? > > Last I heard was that Microsoft, after requiring it to be possible to > disable secure boot to get Windows certifiication, has dropped that > requirement. I haven't heard that they now require it to stay on. This is exactly what I heard. Windows 8 compatibility required there be Secure Boot, and it be disableable. Windows 10 compatibility dropped the requirement that it be disableable. > > But there have been machines sold where you cannot turn it off and > can only install a Linux distros that Microsoft has signed, which I > believe are Redhat and Ubuntu -- for me a reason to avoid those > distros. This is the precise problem. If I were happy with Ubuntu, Redhat and Debian, this would be a non-problem. But as we've all seen in the past 18 months, big distros can go very, very wrong, and in the absence of small distros, this can create a world of hurt for people who want to rule their machines rather than the other way around. Mandatory Secure Boot pretty much forces you into Windows or a big Linux. This is why, before purchasing a machine, the #1 most vital question is: Can I turn off secure boot? If no, the machine's useless. I may start buying used machines to avoid all this stuff. > > The fact that no one that sells computers in retail stores seems to > even understand the question about TPM worried me. Why should they? They're Windows-Weenies. It's not a problem for them. It's just the tiniest bolt in a huge machine. > THe mere > existence of these recalcitrant machines provides an overwhelming > anount ot FUD into computer purchases. Even having Ubuntu > preinstalled doesn't mitigate it. Yeah, I hadn't thought of that. SteveT Steve Litt January 2016 featured book: Twenty Eight Tales of Troubleshooting http://www.troubleshooters.com/28 _______________________________________________ Dng mailing list [email protected] https://mailinglists.dyne.org/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/dng
