On 03/03/12 11:12, Jean-Michel Philippe wrote:
Hello,
You may not all be aware of the future the IT world is preparing to
us: devices totally locked and then out of user's control. The trick
is to include on hardware a chip that checks the OS "integrity" at
boot and refuses to boot if it has been modified. Of course this is
for our best, to avoid those unbearable malwares and headaches with
downloaded software poorly designed (understand: not officially
certified by _the_ software vendor). Sadly this is the foreseeable and
"natural" evolution of cloud computing: avoid people do what they want
with their data and their computers. You may ask yourself why today
I'm writing to you about this. Indeed I've just received an email from
the Free Software Foundation (FSF) on this topic, see below. My
concerns are very simple:
If we let them do their dirty business, *DoudouLinux won't run on
anything in a quite near future*. Only the oldest computers will be
able to run it and when these computers will have ceased to function,
we'll have only one thing to do: throw our entire project to trash...
Cloud computing, AppStores, UEFI, low-end devices (smartphones,
tablets): everything is designed to remove from users the control of
their data and hardware. I don't want this future, I don't want them
to kill our beautiful project!
Please read the FSF notice and do what you think is the best to do.
You can also search for the recent speeches of Cory Doctorow to get
another point of view on this topic. Many people express doubts
against the FSF action but these people often haven't understood the
real stakes of modern computing. Many awful examples are now arising
with affairs like Microsoft in Tunisia, Bull in Lybia, Cisco and Skype
in China, spying smartphones in USA and India, etc.
Cheers,
JM.
-------- Message transféré --------
In December, Microsoft apparently conceded to public pressure by
quietly updating the Windows 8 logo certification requirements with a
mandate that a desktop computer user must be able to control (and
disable) the Secure Boot feature on any Windows 8 computer that is not
based on ARM technology. This looks like a victory for free software
users, as it will allow a person to install GNU/Linux or other free
software operating system in place of Windows 8.
But, this is no time for celebration, because Microsoft has also added
a treacherous mandate for makers of ARM-based computers --- such as a
tablets, netbooks, and smartphones --- /requiring/ them to build their
machines with Restricted Boot technology. Such computers are designed
to lock a user into only being able to run Windows 8, absolutely
preventing her from being able to install a free software operating
system on her computer. Since smartphones and tablets are some of the
most commonly used computers, it's vital that we get straightforward
and clear information about this threat out to the public.
/Already know what this is about? Then take action now:/
* Raise awareness and have fun while putting pressure on Microsoft
and computer makers by entering the *Restricted Boot Webcomic
Contest
<http://www.fsf.org/campaigns/secure-boot-vs-restricted-boot/comic-contest>*.
o Winning submissions will be featured on the front page of
fsf.org for a month.
o Entries must be submitted by March 17th by emailing
[email protected] <mailto:[email protected]>.
* Sign the statement "Stand up for your freedom to install free
software."
o For individuals
<http://www.fsf.org/campaigns/secure-boot-vs-restricted-boot/statement>
o For organizations and corporations
<http://www.fsf.org/campaigns/secure-boot-vs-restricted-boot/corp-org-signers>
/If this is the first you're hearing about this whole Restricted Boot
vs. Secure Boot business,/ read the full story
<http://www.fsf.org/campaigns/secure-boot-vs-restricted-boot/restricted-boot-comic-contest-defend-user-freedom-on-tablets-and-smartphones>.
You can support this campaign and the rest of the FSF's work by
joining as a member or making a donation today
<https://my.fsf.org/associate/support_freedom/join_fsf?referrer=10050>.
Sincerely,
Josh, John, Matt, and Richard
Free Software Foundation
--
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Hello JM,
Thanks for the information.
Why not write also this on the blog?
I think that this should know of all possible means. Once this is done,
I would also diffusion in social networks etc. (I know that you're not
partisan but share a maximum!).
Friendly,
Xavier
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