Tenative Windows 8 FYI/possible beware

[CharlieChomper]

While some people out there may not care one way or the other about DRM nor in how its implementation may affect other operating systems, I still thought to post this for anyone who may be considering Windows 8 (supposedly due out this fall).

Microsoft had announced last fall plans to enable a "feature" that is going to be making its way into the new BIOS format that's being adopted by motherboard manufacturers (so far, none of the boards I've personally been looking at have this--but I do know that most (if not all) motherboard manufacturers as well as the commercial builders who either use in-house boards or contract them out to select vendors are adopting this).

This same feature will essentially "lock in" Windows 8 as not just the default operating system on the computer, but will make it impossible to run anything else on there (Microsoft claimed that supposedly uses may have the option to disable it, however, no motherboard manufacturers (especially commercial computer builders) are actually going to allow for it as ironically the feature in question is designed to "better protect the board" from malware or any vulnerabilities that may exist with the BIOS (which is also one of the main reasons behind the major BIOS change--security vulnerabilities (although, the odds of being affected by malware that can affect the BIOS are actually fairly small--it also isn't the only reason as to why there are major changes being made to the BIOS as it has existed until fairly recently). Microsoft is using this feature as a form of DRM to lock in users to their operating system.

For those unfamiliar with the early days of the Intel Macs (pre-"Boot Camp" and why Boot Camp even came to exist), Apple had implemented this same BIOS standard (minus the ability to actually "secure" it that we may be seeing with Windows 8) and a number of owners of the early Intel Macs had actually turned their computers into "bricks" (or an extremely expensive paperweight, depending upon how one looks at it--ie unusable) trying to install Windows on them because of that standard. In that situation, however, some programmers/developers/engineers who had experience in working with extremely low level programming (which is what a BIOS would fall into the category of) were able to circumvent the BIOS restrictions Apple had placed upon them and were able to get Windows (or just another operating system aside from OS X that would also run on the architecture) running. They also posted the workaround they used online for anyone else interested in attempting it (although, it was/is not for the faint of heart nor should be attempted lightly given how complex it was and is to go that route). In response to that, Boot Camp was released for those not wanting to run the risk of something going awry in the process and to make it easier for anyone wishing to Install Windows on an Intel Mac.

However, in the case of Windows 8, there does not appear to even be a feasible workaround to try and get something else installed (as how they're going about it is so fused to the hardware, there's no way of going around it). All the major commercial builders so far appear to be on board with this idea while those looking to build their own seem to be "stuck" as well as all the major motherboard manufacturers have signed on to this.

Within a day of this news being released, needless to say, there was a massive uproar about it not just from groups traditionally opposed to DRM or privacy-rights groups (as well as especially the open source and 'nix communities), but within every facet of the tech/techie community to where Microsoft released a statement in which they didn't exactly deny what the impact of what they were proposing was, even if appeared they were backpeddling slightly. More recently, they've even given further indications that this may be the direction they're likely to pursue and just as with last fall, this continues to remain a huge source of contention.

However, for better or worse, it sometimes takes consumers or businesses to complain loudly enough about an issue for some companies to "listen"--and so far it hasn't appeared that this has even appeared in the mainstream press (probably because of a lack of understanding as to what's involved or possibly the feeling it may be "too technical" for many people to understand it?).

I will also keep you posted if I hear anything further, in case anyone is interested.

[Kiri]

Thanks CC - definitely interested. Hadn't heard anything about it. I can't get over how controlling all these companies and governments are being - has there been an outbreak of a fascist virus that I missed?

[CharlieChomper]

In Microsoft's case, it's nothing new--there supposedly have been shades of this going back as far as before Win95's release and I know they unsuccessfully attempted to do something similar on the software level going back to the days of WinXP (prior to the release of Service Pack One/SP1) before they were forced to make changes that came about in SP1.

However, during both those times, the political atmosphere was very different compared to now, just as the laws have sadly changed in a way that certain companies seem to feel they can get away with more than they used to be able to--and what I find even more sad, there's more of a recognition amongst them that many people seem to have a general apathy to it that further just allows it to continue or are too willing to accept it "as is".

I think it's a combination of what you described along with that sad sense of apathy that has created or allowed it to happen.