Windows 10 to make the Secure Boot alt-OS lock out a reality (Ars Technica)

Ars Technica is one of several news outlets to report on a change announced in Microsoft's Windows 10 plans. Though the headlines (including Ars Technica's) paint a rather bleak scenario, the details are not as clear-cut. The UEFI "Secure Boot" mechanism was introduced with Windows 8, at which time Microsoft's OEM-certification rules mandated that hardware must include a means for the local user to disable Secure Boot. The Windows 10 certification rules does not include the mandated disable switch. Writes Peter Bright: "Should this stand, we can envisage OEMs building machines that will offer no easy way to boot self-built operating systems, or indeed, any operating system that doesn't have appropriate digital signatures. This doesn't cut out Linux entirely-there have been some collaborations to provide Linux boot software with the 'right' set of signatures, and these should continue to work-but it will make it a lot less easy." Note, also, that the only source for this story appears to be a presentation from a Microsoft event in Shenzhen, China. Bright adds that he has contacted Microsoft seeking clarification, but has so far received no reply.