Microsoft Reportedly Requires "Signature PCs" To Be Locked To Only Running Windows

[Peter Fodrek]

It may be result of
JUDGMENT OF THE COURT (Eighth Chamber)

7 September 2016 (*)

(Reference for a preliminary ruling — Consumer protection — Unfair commercial practices — Directive 2005/29/EC — Articles 5 and 7 — Combined offer — Sale of a computer equipped with pre-installed software — Material information relating to the price — Misleading omission — Consumer unable to obtain the same model of computer not equipped with software)

http://curia.europa.eu/juris/document/document.jsf;jsessionid=9ea7d0f130d59c408b65665e454691a9b00ba2bc9aac.e34KaxiLc3eQc40LaxqMbN4Pa3qOe0?text=&docid=183106&pageIndex=0&doclang=EN&mode=req&dir=&occ=first&part=1&cid=647352

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EU court to decide on PC and software bundling
Submitted by Gijs Hillenius on July 02, 2015
s. The court seeks to determine what are unfair commercial practices, and what are misleading commercial practices. The Court of Cassation is asking the CJEU if bundling is unfair, and if it is unfair not to leave the customer much choice other than accepting the bundling or cancelling the sale.

https://joinup.ec.europa.eu/community/osor/news/eu-court-decide-pc-and-software-bundling

Ruling means that it is not unfair unless there exists majority of users that feels affected by that practice...

[Passso]

If this Windows 10 locked edition becomes the industry standard the last days of Linux on laptops are close...

[pipe13]

The issue is with Linux (and the vanilla Win10 Installer as well) being unable to see the SSD. The BIOS purposefully sets the storage controller into RAID mode, disables the option to change it (i.e. write-protects the UEFI variable that lets you change this) so that you need a custom driver, instead of the standard AHCI one.

Thanks. How big a deal will it be to enhance Linux/BSD AHCI driver to work this, or is the issue still TBD?

[arcaro]

If this Windows 10 locked edition becomes the industry standard the last days of Linux on laptops are close...

According to the archlinux wiki, Linux should run quite well on MacBooks: https://wiki.archlinux.org/index.php/MacBook

Also, there are vendors that are selling laptops w/ Linux, e.g. puri.sm

[Ericg]

Other sources are claiming that the real issue is that the system is forcibly set to use Intel Rapid Storage Tech, which Linux doesn't support.

[eydee]

Sounds like people just have to reverse this raid controller and write a driver for it. Everything was like this just a few years ago.

[OneTimeShot]

Don't buy computers with Windows pre-installed. It's not hard: ChromeBooks or Mac, depending on which Microsoft competitor you prefer to fund.

If Linux doesn't run then the hardware is by definition shipped in a defective state. Send it back and demand a refund, or get them to make it PC compatible as advertised.

[pipe13]

Other sources are claiming that the real issue is that the system is forcibly set to use Intel Rapid Storage Tech, which Linux doesn't support.

Thanks Eric. But is it "...which Linux doesn't support", or "...which Linux doesn't support yet"? Intel has been pretty good about Linux and open source as of late. Is their Rapid Storage Tech some corporate secret?

[Pecisk]

Such requests are subject of anti-trust laws in EU. If they are true, Microsoft opens itself to another lawsuit.

[Passso]

According to the archlinux wiki, Linux should run quite well on MacBooks: https://wiki.archlinux.org/index.php/MacBook

Paying the maximum price for just a correct product and then loose all warranty. No thanks.