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January 18, 2012

The technical detail of whether Secure Boot technology in UEFI (Unified Extensible Firmware Interface) firmware could exclude Linux from computers running Windows 8 has been pushed up a few notches, and it looks like Microsoft is at its old tricks again.

Red Hat engineer Matthew Garrett, one of the first to warn about the UEFI issue, has blogged that Microsoft's rules for certified Windows 8 hardware do not make it easier to boot Linux despite what some at the software behemoth have claimed.

Redmond's hardware requirements for Windows 8 mention the existence of a boot option for PCs that can fire up a digitally signed Linux kernel. This custom boot-mode would allow the user to modify the contents of the computer's Secure Boot signature database and the platform key (PK) that verifies kernels during system start-up.

But this implies that users can install their own keys, including ones provided by Linux vendors, to run whatever operating system they want. While this sounds conceptually simple, Garret points there are lot of practical details missing, a fact that will make working with Microsoft's key infrastructure a lot more difficult.

Garrett wrote that this might dissuade users from bothering to install Linux on a Windows 8 PC. People have spent incredible amounts of time and effort making it easy to install Linux by doing little more than putting a CD in a drive. Asking them to go into the firmware and reconfigure things adds an extra barrier that restricts the ability to install Linux to more technically skilled users.

Garrett also warns that among the various details missing from Microsoft's technical documents is a description of a user interface to enable people to install and manage keys, meaning they must wander around by hand in the firmware settings. This lack of coherence also makes it possible for competing PC makers to confuse the situation even more by coming up with their own vendor-specific UIs.

Additionally, the key format itself hasn't been described yet, and there's no description on how to use custom mode for unattended remote or automated installs of Linux on a Windows 8 computer.

Garrett first blogged about Microsoft's Windows 8 Secure Boot in September last year. The normally non-communicative executive leading Windows 8, Steven Sinofsky, actually responded with a blog post claiming the customer would be in control of their PC with UEFI Secure Boot.

Garrett then shot back saying that by customer Microsoft must mean the PC manufacturer because there's no guarantee ordinary users would get the signing keys.

It's the keys that are critical to thwarting hackers by stopping them from installing unauthorized malware - such as rootkits - that start before the operating system and undermine a computer's security. It will be left to PC and device makers to follow Microsoft's UEFI requirements.

They have the power to decide whether to go with custom or standard boot-mode on their computers. That said, Microsoft's hardware certification requirements don't offer the option of custom mode to makers of ARM devices. On page 116 of the requirements, it says "On an ARM system, it is forbidden to enable Custom Mode. Only Standard Mode may be enabled."

On non-ARM systems, it is required to implement the ability to disable Secure Boot via firmware setup. A physically present user must be allowed to disable Secure Boot via firmware setup without possession of PKpriv.

Programmatically disabling of Secure Boot either during Boot Services or after exiting EFI Boot Services must not be possible. Disabling Secure MUST NOT be possible on ARM systems.

By targeting ARM, Microsoft hopes to place its Windows operating system onto tablets. Some have said this might mean Windows 8 will be locked to specific hardware, and therefore only OEMs can do the tweaking. And Microsoft isn't commenting on any of this.

It's a reasonable line of thought, and one that reinforces the thinking that Windows 8 on ARM will be for specific-use tablets such as readers – like the Kindle – that are typically deliberately and firmly locked down by the maker for various commercial and technical reasons.

Another possibility is this-- Microsoft is taking no chances on those first Windows-8-on-ARM machines falling over, thereby avoiding embarrassment and backlash.

Lockdown is a policy Microsoft has implemented elsewhere and for many years now, notably on the first Windows Phone 7 devices, which were then blocked to third-party apps on version 7.0 and only opened up with 7.5, codenamed Mango.

In other Linux news

CES 2012 officially opens this morning in Las Vegas and as usual, companies are in a rush to showcase their new products, and sometimes a new concept. Here's a new one for you-- a TV that runs on the Linux operating system!

Linux reseller and support firm Canonical is presenting CES visitors with a TV-of-the-future concept maximizing its touch-based Linux distribution and its Ubuntu Cloud Solution.

The new project has been percolating inside Canonical's offices when it received a bit of publicity late last year from Canonical's CEO, Mark Shuttleworth.

The idea behind Ubuntu TV, Canonical says, is to deliver television as it was intended-- with no cables, no boxes, and, most importantly, no hassles for the TV viewer. In other words, a 'no frills TV', but no frills doesn't mean no features.

Canonical director of communications Gerry Car says "The goal is to uncomplicate television for the average viewer while still delivering all the services and options that they are becoming used to."

From its modest beginnings, Ubuntu has always been closely associated with PCs and servers that run on Ubuntu, a Linux flavor that closely resembles Debian Linux, but that was developed by Canonical and then renamed Ubuntu. And in 2011, Canonical developed its Ubuntu Linux Cloud Solution.

The Ubuntu TV concept actually shadows and extends developments in the fusion of TV, computing and the web. It also creates the Ubuntu media cloud – with Ubuntu One as the "web hub" of everything. Think a bit of Steve Jobs' idea of a central hub for everything: computing, music, voice and now TV.

Canonical's cloud service is actually called Ubuntu One Service. Canonical's old pitch phrase had been "Linux for human beings". The motto for Ubuntu TV is "TV for human beings".

We're told that Ubuntu TV will offer its users the ability to pause and watch programs on different TVs and other devices, like smartphones. Ubuntu One is a data-synching service, which currently allows you to stream music and access content on different devices.

You can currently stream tunes in Ubuntu One to Apple's iPhone, the iPad and any Android mobile devices. Remember that Android 'does run' on Linux.

The goal is to go beyond music, and to integrate TV and film content providers to the Canonical hub, as Microsoft has achieved with the Xbox 360 and as Apple has done with its iTunes and Apple TV. Google, too, is pushing into TVs – running Android on TV sets that merge film and television with internet-based content and online surfing.

Through Ubuntu One, users will be able to view photos and other files stored online and will be able to download apps for their TV set via the Ubuntu Software Center.

Everything: TV, Blu-ray or web will be controlled via a single, Ubuntu-powered handset or device, according to Canonical. We are promised the device will also have the ability to search, record and play TV programs from different cable and satellite providers as well.

Overall, just about everything will be played and displayed using the Ubuntu Unity interface, while Ubuntu TV will support ARM and x86 chip sets.

Of course, concept is one thing, but there’s plenty of hard work ahead before any of this can be delivered to the typical television viewer. While Ubuntu talks of making TV better for humans, the TV site that it has built with Monday's news firmly reaches out to hardware and content partners and invites people to contact Canonical.

Canonical needs TV and device-makers to build TVs with Ubuntu embedded. On the content side, it must attract broadcasters, satellite service providers, cable companies and studio partners who can stuff their programming down Ubuntu's tubes. It can probably be done, but there's still a mountain of work that needs to be done to achieve this, and to come up with an initial version of a solution that can be tested.

On the hardware side, Canonical claims it already has a foot in the door with Dell. The two companies worked closely together to put Ubuntu on Dell's PCs and servers. Dell also happens to make media centers and flat-screen HD TVs.

But make no mistake, such partners won't get Ubuntu TV for free, even though the Ubuntu source code is licensed for free, without charge under the GPL license. Companies licensing an Ubuntu-branded commercial device will have to pay Canonical a per-unit price covering engineering, maintenance, quality assurance, third-party licensing and consulting costs, Shuttleworth said.

"Canonical shares post-purchase services revenue from the sale of content, applications and subscriptions through Ubuntu TV products with OEMs and distribution/channel partners," he added.

On media, Canonical's only partner right now is 7 Digital, which provides the warehouse and store that underpins the Ubuntu One music store. 7 Digial, in turn, boasts relationships with the major music studios with download stores in 37 countries and a licensed catalog of more than 17 million MP3 tracks.

Mark Shuttleworth has long sought to beat Steve Jobs’ Apple on the look and features of the desktop with his Linux distro. Now, to go beyond music on Ubuntu One, he’ll have to actually emulate Jobs by getting film and TV companies to buy into his company's TV platform.

You have to give Shuttleworth credit where credit is due. His concept is a good one, but the question is, will it fly? We happen to believe that Apple still has a better chance at succeeding at this. With more than $60 billion in cash, Apple stands out as a strong competitor, not just to Ubuntu Linux, but to all others with a similar concept. And Apple has been around longer than Canonical has been. We will keep you posted.

In other Linux news

Speaking of Canonical, the company said in December that it has released its first alpha build version of Ubuntu 12.04, dubbed Precise Pangolin, and the company added that this latest version would be a long term support (LTS) release for its users.

Ubuntu version 12.04, available for x86 and 64-bit servers and computers, is based around the Linux kernel 3.2 release, and a lot of work has already gone into bugfixing for Ubuntu’s code, including some issues with how it interacts with Intel’s Sandy Bridge and Centrino hardware.

The source code also includes version 9 of both Firefox and Thunderbird from Mozilla. But just keep in mind that this is an alpha release. “Pre-releases of Precise Pangolin are not encouraged for anyone needing a stable system or anyone who is not comfortable running into occasional, even frequent operating system breakage," said Kate Stewart, Ubuntu release manager, in a message board posting.

The posting adds "They are, however, recommended for Ubuntu system developers and those who want to help in testing, reporting, and fixing bugs as we work towards getting this LTS release ready.”

But there are still a few obstacles, however. At the start of this build, the team identified no less than 2237 work items, of which 339 have been completed and 41 simply postponed, still leaving a massive job of work to do before the expected final release of the build sometime in April or May 2012.

So far, the new alpha version for ARM processors isn’t available as yet, but one is in the cards and the team is ironing out some issues with the new architecture. In a blog post in November, Canonical's CEO Mark Shuttleworth promised Ubuntu would support ARM for the first time with the Pangolin release, and that the new operating system would be much more focused on cloud systems.

“Ubuntu is the number one operating system for cloud computing, whether you measure it by the number of instances running on all the major public clouds, the number of Ubuntu-based cloud appliances, the number of public and private clouds running on Ubuntu host OS,” he wrote.

“The extraordinary diversity of the Ubuntu community, the calibre of collaboration between Ubuntu and OpenStack, and the focused efforts of Canonical to make Ubuntu useful in the Cloud have all contributed to that position,” he added.

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