On Thu, 2003-10-09 at 02:16, HaywireMac wrote: > On Sat, 4 Oct 2003 14:24:47 -0700 > rikona <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> uttered: > > > Try to spread the word: check carefully and NEVER buy any computer > > with a Phoenix BIOS. > > Unfortunately, this may be spreading beyond Phoenix: > > http://news.zdnet.co.uk/software/developer/0,39020387,2130826,00.htm > > Quote: > > "Intel predicted the end of one of the last remnants of the original IBM > PC, at the Intel Developer Forum in San Jose this week. For more than > twenty years, the PC has relied on the BIOS (Basic Input Output System), > a small set of fixed software subroutines normally built into a chip on > the motherboard. This hangover from a distant past is causing more and > more problems, said Mark Doran, the principal engineer behind the > Extensible Firmware Interface (EFI) project that aims to humanely kill > the antique." > > and the scary part: > > "Because it gives a new level of control over the hardware, it's also of > interest to digital rights management and security designers." > > >shudder< GNU-Linux has for a long time been able to work around bios settings, and not even use the bios for a lot of things, including hard drive access and settings (ie; hdparm over riding what ever the bios says) Trusted Computing is on the way, and Linux will be able to handle it too, in a kernel module form, I think. good write up about it in Linux Journal (aug,2003)
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