We already have "secure boot" BS. For now it's easy to turn off but it's only a matter of time before getting locked and forced everywhere.

And just like that I’m all about Ubuntu phones now

It's not going to happen.

Motherboard manufacturers are not going to start making Windows only BIOS.

Microsofts target audience isn't the private user. It's companies. The money they make selling their OS to private persons are table scraps compared to their enterprise licenses. Any such initiative would fuck over every single enterprise customer.

This is already happening, but it's on an organisational level by policy. These policies can be applied to systems that follow trusted computing rules, which is most Windows 10 systems and pretty much all windows 11 systems. Google has laid the groundwork for this since the pixel 3 was released in 2018.

Since then, we have seen Google put the Titan security module in all phones and I'm certain Chromebooks are requiring TPM modules that serve the same function.

Apple has been doing the same since God knows when. Their systems have had unique chips that ensure that when MacOS is installed, it is only installed in Apple computers. There are ways around this, just as there are ways around the TPM requirement for Windows 11.

The trusted computing model, when fully imposed, can basically stop any applications from running that have not been given the blessing of the security team.

As far as I'm aware, the only people taking advantage of the technology are government institutions.

The fact that this can be wielded to enforce control over private individuals by our corporate masters is becoming a very real possibility, but the fact that it hasn't happened yet, by any vendor, is, in my opinion, good evidence to say that it's unlikely, but not impossible. Maybe that's wishful thinking on my part.

In any case, the only truly free operating system left is GNU/Linux, with few other exceptions.

That’s the whole intention of requiring TPM for Windows 11. It’s coming soon.

They also banned Kaspersky in the states because they weren’t whitelisting state malware.

I kind of expect this to happen with Apple's rumored $600 macbook. Since they just updated ipadOS to run like a locked down version of macOS. I bet they will offer this cheap mac with the same locked down OS since it will have a "phone" processor in it.

They will say this was a compromise needed, but the majority of people will not care. After a few years, the macs that are open will get more and more expensive.

I'm guessing Windows will slowly start to move in thie direction, but I think they will try to push their remote computers thing to accomplish this.

I'm not sure about bootloaders being locked, I am guessing there will always be something that is unlocked and able to run linux though. It is needed for servers and stuff like that. In the worst case, someone will likely sell arm or risc-v powered boards that can be used to run linux.

Didn't MS already try this with Windows S editions?

IIRC, I had a PC (since sold) that had secure boot permanently enabled from the factory. That is, in spirit, a PC with a "locked bootloader", but you might not even notice because many Linux distros have that Microsoft-blessed Linux loading shim... but it is still Microsoft inserting themselves between you and your hardware; they could decide in the next few years they no longer "support" Linux, hypothetically.

Now? Doesn’t M$ still release the "S" mode version of Windows that only allow downloads via their "official App Store"?

For phones Google gets to decide, as an os maker. For PCs, there are multiple OSses so hardware manufacturers get to decide.

I personally don't see AMD or Intel doing that anytime soon, and if they do, at least Arm and Risc-V are making some good progress in the desktop space

Fear of this is why I have been hoarding any computer that runs for a long time now

Linux is quite well established now on home pc's and servers to the dismay of Microsoft and Apple. I hated Secureboot , built into UEFI, during startup by verifying the digital signatures of firmware, drivers, and the OS bootloader. Reading into Deep State Mass surveillance helps:

https://www.printernational.co.uk/timmann/history.htm#surveillance

Absolutely not, that would never happen. Why? Because there's a load of stuff that runs on Windows that is ancient and only exists as legacy software and never receives updates.

If anything, Windows is the last operating system that will have locked bootloaders, because if they do, there's gonna be some bank somewhere in the world suing them because their ancient counting software was originally made for Windows 3.0 back in the day and Microsoft has had to build their entire operating system around making sure that software continues to run.

They might have hardware requirements like the TPM chip, but they're never going to make it so you can only install software approved by them, because they've got over 40 years of software they'd need to approve before they can do that, and they won't.

https://youtu.be/HUEvRyemKSg might be relevant.

Turns out some people can predict the future if they pay attention

17 and a half weeks

Eh, just means it isn't plug and play. Once you have the hardware, you are the admin.

It may get tougher, but it'll never be impossible.