Bonum Certa Men Certa

As GNU and Linux Become Dominant Platforms They Need Not Follow Microsoft With UEFI

Summary: Positive outlook for GNU and Linux is overshadowed somewhat by tactless embrace of UEFI by the likes of Canonical

2013, as we've pointed out throughout that year, was an excellent year for GNU/Linux (others agree [1]). Even Microsoft boosters realise that the world is leaving Windows behind, mostly because Google (with Chrome OS and Android) is occupying more and more segments, enjoying huge market share (by some criteria higher than Windows'). As an example of one Microsoft booster in a stage of acceptance, see "Facing the Biggest Problem with Windows in 2014" (written by a famous Windows booster).



The last thing we need right now is technology that helps keep Windows around. It is baffling to see Ubuntu, which is now managed by former Microsoft staff, wasting everyone's time with UEFI (this is counter-productive). Here is the latest: "An Ubuntu developer has proposed 32-bit UEFI support within new Ubuntu Linux install images to support the new "Bay Trail" laptops and other hardware that requires 32-bit UEFI support."

Ubuntu's Mark Shuttleworth says that Ubuntu Linux on track for full convergence before Microsoft [2], but why is he following Microsoft's 'lead' (in antifeatures)? This is not necessary. He would be better off joining antitrust complaints. Shuttleworth is correct in pointing out that we're moving towards mobile and servers (pundits agree with him [3] and so do sales numbers [3-6], which demonstrate Linux domination [7]).

GNU/Linux is doing just fine without following Microsoft's footsteps. Canonical should rethink its UEFI strategy at this stage. It's never too late.

Related/contextual items from the news:



  1. 2013 REVIEWED – FROM A LINUX USER’S POINT OF VIEW
    2013 was one of the most dramatic years of my life-time. The Edward Snowden revelations made this year the most remarkable year in the history. As a Gnu/Linux user (where privacy and control of data is prime objective) this year was quite promising as Gnu/Linux rose as the dominant player in the consumer space.



  2. Shuttleworth: Ubuntu Linux on track for full convergence before Microsoft
    Microsoft is widely expected to converge its operating systems across desktops, mobile phones and tablets. However, according to Mark Shuttleworth, Ubuntu Linux is on track to achieve full convergence first.


  3. What Happened In Desktop Linux In 2013? Not Much
    Much like the overall IT industry, the Linux community shifted its focus to mobile and cloud computing.


  4. Amazon Delivers Quick 9 Second Kindle Fire HDX Mayday Response


  5. Amazon's Kindle Fire blazed new trails over the holidays


  6. Amazon Kindle Smartphone to launch in 2014?


  7. Linux dominates Amazon's Christmas tablet sales
    While I'm happy to see Android doing so well, I'd really like to see other Linux-based products topping the charts too. Perhaps an Ubuntu based tablet or phone might also be a good option for consumers. I'd very much prefer that customers had another choice besides just Android, iOS or Microsoft Windows based products.



Recent Techrights' Posts

WordPress Becoming What We Feared It Would Become
WordPress and other such bloatware (WordPress used to be fast and light) are moving in the same trajectory that GAFAM leads
Call for European Patent Office (EPO) Whistleblowers
The European Patent Organisation (EPO) might not reform the Office
400-Page US Federal Court Against Abuses by Google, Microsoft and Front Groups That Abuse Volunteers for American Corporations
There are 386 pages in total (in the US claim)
Projection Tactics - Part IV: SLAPP by Americans Against Techrights (UK) to Hide Serious Abuses Against American Women
"PRs need to stop being complicit in suppression of information via SLAPPs"
Five Years Ago, After We Broke the Story About Richard Stallman Rejoining the FSF's Board, All Hell Broke Loose (for Me and My Family)
They generally seem to target anyone who thinks Richard Stallman (RMS) should be in charge or thinks alike about computing
Projection Tactics - Part II: Causing "Serious Harm" to Many People (Even Animals)
Narcissists and sociopaths are like that
Sirius Open Source's Latest Report: Fake (False) Number of Staff, Almost No Money in the Bank, Overdraft, and Growing Debt (About £100,000 More Borrowed)
massive (and still growing) debt
 
SLAPP Censorship - Part 124 Out of 200: The Court Deems My Wife Connected to the Case of the Serial Strangler From Microsoft, Invites Her to the Hearing Last Week
Brett Wilson LLP does not play by the rules
Paying Severance to Staff Laid Off by Microsoft Too Expensive for Microsoft Now?
When companies earn such a bad reputation (not paying severance to people they discard) it lowers morale even further
Microsoft Mass Layoffs Due to Money Problems (Debt, Lack of Money to Complete Payroll), Not "Hey Hi"
If Microsoft later comes up with some "Hey Hi" narrative, then immediately reject it
Stop Conflating Free Software With Slop Plagiarism and Time-wasting
Even decades ago people could use "compute" for lots of fuzzing, then file away false or unaudited reports using bots
What Security Means
Security does not mean asking Microsoft for permission
Microsoft May be Losing 10,000+ Workers This Month
Here's the quick math
BSN Senior School Leidschenveen is Shutting Down and What That Means to the European Patent Office (EPO)
Follow-up meeting with Site Manager VP1 on school matters
Gemini Links 01/07/2026: Keeping (Relatively) Cool plus Adventures in Solar, Camp Snap Cameras and XTEINK X4 Ereader Reviews
Links for the day
European Patent Office (EPO) Series: Different Strokes For Different Folks
Organisation operating in two parallel universes
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Tuesday, June 30, 2026
IRC logs for Tuesday, June 30, 2026
GNU/Linux Measured at 4.4% by statCounter, Even More by analytics.usa.gov
GNU/Linux has fared well
Getting Skyped: Closure of Studios Microsoft Bought
wait till July and the mass layoffs outside XBox
Several Waves of Red Hat Layoffs This Year, Is This Still Going on Under IBM?
The PIPs and NDAs hard to get a clear picture
Sabine Hossenfelder Versus IBM Scamming Shareholders
IBM has become a garage of BS
Some XBox Layoffs Underway, At Least Five Studios to be Shut Down
Insiders are in a state of panic
Gemini Links 30/06/2026: Music Theory, Addiction, Clown Computing
Links for the day
Links 30/06/2026: France Recorded 1,000 Excess Deaths During Heat Wave, Slop Replaced by Human Staff
Links for the day
People Given the Totally Wrong Idea That "Secure Boot" is About Security (It's the Opposite, It's About Handing Control Over to NSA/Microsoft)
"Secure Boot" with capital "B" is conflating compromise with security.
Today The Register MS is Publishing Fake Articles About "AI", 100% of All "Content"
Maybe the media is dying because it is selling its soul [...] The Register MS has no standard
America Has Cost Europe Too Much
Countries ought to be controlling all their own systems
GAFAM Debt Will Surge, in July We'll Know by How Much
Do not fall for slop or sloppy narratives
Too Many "Marketers on the Payroll" at IBM, Selling Impossible Products That Cannot be Delivered or Will Never Deliver
IBM is rotting away
Media Says Microsoft's (XBox) Layoffs May be Record-Breaking
think somewhere in the range of ~5000 for gaming/XBox alone
Links 30/06/2026: What's Wrong With EU Age Verification, RSA Keys with Many Zeros
Links for the day
This is Not a Security, This is a Circus
Security does not mean "asked Microsoft for permission"
Communities Need Strong Leadership, Not Dictators Like IBM
Leadership in Free software is not ownership [...] Fedora will only last as long as IBM can somehow make some money out of it or leverage it to attract sharecropping
Patents Are Not "Cash Cows"
People who deliberately don't understand patents (or believe lies about them) will fail to understand how the world works (or does not work)
Sad Lives of People Who Think Women Are Just Sexual Toys (All They Have is Money)
money is still a man-made concept and life is finite
SLAPP Censorship - Part 123 Out of 200: Why Violence Against Animals Matters
Starting tomorrow (Wednesday) we'll begin telling stories about what happened last week
EPO Staff Union's (SUEPO) The Hague Committee, With Help of Lawyer, Challenges Lack of Rewards for Hard Work
The EPO is not about granting valid patents anymore. The horse-trading corrupt officials just see the EPO as some thing that "prints money"
Massive EPO Demonstration Today
It'll start in about 6 hours
More Layoffs in Microsoft's PR Department, Even Ahead of 'D-Day'
Notice they are not even waiting for the official date (nor week)
European Patent Office (EPO) Series: Photo-Ops Galore and Suspicions of Influence-Peddling
coverage of the EPO's Croatian junket
Gemini Links 30/06/2026: Music and Broken Hearts
Links for the day
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Monday, June 29, 2026
IRC logs for Monday, June 29, 2026
Gemini Links 29/06/2026: Using More of GPLv3+ and Merits of Security by TOFU
Links for the day
Links 29/06/2026: Lemote Yeeloong Laptop With OpenBSD, Slop Ruins Code/Development
Links for the day
Antisocial People With No Computer Science Background Are Ruining the Technology Space (Like Officials With No Experience in Patents Destroyed the EPO)
This is a real issue; it needs to be widely recognised and tackled
DDoS Attacks Are a Crime and They Only Increase Interest (Intrigue) in Their Target
Information cannot be DDoSed out of reach/existence, except temporarily
Pushing to the Top
Publishing is about exposing corruption
Whistleblowing and Retaliation by Microsoft Workers Against Microsoft Seems Increasingly Likely
some will go to the press, looking to expose some shenanigans
How Long Can a Company Delay Its Financial Report That Likely Confirms Exodus of Staff, Growing Debt, and Other Problems?
Brett Wilson LLP was meant to release its annual report some time early this month
SLAPP Censorship - Part 122 Out of 200: Garrett's Solicitors Confirm That Garrett is Ban-Evading and Spying on Our IRC Network
his solicitors basically acknowledge this
European Patent Office (EPO) Series: Networking With the National Delegates
António Campinos with a prime opportunity to network with the Administrative Council delegates and lobby for his reappointment
PIPs and "Retirements": IBM Layoffs in Anything But Name
That former Red Hat (now IBM) staff threatens to put my wife and I in prison is worse than cruel
Contact Members of the EPO Administrative Council, Tell Them the EPO (Office) Became a Disgrace and an Enemy of Europe's Citizens
If you live in Europe (not just the EU, even Turkey is included), please contact your delegates
The World Needs GNU/Linux for Security, Turn Off "Secure Boot" (It's the Opposite of Security)
They call it "Secure Boot", but what does it mean to say "Secure" when you actively opt for back doors controlled by Microsoft, the FBI, and many more parties?
In Signal of Weakness or Phasing Out XBox (Not Sustainable, According to the CEO) Microsoft "Pauses New Third-Party Game Pass Deals"
Moments ago
Two Pieces About "AI" This Morning Were Paid-For SPAM at The Register MS
The Register MS is the "Tech News" publisher you can pay to promote your company and even key-word-stuff pages for SEO purposes
Week of Microsoft Layoffs, Maybe Record-Breaking Scale
They will mislead about the scale
Links 28/06/2026: More Om Malik Eulogies, Cloudflare Promotes Web Browser Monocultures
Links for the day
IBM's Alderon as "Silent Layoffs", Not Just Bailout From Taxpayers
Seeing through the noise
'Modern' Web: "Stop! You Are Browsing Too Fast!"
Can the Web ever recover from this?
Pensions Tied to Ponzi Schemes Are Themselves Ponzi Schemes
Pensions are becoming more like that as well
Laptop Bricked After Microsoft Certificates Expiry
Is "Jim" dead?
Monoculture in Europe as National (or Continental) Security Threat
We need more browser diversity
Canada 5-0: GNU/Linux Rises to 5.0%, Windows Rapidly Falls to New Lows
Will we be seeing 6-0 (6%) by year's end and will Microsoft be shown two red cards?
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Sunday, June 28, 2026
IRC logs for Sunday, June 28, 2026
Gemini Links 29/06/2026: Sansieviera, HiFi, and Self-Signed Certificates
Links for the day