Re: [unrev-II] "He who controls the bootloader"

From: Jack Park (jackpark@thinkalong.com)
Date: Sat Sep 08 2001 - 20:45:56 PDT

  • Next message: Henry K van Eyken: "Re: [unrev-II] "He who controls the bootloader""

    At 09:16 PM 9/8/2001 +0100, you wrote:
    > >From personal experience of getting caught out by buying a machine that
    >turned out to have an unadvertised WinModem things are even uglier than
    >that.
    >
    >Peter

    But wait! There's more...
    I bought a Sony PCG-XG38 VIAO laptop. I should have been suspicious when I
    noticed the "Designed for Microsoft(r) Windows(TM) Me. I didn't.

    I later installed Windows 2000 on it. Guess what. Much of what used to be
    in firmware -- function keys and so forth -- are now locked up in DLLs such
    that Windows 2000 would not allow me to, for example, switch to an external
    monitor, and so forth, including battery management. In short, I could not
    use the laptop for what it was intended to be: a mobile platform. And,
    Sony doesn't (or at least didn't have at the time) have a "fix" for this
    oversight. In short, Sony is actually selling a product that violates one
    of the unwritten "advantages" of Wintel products: upward mobility. As it
    is, I'm stuck with a laptop that crashes often. Eventually, I'll hose MS
    and install Linux on it.

    Part of me is inclined not to send this because it's only marginally
    related to the Unfinished Revolution. But, I can cast these reflections of
    "the uglies" into Unrev by way of this thought: What will a Wintel OHS
    look like?

    Jack

    ------------------------ Yahoo! Groups Sponsor ---------------------~-->
    Secure your servers with 128-bit SSL encryption! Grab your copy of VeriSign's FREE Guide, "Securing Your Web
    site for Business" and learn all about serious security. Get it Now!
    http://us.click.yahoo.com/r0k.gC/oT7CAA/yigFAA/IHFolB/TM
    ---------------------------------------------------------------------~->

    Community email addresses:
      Post message: unrev-II@onelist.com
      Subscribe: unrev-II-subscribe@onelist.com
      Unsubscribe: unrev-II-unsubscribe@onelist.com
      List owner: unrev-II-owner@onelist.com

    Shortcut URL to this page:
      http://www.onelist.com/community/unrev-II

    Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/

    This archive was generated by hypermail 2.0.0 : Sat Sep 08 2001 - 20:37:45 PDT