Linus Torvalds: Locked Down Technologies Lose in the End
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Linux creator Linus Torvalds shared his opinions on Microsoft,Apple, open vs. locked down technologies and the future of Linux, at the LinuxCon Brazil conference this week.
“Technologies that lock things down tend to lose in the end,” said Torvalds when asked about Microsoft’s secure boot feature, which he likened to Apple’s use of DRM technology. “People want freedom and markets want freedom,” he added.
Secure boot is a feature in Microsoft’s Windows 8 operating system designed to protect against low-level hacker attacks, but it could also end up preventing users from installing Linux on a PC shipped with a pre-loaded copy of Windows 8.
“I’m an optimist: openness is successful in the long run, secure boot is another one of these passing fads,” said Torvalds.
His statements carry a special weight in Brazil, where Apple iPhone users cannot buy games for the device, due to specific legal requirements from the Brazilian government. Apple has reacted by simply removing the games category for users in Brazil altogether. Because of its secretive corporate culture, Apple has recently been criticized in Brazil for being the “most closed company in the world.”
Source:
Mashable