Linux Ubuntu 14.04 LTS

[American Patriot]

Ok. Makes sense. I honestly do NOT remember how I got into bios or whatever you call it now, but it was a combination of keys. I seem to remember ESC-F11 for some reason. Now that I've loaded Lubuntu, I'll have to go back in and look.

What is the whole reasoning process behind locking a "bios" to the "OS" and encrypting (with a key I assume) access? One more way for Windows to force themselves on the public perhaps?

I mean to me it is a serious issues to be locked into this or that OS, prevented from loading what I want on MY machine I paid cash money for, and the ability to be free in what I do, want to use or NOT want to use.

Android pisses me off sometimes. Kindle... for instance (my Kindle Fire, 1st gen) was just such a thing. I didn't like the fact that Amazon locked it down. I rooted it. Now recently they fucked it by an OTA "update" which locked it out, and won't allow me to use it now. It keeps rebooting back into recovery mode (that's the background OS used to help you change the rom etc).

So, a couple days ago, I wiped the "Kindle" part and loaded a full-on android ROM. I figured I'd get around Kindle's bull shit, download "Kindle Reader for Android" and read my books.

Nope. when you re-register the device using a new android it CHECKS to see what kind of device you have and DENIES you access.

They also have disallowed anyone using a Kindle from reading on the Cloud, forcing you to download their App. Which in turn, checks the device (I can read on my galaxy, with no issues, but NOT on my kindle! WTF? LOL)

Then, of course, you can't put Google Apps or the play store on your kindle unless you root it, once you root it, Amazon is checking now. Somehow they have locked me out from being able to reflash my rooting program or putting an older version of TWRP back on. (I've see others complaining about this, so it's not just me).

I'm a little peeved that an OS maker thinks they somehow have the right to limit what you can do with your own device. I'm not RENTING the fucking thing, I BOUGHT it.

Given all that I probably should have just left my kindle as a kindle and been done but at the time I rooted it, I didn't have my tablet yet and I wanted to do things Amazon wasn't allowing. So much for being ahead of the power curve I suppose.

Anyway, for what it is worth, I have a good android rom on there which is working, I can carry it when I don't want to drag the other tablet along with me and it fits in my jacket pocket instead of having to carry it in a case, or a bag like my laptop. But given THAT, I'll most likely carry my laptop in the islands when I want to go sit at the bar and have a beer and answer email anyway... so who knows. Maybe I'll just carry the tablet when I'm in a hurry....

[Malsua]

>>What is the whole reasoning process behind locking a "bios" to the "OS" and encrypting (with a key I assume) access? One more way for Windows to force themselves on the public perhaps?<<

Hardly.

There have been a number of malware root kit that inject themselves at the boot loader, then load the OS. Since it's working at the hardware level, not only is it very difficult to detect, it's impossible to get rid of without pulling the drive and clearing it in a different system.

Secure boot means that the OS at least is the only thing accessing the hardware to load the OS.


As for jailbreaking your Kindle, that's the risk. Eventually they catch up and fuck you over. I've made the decision that if I can't live in their world, I'm going to a different device in a different world.

I'm quite happy with my Kindle Paperwhite. In fact, I bought one for my wife yesterday. She had a Nook Color for a while(18mos) that I replaced with a Nook Glow(bought in June 2013). Now she has to charge her Nook every other day.

I last charged my Kindle Paperwhite before I left for Florida on the 6th of March. It's still about half charged now and that's WITH using the backlight and WIFI. It's an amazing reader.

[American Patriot]

You know, the rootkits aspect didn't occur to me. Duh. And here I am working in computer security, lol.

But then we don't have to deal with stuff like that (for the most part) behind several fire walls, and stand alone networks that have only a limited set of users etc.

My Kindle DX I don't mess with. My wife has a Touch and she doesn't mess with crap like that anyway. My Kindle Fire was another story. It was something I couldn't keep my hands out of, lol. BUT she has issues with it lately, won't download her shit, and I've gone through every Amazon forum and looked finding a lot of others with similar problems. None of the fixes work (like hard reset, deregister/reregister). So I'm not sure there.

I rooted the Galaxy too, and reverted back deciding not to screw with it much lol.

But at this point this is a Kindle Fire 1st Gen and it's hosed enough that it doesn't matter at this point. I can still read all my stuff on the Galaxy and the DX. I'll just use the KF now for a quick reader for PDFs when I dont wanna dig out the tablet or laptop. lol

[American Patriot]

Running Lubuntu 15.04 these days on an HP lap top. Seems to be working very nicely.

Here's my wallpaper. lol

[American Patriot]

Now you know where I am, who I am, and a lot of shit about me! lol

[Malsua]

I've a couple of Ubuntu installations around my office...they are "flavor of the month" kinds of things....OOH, look at the new feature, install the image, run it for a bit, give out a big sigh and turn it off again.

Linux simply isn't a suitable desktop replacement over Windows, OSX or even Chromebooks.

Yes, you can arguably do most of the same things. The difference is however that getting there is clunky, confusing and sometimes things simply just don't and can't work until a new kernal comes out.

It's no more private than anything else because the NSA is scarfing up everything and advertisers are fingerprinting browsers. Hell even TOR browsers aren't immune to fingerprinting. Privacy is over. You want privacy, stay off the internet.

[American Patriot]

Agreed about privacy. Which is why I don't particularly care any more. lol

But, I have to say this does everything I need it to do. I don't game much any more, so I don't have need of running some of the big game things.

I use the PC for writing, research, navigation, looking at this and a few other web sites, Skype and mostly playing around with ideas (part of my writing).

The Lubuntu is by nature not so big and clunky as some of the others and it's been pared down a bit. I didn't like the standard desktop stuff so I loaded Mint desktop stuff and I went out and found me some SF wall papers, and boat stuff.

Other than using it mostly for news and forums though there's else I need to do with the machine, which is why I like it.

It's still difficult to get information off a PC unless it's in your hands though. It would have to be gone through by forensics folks anyway to get all the data. Unless encrypted.

Then it would take them a very long time to get your data off the machine.

[Brian Baldwin]

I dual booted Linux Mint 17.3 recently and it has no problems with the UEFI. Would switch totally to linux if they'd just start making games for them. Or I should say newer and better games. WINE can sometimes be a headache, and I do like my video games. lol Mint isn't bad and it's based off Ubuntu so it's a bit easier for beginners... It also comes loaded with many of the software packages most people would add anyway such as office style ones. Updating drivers was pretty straight forward and networking only took a few tweaks. I use an AC1900 D-Link router with 802.11ac Found it to be much faster than windows on boot and certainly less intrusive. Can honestly say though that the rest of my family could never use it. I appear to be the only one tech savvy in the least in this house.

[American Patriot]

I should have updated here. I'm running Linux Mint now.

Completely, totally a convert.

Since I'm not playing games any more, don't really have time,and mostly writing, this is the way to go.