How about a followup on those "Signature Edition" PCs?
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Such computers seem to be a precursor to Microsoft reshaping itself into a similar business model as Apple, in combining hardware and software together into a single product, sales controlled eventually only by Microsoft.
Microsoft is becoming a direct competitor with some of the major PC suppliers. Watch for it to buy up or take a controlling interest in one of the major hardware manufacturers, such as DELL. (there's a stock tip.
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http://www.pcworld.com/article/2887213/microsofts-signature-edition-laptops-deliver-the-clean-pc-experience-you-really-want.html
"For only a few dollars more than what you’d pay for a laptop from Asus, Dell, Lenovo, or other manufacturers, Microsoft offers a stripped-down notebook with just the latest version of Windows on board, which it claims is “tuned for performance.”
“When you buy a new PC at Microsoft Store, we ensure there’s no third-party junkware or trialware installed,” "
Microsoft advertises the Signature Edition on their own website.
They also have boot comparison videos on this page.
There's a darker side to this however if you like to use both Windows and Linux on a computer, and worse if you just want Linux on the computer, but then you'd probably not be purchasing a Signature Edition computer anyway. Such computers make running Linux on them difficult and often impossible, and it's done deliberately.
Check out this complaint in a reddit thread.
https://www.reddit.com/r/linux/comments/53ri0m/warning_microsoft_signature_pc_program_now/
Slashgear, a popular tech site has also reported on this problem.
"Lenovo’s Signature Edition Yoga laptops turned out to be rather unfriendly to other operating systems, particularly Linux.
The technical gist of the problem is that owners trying to install Linux on the laptops are unable to do so because the computers’ SSDs were locked in a RAID format that the Linux kernel doesn’t understand, which means it can’t see those drives. In a reply to a support thread in Lenovo’s support forums, a “product expet” said that such was part of the agreement Lenovo had with Microsoft over Signature Edition PCs. The thread was deleted, then restored, then locked since then."
That may present a problem also to those windows users who buy a Signature Edition with intention of removing windows 10 and installing an earlier windows such as 7 or 8. If those earlier systems don't have the new RAID drivers used by these computers, they should fail the attempted install.
Here's both sides in short on the matter, but to me their protestations that their actions isn't intended to lock out other operating systems being able to install on these Signature Edition computers, is like changing the lockset on your car, yet telling others who share the car it wasn't done deliberately to keep them locked out, while still not providing a new key to the car which works for others.
It will be interesting to see how Europe's courts and their laws concerning open competition react to this one, but considering they haven't shown a problem with Apple products, then Microsoft may slide by on this.
However RAID is only concerned with hard drives and Linux can boot direct from USB flashdrives or SD media cards, so probably can boot in that manner on these systems. Of course that removes the preferable boot device, the SSD from being used for Linux.
So, if all you want is a windows system with 10 or later installed on it, then none of the above should matter to you. If you want Linux alone or in a "side by side" install instead of being only in a virtualized system under windows, then the Signature Edition PC's should be avoided.
Deep reading there but I've had a few folk get uppity when I can't solve how to clean install another OS onto a Signature PC.
It's just that different.
And to learn to use current Linux distros that support the new BIOS.
However many folk forget to create backups and then feel entitled to restore media. The days when the restore media was supplied is what? over 10 years now.
Tue for windows, none provided without paying about $15-20 more. At least you always have such with Linux.
Examples but not complete.
ChromeOS (for x86)
AndroidOS
BeOS
FreeDOS
Might be others out there besides Linux and BSD.
I'm glad this has been brought out. I found off and on that no matter what's done, if you deviate from supplied OS, things get sticky. Also, while not Linux bound, just reloading the OS on OEM PCs become more and more restrictive. No where do you find any warning or prepare you that leading the beaten path will cause problems. Go figure...
tada -----Willy ![]()