Foundation wants more of the PC to be free

**MIG-31** · Mar 1, 2005, 07:56 AM

The Free Software Foundation is calling on developers of open-source software to put their efforts into creating a free version of a crucial but obscure piece of software used in personal computers.

The Boston-based FSF wants to foster the broader development of free BIOS software for standard PCs. The BIOS, or basic input-output system, is a little-known application that acts as a go-between for a PC's hardware and operating system. It enables many advanced hardware features--power management for extending notebooks' battery life, for example.

Right now most BIOS software on PCs or computer motherboards is developed by a PC manufacturer or a BIOS specialist such as Phoenix. That manufacturer typically decides when and how the BIOS software is updated, if it's updated at all. The Free Software Foundation's effort to foster a free BIOS--meaning a BIOS that costs nothing and could be installed and used freely--would put control of BIOS more in the hands of end users, foundation President Richard Stallman said in a speech last week in Brussels, Belgium.
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Read More: c|net

mike2h · Mar 1, 2005, 08:14 AM

& that is a good thing? 90% of the people out there have no business messing with their bios.

ChrisW · Mar 1, 2005, 08:54 AM

Last thing we need is more viruses written to attack your system bios.

Malus · Mar 1, 2005, 05:50 PM

Open Source just means that the source code is released. It allows for developers to more easily provide support for different hardware on their OS. I don't see how it is a security risk; it will work the same way it always has, except people won't need to reverse engineer it to figure it out. Besides, I can see people adding features to BIOSes in order to obtain better performance, Imagine being able to add overclocking features to any old board, not limiting your choice to certain boards. Or maybe being able to put in support for a newer CPU if the manufacturer won't.

Not everyone uses Microsoft.

mike2h · Mar 1, 2005, 06:14 PM

the problem is they are specifically saying that - "would put control of BIOS more in the hands of end users" . that means every person that owns a pc. i would agree that it would be a security problem along with other other problems.
you are probably right in that if this ever happens it will not trickle down to us 'end-users'(thx god) but stay at developers level. but to me, the concept as stated is a little scary.

Mar 1, 2005, 07:56 AM	#1
MIG-31 HardwareHeaven News Mod Join Date: Dec 2002 Location: Nottingham,UK Posts: 56,843 Rep Power: 471 System Specs	Foundation wants more of the PC to be free The Free Software Foundation is calling on developers of open-source software to put their efforts into creating a free version of a crucial but obscure piece of software used in personal computers. The Boston-based FSF wants to foster the broader development of free BIOS software for standard PCs. The BIOS, or basic input-output system, is a little-known application that acts as a go-between for a PC's hardware and operating system. It enables many advanced hardware features--power management for extending notebooks' battery life, for example. Right now most BIOS software on PCs or computer motherboards is developed by a PC manufacturer or a BIOS specialist such as Phoenix. That manufacturer typically decides when and how the BIOS software is updated, if it's updated at all. The Free Software Foundation's effort to foster a free BIOS--meaning a BIOS that costs nothing and could be installed and used freely--would put control of BIOS more in the hands of end users, foundation President Richard Stallman said in a speech last week in Brussels, Belgium. ________________ Read More: c\|net __________________ Please Post Your News Submissions Here

Mar 1, 2005, 08:14 AM	#2
mike2h DriverHeaven Extreme Member Join Date: Nov 2002 Location: norcal Posts: 6,483 Rep Power: 91 System Specs	& that is a good thing? 90% of the people out there have no business messing with their bios. __________________

Mar 1, 2005, 05:50 PM	#4
Malus BSD SMASH! Join Date: May 2002 Location: A rabbit hole. . . Posts: 1,170 Rep Power: 0	Open Source just means that the source code is released. It allows for developers to more easily provide support for different hardware on their OS. I don't see how it is a security risk; it will work the same way it always has, except people won't need to reverse engineer it to figure it out. Besides, I can see people adding features to BIOSes in order to obtain better performance, Imagine being able to add overclocking features to any old board, not limiting your choice to certain boards. Or maybe being able to put in support for a newer CPU if the manufacturer won't. Not everyone uses Microsoft. __________________ quad (FreeBSD/amd64 8-CURRENT): Intel Q6600 - Asus P5E-VM HDMI - 2x2 GB Kingston PC6400 DDR2 Ram - Seagate 320GB 7200RPM HD - 2xSeagate 1TB 7200RPM HD in RAID 1 via ZFS - Lite-On 20x DVD Multi Recorder - Coolermaster Centurion 5 router (FreeBSD/amd64 8-CURRENT): Intel E4500 - Intel D945GCNL - 2 GB PC6400 Mushkin Ram - Lite-On 48x24x48x16 - Seagate 320GB 7200RPM HD - Silverstone SST-SG02-F wanderer (FreeBSD/i386 7-CURRENT): Lenovo Thinkpad T61p mini (OS X 10.5): Intel Core 2 Duo @ 1.8Ghz, 4 GB Mushkin PC5400 Ram - Headroom MicroDAC Portable sound: Rockboxed iPod Video -> Westone UM2's Not-So-Portable Sound: Headroon MicroDAC -> Singlepower PPX3-SLAM -> Grado RS-1's or Beyerdynamic DT-880's Very-Not-Portable-Sound: Squeezebox v3 -> Denon AVR-1507 -> B&W 683's & Sunfire HRS-10

Mar 1, 2005, 06:14 PM	#5
mike2h DriverHeaven Extreme Member Join Date: Nov 2002 Location: norcal Posts: 6,483 Rep Power: 91 System Specs	the problem is they are specifically saying that - "would put control of BIOS more in the hands of end users" . that means every person that owns a pc. i would agree that it would be a security problem along with other other problems. you are probably right in that if this ever happens it will not trickle down to us 'end-users'(thx god) but stay at developers level. but to me, the concept as stated is a little scary. __________________

Mar 1, 2005, 08:54 AM	#3
ChrisW DriverHeaven Senior Member Join Date: Mar 2003 Posts: 332 Rep Power: 0	Last thing we need is more viruses written to attack your system bios.