So you can't install any other OS because it modifies your uefi? Well, why would you install a different windows if you're already running windows? Yep, this is obviously to stop people from switching to linux (I'm sure they saw the amount of people switching to linux growing way faster since ever and also more people using windows 10 than 11 even less than half a year before EOL + all the people saying they'll switch to linux as soon as windows 10 support ends and they got scared that their monopoly might be in danger)
This is on a supposedly leaked windows 365 build, so it's not something that's happening right now with windows 10 nor 11... until it is. I mean, google has locked down chromebooks and android devices to prevent them from running anything that isn't chromeOS or android respectively since forever (yes, you can install ubuntu touch or postmarketOS on some chrome/android devices, but not on most, and not just because lack of drivers; some have locked bootloaders that you can't unlock), so I think Microsoft will just copy whatever "security" excuse google used there. I mean... if the reason was to prevent you from accidentally running a malicious copy of windows from a 3rd party... isn't that what Secure Boot is for? The reason is not security, the reason is monopoly.
Do remember that NVRAM isn't that hard to reset (on normal PCs anyway), but I agree that this is scummy. That said:
Windows 365 being a "cloud Windows" implies that it may be a thin client OS, one that performs almost all of its computing on Microsoft's servers, rather than locally. If so, they have a vested interest in ensuring only stuff they're sure is secure by their standards can access it.
Microsoft is obsessed with generative AI, and hardware capable of performing AI with decent models locally is expensive. It's not hard for me to run an LLM on a high end PC with a 4090 or 5090 and have it generate text at a speed comparable to my not-particularly-fast typing speed. Thin clients are a natural fit in an AI first mindset where everything goes to the data center. Despite this, Microsoft has also defined an entirely separate standard for AI ready PCs with NPUs for local AI processing. This likely, to me, indicates a split in Windows intent, with this Windows 365 situation being closer to an embedded device than a traditional PC.
Can't install stuff in my NVRAM if I never install Windows on it.
I still don't like it, and I'm glad you made me aware of it so I can watch for future developments, but in the short term I'm not too worried. In the long term I don't trust big tech as far as I can throw it (ever tried throwing a concept? worse than a wiffleball), but Linux is used heavily in software development still. I don't see an actual lockout as viable on anything but a special class of devices.
This is why I'm a believer in my tech skills to remove Microsoft off the drive. Most newbies, don't know how to properly format a drive, and remove all Windows partitions on a brand new computer, before booting into the OS.
That is exactly what I did with my 2021 computer. Yes, I scraped the Microsoft parasite off the Window-shield. I was so proud to install POP OS & Zorin OS. Linux, the OS that puts the power in your hands, so you can have the choice, not a greedy corporation, who don't believe you have the right to privacy.
Another option users have, is to buy computers with Linux already installed on them, making life so much easier for the average computer user. I'm a believer in Star Labs, I love their mission, great technical support, great computers.
