this post was submitted on 06 Dec 2023
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Linux

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Linux is a family of open source Unix-like operating systems based on the Linux kernel, an operating system kernel first released on September 17, 1991 by Linus Torvalds. Linux is typically packaged in a Linux distribution (or distro for short).

Distributions include the Linux kernel and supporting system software and libraries, many of which are provided by the GNU Project. Many Linux distributions use the word "Linux" in their name, but the Free Software Foundation uses the name GNU/Linux to emphasize the importance of GNU software, causing some controversy.

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[–] [email protected] 8 points 11 months ago (2 children)
[–] [email protected] 26 points 11 months ago* (last edited 11 months ago) (2 children)

It basically means instead of relying on a bootloader (e.g. GRUB or systemd-boot) the computer boots the kernel directly. Generally there should be no change besides having to use the BIOS menu to manually select a kernel.

[–] [email protected] 3 points 11 months ago (1 children)
[–] [email protected] 9 points 11 months ago

No problem! :)

FWIW, a lot of the DIY distros (Arch and Gentoo being the ones on most minds) allow this already so it's nothing new. It's just Fedora implementing it that's new I guess. If you're curious, the term to search is "EFISTUB".

[–] [email protected] 1 points 11 months ago (1 children)

Is the benifit making secure boot work better?

[–] [email protected] 0 points 11 months ago (1 children)

Presume so, that's what the article claims:

This latest UKI work for Fedora will lead to better UEFI Secure Boot support, better supporting TPM measurements and confidential computing, and a more robust boot process.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 11 months ago* (last edited 11 months ago) (1 children)

That's nice, stuff like that does make dual booting harder unfortunately

[–] [email protected] 1 points 11 months ago

I'd imagine that if you want a bootloader, the option is there as well. I can't imagine Fedora just doing away with that unless the bootloaders themselves are unmaintained.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 11 months ago

I think for most people they won't care either way.

Some people do legitimately occasionally need to poke around in GRUB before loading the kernel. Setting up certain kernel parameters or looking for something on the filesystem or something like that. For those people, booting directly into the kernel means your ability to "poke around" is now limited by how nice your motherboard's firmware is. But even for those people, they should always at least have the option of setting up a 2-stage boot.