BIOS, the archaic firmware that sits between a computer's hardware and the operating system, is set to be replaced by the Unified Extensible Firmware Interface (UEFI). The move is intended to improve security, but a leading kernel developer says UEFI is "awful" for Linux. Matthew Garrett (Credit: Stilgherrian/ZDNet Australia) Red Hat's Matthew Garrett, speaking at the Linux.conf.au 2012 (LCA) conference in Ballarat last week, also believes that Intel's UEFI reference implementation, codenamed Tiano and upon which hardware vendors' UEFI implementations will be based, is bloated and buggy.

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Untested buggy UEFI heads for prime-time

For security researcher, software hacker and activist Jacob Appelbaum, the equation is clear. Anyone working on surveillance or censorship technology is part of a serious global problem. "When someone says that they are in favour of internet filtering, what they're actually saying is that they're in favour of you being ignorant and them having power to be your master.

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Linux.conf.au 2012: planes and freedom

Open software isn't just a programming- and software-licensing methodology; it's also a political philosophy and a revolutionary movement - something made clear by Linux projects like FreedomBox . Bdale Garbee (Credit: Stilgherrian/ZDNet Australia) FreedomBox is a personal server running a free software operating system and free applications.

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Linux.conf.au 2012: FreedomBox's privacy

Open-source software developers face greater risks today than they ever have, to the point where the constraints inherent in proprietary software now represent a risk to democracy, according to one of the movement's leading figures.

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Open source needed to save democracy

Yahoo co-founder Jerry Yang has resigned his board seat and "all other positions" with the beleaguered web giant, the company announced this afternoon. Jerry Yang (Credit: Yahoo) Two weeks ago, the company announced a new chief executive , Scott Thompson, though it's unclear whether Yang's departure is related to that hire. In a press release, Yang praised Thompson, and said only that it is time for him to move on

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Yahoo co-founder resigns

The Linux operating system and other open software projects are under threat because they've failed to develop the sympathy for users manifested by companies such as Apple, according to luminary Bruce Perens. Perens created the Open Source Definition and was founder or co-founder of projects including the Open Source Initiative and the Linux Standard Base , to name just two

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Linux should copy Apple on user rapport

Intel's new chip for phones is surprising in many respects, but the biggest shocker is its speed.

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New Intel chip jabs at iPhone, Galaxy Nexus

The tech sector is pulling out the big guns now as Google lines up against the Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA). The founder of Twitter, however, is calling blackout- and protest-style action "foolish"

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Google to go anti-SOPA on home page

Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak may have waited in line for the release of new iPhones, but he said that there are ways in which Android has leaped ahead of the iPhone . Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak said he wishes his iPhone did all that his Android does. (Credit: Stephen Shankland/CNET) In an interview with Dan Lyons for the Daily Beast , in comparing iPhones with Android phones, Woz laments the limitations of Apple's smartphone

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Android features better than iPhone: Woz

With hours to go before free online encyclopedia, Wikipedia, goes dark to protest the Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA), a guide has emerged on how to access the site during the blackout.

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How to use Wikipedia during blackout