The upcoming tablet is positioned by Redmond as a potential laptop replacement, and rightly so. It offers the full features of a laptop with the portability of a tablet device.
But owing to this open nature, the Surface Pro can also effortlessly handle other operating systems such as the ever popular flavor of Linux, Ubuntu.
One of the major concerns that surrounded the Surface Pro hype was the inclusion of Secure Boot. The Surface team confirmed in an IAmA session on Reddit that Microsoft’s new tablet is not restricted to Windows 8 at all and the user can easily run other operating systems if need be.
It all boils down to the Secure Boot option that hides in the BIOS:
“Like other Windows 8 machines, you can access BIOS settings and turn off secure boot, enabling you to load other OSes.”
Never thought I’d live long enough to see Microsoft say something like this, but there you go. Perks of being a device and services company, I guess.
Don’t be too surprised if you see Surface Pro tablets running Linux in the coming days.
But at the end of the day, the fact that Surface Pro is not tied to Windows 8 is an excellent decision from Microsoft — one that gives credence to the Pro label of the device, instead of just a marketing tag.
All Comments
WOW, that is just WOW!! I had to re-read to actually wake up!
Although i would never put something else to the device, but well, positive move
Haha, I am thinking of getting one now that I know I have the option. Wasn’t on my radar until now.
I have ordered mine, and will keep of course Win.8 on it
Nice. I’d try out win8 on touch, but I doubt I can keep with it and the way they’re going. I can’t stand fullscreen apps. Good luck, have fun with your new toy 🙂
Thank you! 🙂
WOW, that is just WOW!! I had to re-read to actually wake up!
Although i would never put something else to the device, but well, positive move
Microsoft is really … friendly these days.
I am suspicious
Those this mean you can potentially dual-boot on the Surface Pro also?
I would doubt it because of space constraints unless you mean dual boot 2 flavours of Linux.
Well if you get the 128 gig you should be able to get enough space for both OS and just use a USB drive or a separate hard drive to save work.