So, I thought I saw an end to holding down keys to access bootloaders back in 2003, it'd appear not.

It seems that a "feature" that Microsoft implemented in the Windows 9.x days has appeared in Plymouth. Yes that's right, that "feature" the I.T. world grew to hate, holding down the Ctrl or F8 keys to get into Windows Safe Mode (http://support.microsoft.com/kb/180902/en-us) has invaded Fedora. Ouch!

Now, if I take a step back, I can completely claim the following:

• Plymouth takes away my freedom of choice (a freedom that has become a basic Human Right)


• Fedora has taken three steps back to gain one step in the name of 'usability'

Warning: The next two paragraphs are sugarcoating (apparently, some people don't like that)</strong>

Now let me justify them, as a human, I'm allowed the choice to either eat apples, or not, I can eat bananas or not, I can eat mushrooms or {in my case) not. So why are we taking choices away from users. Fedora is about Freedom, Freedom to the people, the creatures, and all living beings! So why invade my choice, to use Windows, so I can download music legally, and play various games that may never be available for Linux? Let alone my choice to use Windows occasionally so I can do things in MS Office that Open Office hasn't even dreamed of letting me do?

No, I'm not sucked into the corporate world, I'm sucked into a world of freedom to use my personal computer how _I_ want to use it. It isn't _too_ much to ask in my opinion. I just can't see the logic in not providing such a choice.

As for taking three steps back to take one step forward, that's what it is, in order to speed up the process by what, 6 seconds (5 second grub prompt and a quick flicker) we have removed a choice. Now yes, the choice is still there, but it's archaic way of presenting the choice.

A far better way, would be to teach grub to preload certain parts of the default kernel (in a safe way), if a user selects something else, trash it and do what they ask?

For reference see https://bugzilla.redhat.com/show_bug.cgi?id=458576 and make your opinions clear!

Update: Yes, I've sugar coated it, but this is a legit moan, I'm just pointing out that progress for the sake of progress is not always good and that the ability (freedom) for users to use other Kernels has been 'hidden' away from them.

Tags: argh, crazy, fedora, imformative, madness, me, microsoft, thoughts, windows