Is active voice or passive voice preferable for a computer UI?

In an Ubuntu installer bug I mention that this text:

You need to restart the computer.

...should be changed to:

The computer needs to be restarted.

The developer objected based on the assertion that "a different set of people will object to the passive voice". That is ridiculous, as it is not me who "needs" to restart the computer, but rather the computer that needs to be restarted.

Is the comment that the text needs to be changed a valid UI issue, or am I just being a jerk?