Hie, I want to build a pure free hardware laptop. Libreboot and Coreboot are available. I'm planning to buy an x200, replace the wifi chip with one which have a free driver and install libreboot on it. I have two question: Is this method enough to have a free hardware laptop? The second question: Is a x200 enough for computing, in the next 10 years? I mean, I use right now a t420, which is totaly enough with its i5 4 core. I would really like to go for a x220, but I don't know if coreboot is a free enough alternative... Moreover, it seems that it's more difficult to install coreboot than libreboot... Btw, I know the polemics going on with the libreboot maintainer... But I have no choice since I don't know anything about hardware (maybe can you link some pdf to make me learn about it?)
So, for you Holla Forums, what is the best way to get a free hardware laptop? Is replacing the bios enough? Thanks you.
That depends on what you want to do, with high-speed dualband wifi you'll be always be able to stream applications, videos and games to your laptop from a more powerful PC.
Easton Baker
I nearly ready to use it only from the TTY. The only thing that I need from it is to be able to play video, and to compile enough faster. I don't think that this computer is enough powerful to run virtual machine smoothly though.
Anyway, what I'm really worried about is the actually "free" mension. Is x200+libreboot really free from the proprietary crap? As I said, I don't know a lot about hardware. I'm a little bite afraid because I heard that the hard drive drivers could be compromised... I don't even know if this driver is from the linux kernel or from the HDD itself...
Ethan Hill
Start making it. Prefer you design it out of OpenSparc. Whatever else you ask, the answer is no. Someone people already sell ARM computers with liberated firmware on boards. It's even easier to set up an ARM7 on a free FPGA.
chromebook w/OpenBSD&Xorg, you done.
Kayden Perry
It's unlikely that a whole series of hard drives would be compromised, especially that old. The concern is about third parties slipping bad firmware into your gear when you're buying it, but then again they can do it to almost any part of the computer, and you need to be a real high profile target for that to be viable. Mass tampering is yet unheard of and very unlikely, because it would be difficult to keep a lid on an operation like that.
As the other user said, if you really want to distance yourself from old computing, you need to build your own and be ready to write your own. You probably won't need that unless you're trying to set up an infrastructure for an anti gov organization, and even then it might be overkill and secondary to other security measures.
Joshua Hill
Just get an old 486 laptop and run FreeDOS on it. All new hardware is suspect, if not outright botnet.
Hunter Long
I don't undertand this. Do you mean that installing libreboot is too much complicated?
And maybe I said something bad, but I'm totaly ok with old computing. I'm pretty sure that the core of computing, even in the future, would be totaly supported by old hardware. It was just a question to be sure. As you can see, I don't know much about hardware. So it would pass long time for me to be able to build my own hardware (I have to do all the learning).
But is basing myself on x200 with libreboot a viable alternative?
To summarize: what is for you the best way to have a free laptop with gives me a good base(if possible the easiest way)? What I plan to do is to study the architecture from a x200 - librebooted, and then make the accurate modification on it.
You're better off to make your own new hardware in FPGA than try to "freedom-ize" botnet modern shit. Just changing the boot part isn't going to fix it.
Luke Lopez
Ok, so it seems that I have no choice than building my own stuff. Damn.
Christopher Parker
Do you have some books about learning hardware?
Just some book's name to give my a direction. Thanks you.
Brody Foster
Stallman doesn't have a definition for "free hardware". What Stallman recommends is that you should get control over the software that runs on your hardware. This can only happen with free software. The consequence is that your computer is running free software, it's not necessary that this computer is also considered "free hardware".
Brandon Stewart
ok,papa. seems my earlier post, number 684985, didn't get through the carriage out the mill.
lmgtfy.com
Juan Stewart
That's not free hardware, that's hardware that's compatible with free software. For free hardware follow risc-v and lowrisc. It doesn't exist yet.
Libreboot is a subset of Coreboot. Sometimes it's really easy to install, sometimes it takes a lot of work. Same with Coreboot. The X200 is pretty easy to flash, the T60 trivial (you just run a script as root), and the T500 a lot of work (you need to completely remove the motherboard).
The T500 is the most future-proof Librebootable laptop.
If you dislike the libreboot drama enough you can probably coreboot your laptop without the now-optional proprietary parts.
Whether blobbed Coreboot is free enough for you depends on your personal taste and beliefs.
A laptop with a libre BIOS and a libre operating system with libre firmware and drivers is the best you can currently get, but the hardware is still proprietary and there's even still some software in there that's proprietary (but doesn't really count (according to the FSF) because it's physically impossible to modify/replace it after it's built even if you're the manufacturer).
Nathan Campbell
If you don't have already a solid background in hardware, start with something simple, like this book (the PDF is easy to find): en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Build_Your_Own_Z80_Computer Another nice thing is microcontrollers like Atmel AVR.
Nolan Flores
So how far back do you have to go in order to get an unpozzed cpu? 2010? 2005? 2000? 1994?
Is AMD better than Intel?
Say if I have a 2007 AMD laying around, can I trust muh super secret shitposts will be safe from watchful eyes?
Ian Parker
Theres no real difference between AMD and Intel chips. Theres more evidence for intel being compromised but theres no evidence AMD isnt in the same position.
If you ask me there wasnt a time when the government didnt want access to all of your shit. Im the paranoid type but i wouldnt trust any of year to be safe. 2007 is definitely too recent to be considered safe.
Luke Ortiz
Intel has ME. AMD has PSP. They're basically extra processors that you don't fully control but that control the main processor, and they are a huge risk for privacy and security.
ME is quite a bit older than PSP. Intel is on the forefront of these things. If you pick AMD you can get less ancient processors without being absolutely sure you're compromised. AMD is a better choice, but avoid recent offerings from both.
Jaxson Ward
There was more choices a couple decades ago (and not enough room on chip for them to go full botnet).
John Stewart
If you want something powerful enough for anything you may want to do over the next 10 years then why are you going with one of the less powerful devices supported by libreboot, especially when that device is already 7 years old?
Mind stating your threat model if you're worried about compromised hard drive firmware? To my knowledge the only way you'll potentially have to deal with that is if you're actively being targeted by state actors, in which case you are going to want a machine with no persistence whatsoever and no flashable firmware anywhere.
Any studies out there on what could even realistically be accomplished with a microcode backdoor? I'm guessing it's jack shit unless the machine is also compromised in other ways as well.
Luke Peterson
I remember when that was a thing and it looked like some third-tier garbage. Nobody wanted it. It sounds more interesting now, in a way
Josiah Anderson
OP here. I just wanted to say thanks you to all the answers. You answered all the question I was asking myself. I'll finally go for a x200 with libreboot, and I'll study hardware and then build my own system. Thanks you again!
