Re: [Trisquel-users] Taurinus X200 laptop now FSF-certified to respect your freedom
Sorry, missed your earlier post. Why, thank you, yes I am ;-) And yes, exactly that! I think giving a RYF badge to a computer merely because it supports libreboot, is... short sighted. What will the FSF do when a computer comes out with more free components? Award a "Super RYF" ? That is not to say that I dislike the idea of giving recognition where it belongs, those machines are really better than the other laptops around, and I would like to have one myself, but like I have said, prices are prohibitive (for me, right now, I don't mean in a more general sense). There is a great work being done in those projects. And besides, in a security/privacy way, libreboot is not enough. The components you mentioned are even more important (the embedded controller for example). Can someone confirm if a Thinkpad of Macbook with libreboot can have a BIOS password to "lock" the machine? I would easily prefer a "mini laptop" made from an AllWinner board. I have seen some projects but are still not something I see as a "solution". The Pitop is what we need but in a more "free" way.
Re: [Trisquel-users] Taurinus X200 laptop now FSF-certified to respect your freedom
What will the FSF do when a computer comes out with more free components? Award a "Super RYF" ? This is already addressed in their criteria. See http://www.fsf.org/resources/hw/endorsement/criteria In particular: "We want users to be able to upgrade and control the software at as many levels as possible. If and when free software becomes available for use on a certain secondary processor, we will expect certified products to adopt it within a reasonable period of time. This can be done in the next model of the product, if there is a new model within a reasonable period of time. If this is not done, we will eventually withdraw the certification." So, if we get free HDD/SSD firmware tomorrow then the FSF will expect these computers to ship with that. If not then you get the "If this is not done" sentence.
Re: [Trisquel-users] Taurinus X200 laptop now FSF-certified to respect your freedom
> Or just buy a Thinkpad second-hand and Libreboot it yourself. Not any ThinkPad, only the X60, X60s, X60 Tablet, X200, R400, R500, T400, and T500. And there's also the MacBook 1.1 or MacBook 2.1. For clarity, it's likely never going to be possible to get a newer computer than the X200 to work with LibreBoot, and anything newer would only be marginally so. See the Libreboot FAQ: http://libreboot.org/faq/
Re: [Trisquel-users] Taurinus X200 laptop now FSF-certified to respect your freedom
> 2. a laptop that has more than just Libreboot, I want a fully free machine Wait no longer! They already exist. As I said, Minifree/Libiquity. They even have low-level nasty things from Intel removed, like the Intel Active Management Engine. I'm pretty sure Gnuser is aware of the "low-level nasty things from Intel removed, like the Intel Active". He seems to care about sec/priv. I think he was referring to the hard drive firmware and the embedded controller firmware. cheers
Re: [Trisquel-users] Taurinus X200 laptop now FSF-certified to respect your freedom
Hi Chris, Given your vast experience with Intel Processors, graphics cards and other computer hardware, can you help me? My computer is having following specifications:- [1] Processor: Intel® Core™2 Duo CPU E7400 [2] Graphics driver: Intel® G33 x86/MMX/SSE2 [3] Memory: 2.0 GiB [3] Mother Board: ASUS P5KPL-CM (1) Is it possible to install a 64 bit version of Trisquel GNU/Linux on this system? (I presently have a 32 bit version of same OS, everything works fine. One of my friend suggested 64 bit versions works faster and allows the use of more RAM, if compatible with the processor arch. So can I give it a try?) (2) Can I flash my BIOS with libreboot? (AFAIK, ASUS has some sort of flash utility (I don't remember the exact name, but something like EZ Flash) in the BIOS Setup, so I don't think it should be that hard to libreboot my computer.)
Re: [Trisquel-users] Taurinus X200 laptop now FSF-certified to respect your freedom
>> 1 yes https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Intel_Core_2 That's good news! I am going to download the 64 bit version of Trisquel GNU/Linux now! >> no http://www.libreboot.org/docs/hcl/index.html#supported_list Thank you for the link. It can come handy at some point of time in future. >>Why is this question in this thread? I have very little practical experience with Intel processors and graphical drivers. So I thought it would be nice to post my doubts, as there is a greater chance of getting an authentic reply from distinguished forum users, like Chris. Apologies, if I am in the wrong space. Thank you for the fast response!
Re: [Trisquel-users] Taurinus X200 laptop now FSF-certified to respect your freedom
Indeed, combining 100 processors together would in practice mostly just allow you to run 100 programs simultaneously without adding further slowdown. Multi-threaded programs that can actually take advantage of multiple processing cores do exist, of course, but it's a difficult job to do and typically reserved for programs that really need it. Even then, it's usually only a small number of threads, nowhere near 100; there's only so much you can do concurrently, after all. Some jobs can of course be easily split up, like brute-force password cracking, but most of the time there is a certain order you need to do some essential things in. If you have to do 10 jobs before moving onto the next set of jobs, and one of them is guaranteed to take 10 milliseconds while the rest of them take only 1 millisecond, it's no help at all to give an individual thread to the rest of them; you might as well just split those jobs into two threads, one for the job that's going to take 10 milliseconds and one for the 9 jobs that are going to take 1 millisecond each.
Re: [Trisquel-users] Taurinus X200 laptop now FSF-certified to respect your freedom
1 yes https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Intel_Core_2 2 no https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Libreboot#Supported_systems
Re: [Trisquel-users] Taurinus X200 laptop now FSF-certified to respect your freedom
> (AFAIK, ASUS has some sort of flash utility (I don't remember the exact name, > but something like EZ Flash) Easy Flash, actually. > in the BIOS Setup, so I don't think it should be that hard to libreboot my > computer.) ASUS Easy Flash is a utility designed to update the BIOS with new versions from ASUS. It cannot be used to install alternate BIOSes. It's actually a lot easier to install Libreboot than all that- Libreboot comes with a flashing utility which lets you flash Libreboot directly to your ROM via software from within the operating system (in most cases). Regardless, Libreboot/Coreboot doesn't support your system. Libreboot only works on a range of Thinkpads, the ASUS KN4-DRE server board, and the Macbooks 1 and 2.
Re: [Trisquel-users] Taurinus X200 laptop now FSF-certified to respect your freedom
> 1. a low priced computer to come out with free software support What do you mean by 'free software support'? A machine with proprietary BIOS (and potentially other low level nasty things) but one that supports a free operating system? In that case, just browse around h-node. I'm sure you can find a workable system and get it second hand. If in doubt, just buy from Thinkpenguin. On the other hand, if you mean a Librebooted system, you're not getting anything cheaper than Minifree (if you're in the UK) or Libiquity (if you're in the US). Or just buy a Thinkpad second-hand and Libreboot it yourself. > 2. a laptop that has more than just Libreboot, I want a fully free machine Wait no longer! They already exist. As I said, Minifree/Libiquity. They even have low-level nasty things from Intel removed, like the Intel Active Management Engine.
[Trisquel-users] Taurinus X200 laptop now FSF-certified to respect your freedom
Here is some good news for you; Libiquity LLC's Taurinus X200 laptop has bagged FSF's Respect Your Freedom certification[1]. The Taurinus X200 is a refurbished and updated laptop based on the Lenovo ThinkPad X200, with all of the original low-level firmware and operating system software replaced. It runs the FSF-endorsed Trisquel GNU/Linux operating system and the free software boot system, Libreboot. Perhaps most importantly, all of Intel's Management Engine (ME) firmware and software has been removed from this laptop[2]. So there are more reasons to party (Just in case you missed it; FSF's 30th birthday party is this weekend and please do spread the word.) this weekend. Source(s) [1] https://shop.libiquity.com/product/taurinus-x200 [2] https://www.fsf.org/news/now-fsf-cerified-to-respect-your-freedom-taurinus-x200
Re: [Trisquel-users] Taurinus X200 laptop now FSF-certified to respect your freedom
Libiquity LLC is from the developer of Protean OS (a recently endorsed distribution by the FSF). It has been in the pipline for a while that Libiquity LLC would ship Librebooted laptops. Minifree (formerly gluglug) also has plans I believe to ship their laptops with Protean OS in addition to Trisquel/Parabola. It's a collabortaive partnership between the two companies and is to be welcomed.
Re: [Trisquel-users] Taurinus X200 laptop now FSF-certified to respect your freedom
Not necessarily. Sometimes people create offshoots. But it's not Chris. I see now it just happens to be a coincidence. http://www.libiquity.com/news/libiquity-to-sell-free-software-libreboot-x200-laptops
Re: [Trisquel-users] Taurinus X200 laptop now FSF-certified to respect your freedom
Is this Chris? A subsidiary of ThinkPenguin? I notice from their Terms of Sale that they're also in New Jersey? Coincidence? http://www.libiquity.com/legal/terms-of-sale
Re: [Trisquel-users] Taurinus X200 laptop now FSF-certified to respect your freedom
Good news. BUt still waiting for: 1. a low priced computer to come out with free software support 2. a laptop that has more than just Libreboot, I want a fully free machine :)
Re: [Trisquel-users] Taurinus X200 laptop now FSF-certified to respect your freedom
ThinkPenguin, Inc has no relationship with Libiquity- nor this laptop as was stated above. Libiquity is basically a US version of Mini Free. I believe at the core of the laptop is the same basic laptop that Mini Free sells (or one of them I should say). Patrick the proprietor of Libiquity worked a little bit with Francis in relation to his baby Protein OS. From my understanding ProteinOS is part of these LibreBoot-based laptops. It's just coincidence that Patrick lives in NJ. We do know Patrick, but beyond some never-completed contract work there has never been any real business relationship. We might have also pointed Patrick to a US source for these refurbished laptops after we decided not to go down this road. There are other paths to a free laptop and we'll take one of them eventually. It's just a matter of time. None of the paths are perfect unfortunately. This (Libiquity/Mini Free) path involves Lenovo- a truly evil corporation in my mind I'd rather not support. The other paths though are costly and come attached with there own set of issues. Francis didn't choose Lenovo though- he took the road of least resistance. There aren't many good options for free'ing several year old X86 laptops. You need to have sufficient supplies and work off that of other peoples (ie coreboot). I believe Francis did more than just free one of the laptops which ran coreboot. He ported it himself, but even with that he didn't have a choice on which laptop or company to build off.
Re: [Trisquel-users] Taurinus X200 laptop now FSF-certified to respect your freedom
Hi Gnuser mate! I want to dedicate you this song I wrote many years ago! :P http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JqKcnYWCAJc
Re: [Trisquel-users] Taurinus X200 laptop now FSF-certified to respect your freedom
"your left with zero options if nobody will cooperate. That's the problem we face." i visited a factory were someone i know works and they showed me that you can buy CPU's(around 33mhz) bulk for about £0.4 each and cheaper the more you buy and from what they told me it was completely unrestricted in any way (sorry i forgot the cpu) but my point is if we can get lots of unrestricted 33mhz cpus for very very cheap can we build a powerful cluster computer? 33mhz * 100mhz = 3300mhz is it even possible to develop are own 4mhz cpu's and do the same?
Re: [Trisquel-users] Taurinus X200 laptop now FSF-certified to respect your freedom
I don't that's a realistic option. It's not even really the CPU that is the problem anyway. It's the graphics, wifi, and other components. I'm not even sure how you would fit 60 CPUs onto a system.
