The submission title should be corrected from BiOS to BIOS.
Libreboot – A free BIOS or UEFI replacement
31–40 of 69 posts
Re: Libreboot – A free BIOS or UEFI replacement
#32Earlier quoted context omitted.
Well, we don't really know all of the facts but it apparently wasn't a problem when she was hired, wasn't a problem when they highlighted her for Lady Ada Lovelace day, and it wasn't a problem that kept FSF from giving her a senior job title. FSF obviously isn't going to comment on the matter but Leah Rowe at one point claimed on the libreboot website that the employee that was let go had said that it was fine for Le…
I don't have enough data to make anything but FUD from it. There are many reasons that someone could change their mind and decide to take different actions than they have before. Either way it is clear that some form of 'bad blood' has arisen and that things are now divisive. Unfortunately I don't know who I can side with on this issue due to the lack of data.
In my mind, I really don't even see any reason to believe that there is significant bad blood between the actual employee that was fired and FSF. The only side of this story that we have is Leah's and she's already outed the ex-employee, slandered 3 people in every way she can, and either the fired employee changed her mind about supporting Leah's actions, or Leah made that up as well.
At the very least, I think we can conclude that the FSF and the fired employee are unhappy with Leah's actions.
Re: Libreboot – A free BIOS or UEFI replacement
#33I was reading about buying a laptop with libreboot bootloader but then I saw a whole section to screw paywall.
https://minifree.org/product/libreboot-t400/
Their laptops are cheap and with good configuration except for CPU and graphics card. I will have hard time running Matlab on such a machine, so I cannot make that investment. Better CPU please especially when your laptop is 2.2 kg in weight.
Re: Libreboot – A free BIOS or UEFI replacement
#34Earlier quoted context omitted.
I got a feeling we'll see more of this happening. Was the transgender employee fired because she was transgender, or was she fired for some other reason? It is really hard to tell unless there is a court case on it. If you remember Ellen Pao claimed she was fired because of her gender, and it went to court, and the only proof that they had for anything was that Pao was bullying others and being a bad employee with pe…
People who've worked at the FSF say it is very progressive and open to transgenders. The idea that they would fire someone for being trans is just outrageous.
The claim isn't exactly that: "A transgender employee at the FSF was being harassed by a transphobic colleague for being trans. The trans person, not the bully, was then fired when they stood up for themselves, because it was seen as trouble making while the bully remained silent."
Re: Libreboot – A free BIOS or UEFI replacement
#35I was reading about buying a laptop with libreboot bootloader but then I saw a whole section to screw paywall. https://minifree.org/product/libreboot-t400/ https://minifree.org/paypal/ Their laptops are cheap and with good configuration except for CPU and graphics card. I will have hard time running Matlab on such a machine, so I cannot make that investment. Better CPU please especially when your laptop is 2.2 kg in…
2kg for a laptop? I can remember when computers were that heavy.
Re: Libreboot – A free BIOS or UEFI replacement
#36After the latest drama I think libreboot is driven be oversensitive and irresponsible developer. Prove me wrong?
Re: Libreboot – A free BIOS or UEFI replacement
#37Earlier quoted context omitted.
Maybe it is more about that: https://libreboot.org/gnu/
I was actually thinking of giving LibreBoot a try until all this drama broke. Now it just seems like the personal soapbox of a particular individual, which doesn't inspire a lot of confidence in its viability (especially given how ambitious it is).
I love how "free software" rails against the anti-freedom of "open source software" and then fails to carry that libertarian spirit through letting people decide for themselves what to do with their own bodies and not judging them for it.
On the other hand, the problem with claiming "I'm being biased against!" is of course twofold: One, any noncisgendered-white-male employee can claim it even if the main problem was a lack of productivity. Two, when I feel unwelcome, my optimal response is to just leave instead of suing those I feel unwelcome from (with the added assumption that it is very hard to change people's preferences for other people, and that there's a certain amount of "dealing with the way things are right now instead of forcing them to be otherwise" acceptance available.)
Nobody likes drama queens, not employers and not employees. Just go, I say, and find a welcoming environment. You're not married to a software project.
Re: Libreboot – A free BIOS or UEFI replacement
#38I was reading about buying a laptop with libreboot bootloader but then I saw a whole section to screw paywall. https://minifree.org/product/libreboot-t400/ https://minifree.org/paypal/ Their laptops are cheap and with good configuration except for CPU and graphics card. I will have hard time running Matlab on such a machine, so I cannot make that investment. Better CPU please especially when your laptop is 2.2 kg in…
> It is extremely unlikely that any post-2008 Intel hardware will ever be supported in libreboot, due to severe security and freedom issues; so severe, that the libreboot project recommends avoiding all modern Intel hardware. If you have an Intel based system affected by the problems described below, then you should get rid of it as soon as possible.
Re: Libreboot – A free BIOS or UEFI replacement
#39While I agree that most BIOS and/or UEFI installations are just... unacceptable, I don't think that a replacement will do just fine. The initialisation process should be as streamlined as possible, but allow as much control as possible. I would not call a multi-staged boot process "streamlined", when you argue that coreboot is the fastest way to boot up a computer. And then again, the whole process is repeated by the operating system one way or another. Anyways, I'm glad that coreboot exists regarding the UEFI fuckups in the recent past, but I don't think it's the way to go further.
Oh, and, the free in libreBoot is just cosmetics, so I shrug, whatever.
Re: Libreboot – A free BIOS or UEFI replacement
#40Earlier quoted context omitted.
Chromebook C201 is very recent (currently sold new), supercheap (<$200), and can run not only Libreboot, but completely blob-free. Not even CPU microcode is needed.
Do you need a binary blob to run the RockChip GPU though?
Unlike the ME/PSP situation (signed binaries for a coprocessor that decide whether to turn on your CPU) this can be fixed with enough effort and grit.