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System76 Will Ship Linux Laptops With Coreboot-Based Open-Source Firmware

forbes.com

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Re: System76 Will Ship Linux Laptops With Coreboot-Based Open-Source Firmware

#271

Post by akeck »

madez wrote: post #182
akeck wrote: post #27

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I think it is, or includes, the baseband firmware for the actual wifi radio. I believe, but I'm not 100% sure, that the FCC has specific restrictions on how baseband radio firmware gets distributed.

You, and everyone else for that matter, can go and buy a software defined radio (SDR) and play with a radio to your hearts liking. If there is a restriction on redistribution of open down to the radio firmware WiFi devices, then it's dumb. If there is none, please don't spread incorrect speculation that there is.

"manufacturers are encouraged to design their systems to permit such software upgrades while ensuring security of the portion that controls compliance with the FCC technical requirements"

Re: System76 Will Ship Linux Laptops With Coreboot-Based Open-Source Firmware

#272

Post by jtl999 »

tpearson-raptor wrote: post #207
tpearson-raptor wrote: post #200

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Honest question: why do you consider System76 to be building new roads by using locked hardware and offering partial open source firmware for it? Wouldn't the new roads kudos be more appropriately given to all of the folks that made real open hardware happen (RISC-V, OpenPOWER, etc.) years before this partly-open-source system announcement went out? In my mind the RISC-V folks especially were real trailblazers in thi…

To the downvoters: I'm guessing you wanted to run Windows 10 "safely" somehow, or sandbox your games. There's almost no other reason to be this stuck on x86; at the end of the day it's just a consumer architecture that some well known privacy disrespecting software requires to run. It's not even that great of an architecture from a technical perspective, it just happens to have the financial weight of the prosumer ma…

> It's probably a violation of your game's anticheat system to try to sandbox it

Funny enough I've heard claims recently that Steam/VAC detects KVM virtualization and temporary kicks from VAC games as a result.

Re: System76 Will Ship Linux Laptops With Coreboot-Based Open-Source Firmware

#273

Post by tpearson-raptor »

jtl999 wrote: post #272
tpearson-raptor wrote: post #207

Earlier quoted context omitted.

To the downvoters: I'm guessing you wanted to run Windows 10 "safely" somehow, or sandbox your games. There's almost no other reason to be this stuck on x86; at the end of the day it's just a consumer architecture that some well known privacy disrespecting software requires to run. It's not even that great of an architecture from a technical perspective, it just happens to have the financial weight of the prosumer ma…

> It's probably a violation of your game's anticheat system to try to sandbox it Funny enough I've heard claims recently that Steam/VAC detects KVM virtualization and temporary kicks from VAC games as a result.

I wouldn't be surprised -- it's a gaping hole for anticheat software if not addressed. In fact, long term the anticheat is going to have to require a completely locked-down (console-like) experience from boot firmware (ME/PSP attested) through OS and userspace, or it will not be effective.

Which is one reason why I don't rent games on Steam, and why I bought a PS4 instead. If I'm going to have to game on a completely locked down system, I vastly prefer to do it on a system that doesn't touch any of my personal data and for which I can still buy permanent, resalable (and yes, even lendable) games on physical media.

PC gaming hasn't interested me since Steam on Windows with mandatory anticheat became the primary way to play games.

Re: System76 Will Ship Linux Laptops With Coreboot-Based Open-Source Firmware

#274

Post by ggreer »

rvense wrote: post #228
ggreer wrote: post #191

Earlier quoted context omitted.

My biggest issue with the x210 is that it's hard to find decent batteries. All the 3rd party batteries I've bought have degraded to <50% of their design capacity within 6 months. I need to buy some decent 18650 cells and replace the low quality ones in the aftermarket batteries.

I have this exact problem, both me and my wife are still on X200s, but we've only one decent battery between us, and that's unlikely to last long. Is replacing the cells enough, though? Isn't there a controller that needs resetting as well?

It is a little tricky: https://hackaday.io/project/245-replacing-lenovo-laptop-lith...

Re: System76 Will Ship Linux Laptops With Coreboot-Based Open-Source Firmware

#275

Post by pgeorgi »

tpearson-raptor wrote: post #269
pgeorgi wrote: post #252

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Provide a path to a $1300 laptop that is POWER based (and not crippled "slow 1 core SMT1" stuff from IBM's dead-bin) and you might entice System76 and Purism. Your products target "Freedom, no matter the costs" while their products aim for "better than what the market has right now, at consumer friendly price points". Both are important: they demonstrate that there's mass market appeal, you demonstrate that there's a…

> Provide a path to a $1300 laptop that is POWER based (and not crippled "slow 1 core SMT1" stuff from IBM's dead-bin) and you might entice System76 and Purism. I just gave them a path to a desktop that is POWER based, with very low up front costs (basically take their existing Thelio chassis, swap mainboards from x86 to POWER, do some software builds of Pop!_OS, and do a trial launch). I think that's a far more reas…

If the financials of that make sense, I think it's certainly something they should make part of their portfolio: make a point, gauge interest, increase volume.

I suspect that the laptops are their mass market driver though. Note how S76 has laptops + desktops, Purism has laptops + phone stuff, and Pine64 has laptops, phones and watches.

All of them do laptops plus some excentricity that may or may not translate in good future business: desktop systems are excentric these days and apparently they're not even the most popular pick when branching out, phones are.

Re: System76 Will Ship Linux Laptops With Coreboot-Based Open-Source Firmware

#276

Post by skoocda »

isantop wrote: post #77
dochtman wrote: post #68

Earlier quoted context omitted.

What about oreboot, the Rust version of coreboot? I know you have a history with writing Rust code, so are you looking at oreboot as an alternative to coreboot for these purposes, as well?

I can't answer the technical side of that really well (IIRC something about targetting different things or something), but I wanted to comment that the name (Coreboot without the C) is genius. There is an Oreboot sticker on my fridge.

A bit of a double meaning here too:

Rust is actually just hematite (ferric oxide), which is a type of iron ore!

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