I've been running NixOS on my Framework for the last few months, and I've been really happy with it. I initially got it so I'd have viable hardware to do osdev on, so learning that they are going to open-source its firmware makes me even more happy.
Open-Sourcing our Firmware
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Re: Open-Sourcing our Firmware
#42What is the reason behind closed firmware? I understand that wifi devices may operate out of the certification depending on what the firmware does, but other devices... why do they have closed firmwares?
Probably to hide/protect corporate secrets, or if the firmware integrates proprietary code from a 3rd party it would be difficult to open source for legal reasons.
To give an example, a huge issue over all of the OpenSolaris lifetime at Sun was reportedly due to third party licensed content Solaris had by itself, which is why OpenSolaris source contained only the very base system and was stripped of certain stuff (including X11 server Xsun, iirc)
Re: Open-Sourcing our Firmware
#43Does the Framework support coreboot? IIRC it does not, and I was sort of surprised to not see that in this announcement. Their github also doesn't have any mention of coreboot: https://github.com/FrameworkComputer And it isn't here either: https://doc.coreboot.org/mainboard/index.html
We called out "We're continuing to invest in open source firmware development, with the goal of replacing other proprietary firmware we're currently stuck with in the future too." in the blog post. Coreboot is something we're very interested in and have done experimentation around. We went with an off-the-shelf proprietary BIOS/UEFI to derisk launching the Framework Laptop on time and satisfying the core goals on it (getting a high-performance, thin, light laptop into the world that is fully repairable and upgradeable), but an open BIOS/UEFI solution is absolutely in line with our philosophy.
Re: Open-Sourcing our Firmware
#44Ooh, they use chromium ec, nice. Where is its serial console accessed? :)
Re: Open-Sourcing our Firmware
#45Really hoping for the laptop's next iteration to have a reverse T for the arrow keys. Otherwise very solid laptop, would be my first non-Mac choice.
Wow, you're right! Didn't understand how you could not have a reverse T for the arrow keys and took a look at the pictures. The up/down keys are split in half?! Why'd you make the arrow keys have different sizes?!
Re: Open-Sourcing our Firmware
#46I wish I could get one without Windows
You have to pay for Windows. Quote from their website: “ Base and Performance configurations ship with Windows 10 Home pre-installed and Professional ships with Windows 10 Pro pre-installed. You can also load your own operating system later, like a Linux distribution.”
The DIY Edition has a no OS option.
Re: Open-Sourcing our Firmware
#47Earlier quoted context omitted.
Also in the case of Wifi/Bluetooth it seems like FCC regulations would make having open firmware difficult due to the fact that it would make it easier to allow end users to broadcast on arbitrary frequencies. This way they have deniability. ...That said, not a subject matter expert so take this with a grain of rock salt.
FCC doesn't prevent you from opening the firmware (now, trade secrets inside is another thing) - they just do not allow unlicensed devices i.e. you can't just build your own radio firmware and have it operate legally.
So open firmware from the manufacturer is fine, but if you were to modify it and re-flash it yourself you would be breaking the law?
I guess that makes sense, thanks for the clarification!
Re: Open-Sourcing our Firmware
#48Earlier quoted context omitted.
I agree that flag != language (British Union flag for English being a prime example), but what is the next best alternative?
Yea, it’s always a struggle. UI wise it clearly looks better to use flags and people know what it’s for when they see it. There’s always people who complain about it though. I’m of the opinion to not worry about it and just use the flags. It’s enough effort to properly internationalize a site and keep it maintained. That it’s available at all is a huge effort. Debating flags vs a drop down with languages is nitpickin…
With flags you also have the issue of how to represent politically disputed regions e.g. Taiwan even when the languages used locally are pretty clear-cut.
In the specific case of Taiwan, if you want to maintain good business relations with normal civilians on both sides of the straits you need to represent Taiwan as a state to Mainland China IPs and represent it as a country to Taiwanese IPs and most of the rest of the world.
I'm not advocating any particular political view, this is just the technological fuss you have to go through to maximize the number of happy customers. So sometimes it's much easier to just forget the flags, state the language and currency directly as text, and skirt around these issues.
As for language selection, I really don't think it's necessary to beautify it UI-wise. Pick based on the user's Accept-Language header and 99.99% of the time you'll present it exactly as the user wanted without them having to select anything. You can then implement a text-only language selector somewhere in a less conspicuous place, such as the footer, than polluting your navigation header.
Re: Open-Sourcing our Firmware
#49Earlier quoted context omitted.
Yea, it’s always a struggle. UI wise it clearly looks better to use flags and people know what it’s for when they see it. There’s always people who complain about it though. I’m of the opinion to not worry about it and just use the flags. It’s enough effort to properly internationalize a site and keep it maintained. That it’s available at all is a huge effort. Debating flags vs a drop down with languages is nitpickin…
Yeah, just use flags and confuse the fuck out of multilingual countries. Belgium has Dutch, German and French as official languages. So what would a Belgian flag mean? What flag should I choose? If I choose the flag from the Netherlands to get Dutch, I'll probably be confused by a whole bunch of terminology since the dutch of different countries differs vastly more than the English from different countries. "People w…
If Dutch, German and French were supported languages on the site I imagine that flags of the Netherlands, Germany and France would be representing the language selection.
As a US citizen I often visit sites that use a British flag to represent English. I don’t bristle because there’s not a US flag or question whether the US flag should also be referencing Spanish.
It’s just a detail to draw your eye that otherwise holds no importance once that is accomplished.
Re: Open-Sourcing our Firmware
#50What’s with the sticky scrolling on this site? (Safari at least)