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| -rw-r--r-- | site/faq/index.php | 63 |
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diff --git a/site/faq/index.php b/site/faq/index.php index b2516ff..c2e633b 100644 --- a/site/faq/index.php +++ b/site/faq/index.php @@ -45,6 +45,7 @@ <h2>Hardware compatibility</h2> <ul class="c"> <li><a href="#compatibility">What systems are compatible with libreboot?</a></li> + <li><a href="#librem">Will the Purism Librem laptops be supported?</a></li> <li> <a href="#intel">Why is the latest Intel hardware unsupported in libreboot?</a> <ul> @@ -67,9 +68,8 @@ </li> </ul> </li> - <li><a href="#librem">Will the Purism Librem laptops be supported?</a></li> - <li><a href="#t400t500ati">Will libreboot work on a ThinkPad T400 or T500 with an ATI GPU?</a></li> <li><a href="#thinkpads">Will the latest Thinkpad models be supported?</a></li> + <li><a href="#t400t500ati">Will libreboot work on a ThinkPad T400 or T500 with an ATI GPU?</a></li> <li><a href="#desktops">Will desktop/server hardware be supported?</a></li> <li><a href="#randomhardware">Hi, I have <insert random system here>, is it supported?</a></li> <li><a href="#arm">What about ARM?</a></li> @@ -152,6 +152,34 @@ <a href="#pagetop">Back to top of page</a> </p> + <h2 id="librem">Will the Purism Librem laptops be supported? <span class="r"><a href="#librem">#librem</a></span></h2> + <p> + Probably not. There are several privacy, security and freedom issues with these laptops, due to the Intel chipsets + that they use. See <a href="#intel">#intel</a>. There are signed proprietary blobs which cannot be replaced + (e.g. <a href="#intelme">Intel Management Engine</a> and <a href="#microcode">CPU microcode updates</a>). + It uses the proprietary <a href="#fsp">Intel FSP</a> blob for the entire hardware initialization, which + Intel <a href="#intelbastards">won't provide</a> the source code for. The Video BIOS (initialization firmware + for the graphics hardware) is also proprietary. The libreboot project recommends avoiding this hardware entirely. + </p> + <p> + It will likely take many years to replace even one of these blobs, let alone all of them. Some of them (ME firmware and microcode) can't even be replaced, + which immediately disqualifies these laptops from being added to libreboot. Google engineers have tried + for many years to get source code from Intel, and to reverse engineer the blobs that Intel provides. So far, they have + been unsuccessful. Google is also one of the companies that funds the coreboot project, and they hire a lot of the core + developers, so it's not like they don't have vast resources at their disposal. Smaller companies have no chance. + </p> + <p> + The librem does have coreboot support, but it's pretty meaningless (it's shimboot, which + means that coreboot is just incorporating blobs. It's not real coreboot support, + but rather, what is shamelessly passed off as coreboot support these days, where + binary blobs for <strong>the entire</strong> hardware initialization is considered acceptable in the coreboot project). + It should be noted, that the coreboot port for librem was done by a lone Google software + developer (Duncan Laurie), not Purism, working independently. Purism had nothing to do with the port. + </p> + <p> + <a href="#pagetop">Back to top of page</a> + </p> + <h2 id="intel">Why is the latest Intel hardware unsupported in libreboot? <span class="r"><a href="#intel">#intel</a></span></h2> <p> It is extremely unlikely that any post-2008 Intel hardware will ever be supported in libreboot, due to @@ -301,7 +329,7 @@ <p> On all recent Intel systems, coreboot support has revolved around integrating a blob (for each system) called the <em>FSP</em> (firmware support package), which handles all of the hardware initialization, including - memory initialization. Reverse engineering and replacing this blob is almost impossible, due to how complex it is. Even for the most skilled developer, + memory and CPU initialization. Reverse engineering and replacing this blob is almost impossible, due to how complex it is. Even for the most skilled developer, it would take years to replace. Intel distributes this blob to firmware developers, without source. </p> <p> @@ -491,35 +519,6 @@ Check <a href="#compatibility">#compatibility</a> for more information. </p> - <h2 id="librem">Will the Purism Librem laptops be supported? <span class="r"><a href="#librem">#librem</a></span></h2> - <p> - Probably not. There are several privacy, security and freedom issues with these laptops, due to the Intel chipsets - that they use. See <a href="#intel">#intel</a>. There are signed proprietary blobs which cannot be replaced - (e.g. <a href="#intelme">Intel Management Engine</a> and <a href="#microcode">CPU microcode updates</a>). - It uses the proprietary <a href="#fsp">Intel FSP</a> blob for the entire hardware initialization, which - Intel <a href="#intelbastards">won't provide</a> the source code for. The Video BIOS (initialization firmware - for the graphics hardware) is also proprietary. - </p> - <p> - It will likely take many years to replace even one of these blobs, let alone all of them. Some of them (ME firmware and microcode) can't even be replaced, - which immediately disqualifies these laptops from being added to libreboot. Google engineers have tried - for many years to get source code from Intel, and to reverse engineer the blobs that Intel provides. So far, they have - been unsuccessful. Google is also one of the companies that funds the coreboot project, and they hire a lot of the core - developers, so it's not like they don't have vast resources at their disposal. Smaller companies have no chance. - </p> - <p> - The librem does have coreboot support, but it's pretty meaningless (it's shimboot, which - means that coreboot is just incorporating blobs. It's not real coreboot support, - but rather, what is shamelessly passed off as coreboot support these days, where - binary blobs for <strong>the entire</strong> hardware initialization is considered acceptable in the coreboot project). - It should be noted, that the coreboot port for librem was done by a lone Google software - developer (Duncan Laurie), not Purism. - It's a shame, because these laptops would be perfect for libreboot, but it unfortunately will not happen. - </p> - <p> - <a href="#pagetop">Back to top of page</a> - </p> - <h2 id="t400t500ati">Will libreboot work on a ThinkPad T400 or T500 with an ATI GPU? <span class="r"><a href="#t400t500ati">#t400t500ati</a></span></h2> <p> Short answer: yes. These laptops also have an Intel GPU inside, which libreboot uses. The ATI GPU is ignored by libreboot. |