summaryrefslogtreecommitdiffstats
path: root/docs/index.html
blob: fe17fc4e7a685e808ab4ac3d9a8bf35cf6da4e55 (plain)
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
31
32
33
34
35
36
37
38
39
40
41
42
43
44
45
46
47
48
49
50
51
52
53
54
55
56
57
58
59
60
61
62
63
64
65
66
67
68
69
70
71
72
73
74
75
76
77
78
79
80
81
82
83
84
85
86
87
88
89
90
91
92
93
94
95
96
97
98
99
100
101
102
103
104
105
106
107
108
109
110
111
112
113
114
115
116
117
118
119
120
121
122
123
124
125
126
127
128
129
130
131
132
133
134
135
136
137
138
139
140
141
142
143
144
145
146
147
148
149
150
151
152
153
154
155
156
157
158
159
160
161
162
163
164
165
166
167
168
169
170
171
172
173
174
175
176
177
178
179
180
181
182
183
184
185
186
<!DOCTYPE html>
<html>
<head>
	<meta charset="utf-8">
	<meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width, initial-scale=1">

	<style type="text/css">
		@import url('css/main.css');
	</style>

	<title>Documentation for libreboot project</title>
</head>

<body>
	<h1 id="pagetop">Documentation for libreboot project</h1>

		<p>
			It is assumed that you are running <a href="https://www.gnu.org/distros/">GNU/Linux</a>
			(no other operating system is known to work with this release).
		</p>
		<p>
			<a href="#why">What is libreboot?</a>
		</p>

		<h2>Release information</h2>
			<p>
				Information about this release can be found at <a href="release.html">release.html</a>.
				Always check <a href="http://libreboot.org">libreboot.org</a> for updates.
			</p>
			<p>
				The release page and <a href="future/index.html">future/index.html</a> contain details
				about future work.
			</p>

		<h2>Hardware compatibility list</h2>
			<p>
				Information about what systems libreboot supports.
			</p>
			<p>
				Goto <a href="hcl/index.html">hcl/index.html</a>.
			</p>

		<h2>Installing libreboot</h2>
			<p>
				Information about how to install libreboot on supported targets,
				using software and/or dedicated hardware.
			</p>
			<p>
				Goto <a href="install/index.html">install/index.html</a>.
			</p>

		<h2>GNU/Linux distributions</h2>
			<p>
				Installing GNU/Linux distributions, preparing bootable USB drives, changing the default GRUB
				menu and so on. 
			</p>
			<p>
				This also contains guides for fully encrypted Trisquel and Parabola GNU/Linux-libre installations.
			</p>
			<p>
				Goto <a href="gnulinux/index.html">gnulinux/index.html</a>.
			</p>

		<h2>Developing libreboot</h2>
			<p>
				Information about configuring libreboot, building from source, maintaining the project,
				working in git and so on.
			</p>
			<p>
				Goto <a href="git/index.html">git/index.html</a>.
			</p>

		<h2>Security topics</h2>
			<p>
				Goto <a href="security/index.html">security/index.html</a>.
			</p>

		<h2>Hardware maintenance</h2>
			<p>
				Goto <a href="hardware/index.html">hardware/index.html</a>.
			</p>
	
		<h2>GRUB payload</h2>
			<p>
				Information about fonts and keyboard layouts used in GRUB. 
			</p>
			<p>
				Goto <a href="grub/index.html">grub/index.html</a>
			</p>

		<h2>Miscellaneous</h2>
			<p>
				Random topics that don't belong anywhere else.
			</p>
			<p>
				Goto <a href="misc/index.html">misc/index.html</a>.
			</p>

<hr/>

	<h1 id="why">What is libreboot, really?</h1>

		<p>
			Libreboot is a <a href="http://coreboot.org/">coreboot</a> distribution (distro) with proprietary software removed,
			intended to be a <a href="https://www.fsf.org/about/what-is-free-software">free</a>
			(libre) 'BIOS' replacement for your computer.
		</p>

		<p>
			Read the full <a href="https://www.gnu.org/philosophy/free-sw.html">Free Software definition</a>.
		</p>

		<h2>
			Project goals (and differences versus coreboot):
		</h2>
			<ul>
				<li>
					Coreboot contains blobs (proprietary data/code) and libreboot does not (it intentionally removes them).
				</li>
				<li>
					Coreboot is hacker-friendly and focuses on software developers, libreboot is user-focused and attempts to 
					turn coreboot into a distribution, sort of like a GNU/Linux distribution (same concept, different software). For example, libreboot 
					distributes GRUB/memtest86+/bucts/flashrom (and more) and comes with user-focused documentation and build scripts; libreboot 
					is therefore made more 'user-friendly'.
				</li>
			</ul>

			<p>
				Libreboot is <b>not</b> a fork of coreboot, despite misconceptions of this fact. Libreboot (downstream supplier) is a parallel effort 
				which works closely with and re-bases on the latest coreboot (upstream supplier) every so often.
			</p>

			<p>
				<b>
					As such, all new coreboot development should be done in coreboot, not libreboot!
					Libreboot is about deblobbing, and packaging coreboot in a user-friendly way, where most work is already done for the user!
					If, for example you wanted to attempt porting a new motherboard then you should do that in coreboot. Libreboot will (as a downstream)
					receive your change at some point in the future, in a future release.
				</b>
			</p>

		<h2>
			A 'stable' coreboot:
		</h2>
			<ul>
				<li>
					Coreboot uses the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rolling_release">rolling release</a> model 
					(and it is therefore quite volatile; one day when you build coreboot, it may or may not work correctly on your machine).
				</li>
				<li>
					Libreboot changes less often (as far as the release model is concerned), focusing instead on 'tested' releases for <i>specific machines</i>.
					At any given time, it might also be possible to build ROM images for systems other than those officially supported. If you get your board to work
					(without violating the <i>&quot;coreboot development goes in coreboot&quot;</i> rule, then others could benefit from your work).
				</li>
			</ul>

			<p>
				On the other hand, coreboot is also strict about what it accepts (merges) into the main git repository: 
				most of the time, a lot of changes are under review at review.coreboot.org (as a way of encouraging as much further development
				as possible before accepting the patch).
			</p>

			<p>
				Meanwhile, libreboot is a lot less strict in this area and freely merges specific patches that are desirable, sometimes before they are merged into coreboot's main repository.
			</p>

		<p><a href="#pagetop">Back to top of page.</a></p>

<hr/>

	<p>
		Copyright &copy; 2014 Francis Rowe &lt;info@gluglug.org.uk&gt;<br/>
		This document is released under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International Public License and all future versions.
		A copy of the license can be found at <a href="license.txt">license.txt</a>.
	</p>

	<p>
		This document is distributed in the hope that it will be useful,
		but WITHOUT ANY WARRANTY; without even the implied warranty of
		MERCHANTABILITY or FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE. See <a href="license.txt">license.txt</a> for more information.
	</p>

</body>
</html>