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FWIW: it's not hard to obtain hardware that works with Linux-libre. My main machine is a Thinkpad X200S where the restrictive Lenovo BIOS has been replaced wit
by rekado 10y ago
FWIW: it's not hard to obtain hardware that works with Linux-libre. My main machine is a Thinkpad X200S where the restrictive Lenovo BIOS has been replaced with Libreboot, allowing me to install a WiFi card from Tehnoetic (using the Atheros driver).
I have a couple of other machines and only one of them has reduced functionality when using Linux libre (e.g. the on-board Radeon graphics chip needs nonfree firmware for higher resolutions).
Guix and GuixSD makes it easy to use a custom kernel package, so you can choose to use a blobby kernel, if you can accept that.
- davexunit 10y agoTo share my own story, I flashed a hacked version of the proprietary BIOS on a Thinkpad X220 and was able to replace the Intel wireless chip with an Atheros chip. At the time Libreboot wasn't available, but it could still be a viable method of using a newer Thinkpad with a fully free OS, downside being that the proprietary BIOS is still in use.