3 ms·

Which is why I desperately want someone to build a board using a Yosys/nextpnr-supported FPGA and having loads of RAM. Half a gig is a typical maximum for such

Which is why I desperately want someone to build a board using a Yosys/nextpnr-supported FPGA and having loads of RAM. Half a gig is a typical maximum for such boards - with access to more generous amount of RAM building an entirely self-hosting RISC-V based computer becomes plausible. OK it won't be fast, but it will be Free. (Of course that might not help much if the wider internet - or particular critical services - starts to require remote attestation...)

Jenda_ 4y ago
I think such solution is not needed now -- even if all the vendors started selling only locked-down computers tomorrow (realistically I think the fastest transition may take 10 years, you not only need to implement this at motherboard/CPU vendors, but also within all these corporations that have their own servers and thus depend on running custom OSes), you still have loads of current hardware that you can use until it breaks, let's say another 10 years. Should the problem arise in 2035, you will have completely different FPGA/ASIC possibilities available by then, and current FPGAs are no longer manufactured.
- robinsonb5 4y ago
  I hope it's never needed - but I'm also alarmed by how quickly certain transitions are happening (perhaps I'm just feeling especially pessimistic about the rate at which we're sleepwalking into a tech dystopia because a fortnight after the local supermarket installed a bunch of self-checkout terminals, HSBC announced the closure of over 100 UK branches, including the one I use!) We already have Pluton-equipped laptops with the 3rd-party signing key disabled by default - it's not a huge step further to remove it entirely. So yeah, I hope it's never needed, but "hope for the best, prepare for the worst", and all that!
eric__cartman 4y ago
I would love to see that come true in the future but sadly nowadays the best way to have a fully free system is to use older hardware and stock up in spare parts to keep it running until an alternative pops up. Or one of those workstations with an IBM POWER CPU, but the price point is out of reach for most consumers.

Jenda_ 4y ago

I think such solution is not needed now -- even if all the vendors started selling only locked-down computers tomorrow (realistically I think the fastest transition may take 10 years, you not only need to implement this at motherboard/CPU vendors, but also within all these corporations that have their own servers and thus depend on running custom OSes), you still have loads of current hardware that you can use until it breaks, let's say another 10 years. Should the problem arise in 2035, you will have completely different FPGA/ASIC possibilities available by then, and current FPGAs are no longer manufactured.

robinsonb5 4y ago
I hope it's never needed - but I'm also alarmed by how quickly certain transitions are happening (perhaps I'm just feeling especially pessimistic about the rate at which we're sleepwalking into a tech dystopia because a fortnight after the local supermarket installed a bunch of self-checkout terminals, HSBC announced the closure of over 100 UK branches, including the one I use!) We already have Pluton-equipped laptops with the 3rd-party signing key disabled by default - it's not a huge step further to remove it entirely. So yeah, I hope it's never needed, but "hope for the best, prepare for the worst", and all that!

eric__cartman 4y ago

I would love to see that come true in the future but sadly nowadays the best way to have a fully free system is to use older hardware and stock up in spare parts to keep it running until an alternative pops up. Or one of those workstations with an IBM POWER CPU, but the price point is out of reach for most consumers.