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I'm pointing out that these laptops are no more free then any other laptop out there. It's just an average laptop shipping a Linux distro. These guys won't be

I'm pointing out that these laptops are no more free then any other laptop out there. It's just an average laptop shipping a Linux distro. These guys won't be able to get the binary blobs from neither Intel nor Nvidia released, this have been pointed out many times before from several places. They are even kind enough to mention it themself: https://puri.sm/posts/purism-software-freedom-deconstructed/ https://puri.sm/posts/purism-software-freedom-deconstructed/ http://blogs.coreboot.org/blog/2015/02/23/the-truth-about-purism-why-librem-is-not-the-same-as-libre/ http://blogs.coreboot.org/blog/2015/02/23/the-truth-about-pu... https://www.reddit.com/r/linux/comments/3anjgm/on_the_librem_laptop_purism_doesnt_believe_in https://www.reddit.com/r/linux/comments/3anjgm/on_the_librem...

weinzierl 11y ago
The money quote from the linked coreboot blog post is: Laptops with libre operating systems have existed for decades. The only real innovators in this area have been Google and GluGlug. Google ships partially free firmware, although insufficiently libre to be able to provide the “respect your privacy” guarantee. GluGlug can make this claim, and it ships laptops with fully libre firmware. The downside of GluGlug is that it’s an aftermarket add-on. GluGlug and Google have been in business far longer than Purism. So, what has Purism brought in that’s new and exciting and libre? Nothing. The content of the post is disputed in the comments by someone who claims to be a "volunteer of Purism project": Purism is actively working on porting coreboot to Librem15 with some coreboot developer(s). @mrnuke is more than welcome to join the effort :) There, that's the truth about Purism.
- ploxiln 11y ago
  I think the money quote from a comment is Purism’s Librem 15 will ship with an Intel CPU fused to **run unsigned BIOS** code This is apparently the first time a laptop is (almost) available with a recent Intel cpu where this is the case. This is needed for an attempt to port coreboot to be possible. Original claim here: https://puri.sm/posts/pioneering-cpu-efforts-to-liberate-laptop-hardware/ https://puri.sm/posts/pioneering-cpu-efforts-to-liberate-lap...
  - pgeorgi 11y ago
    That claim only deals with Haswell since before that, there was no fuse to prevent running unsigned BIOS code (also known as Intel Boot Guard). Since there are Haswell Chromebooks, there are devices on the market that also provide this feature. The limitation for libreboot devices using recent Intel chips is the ME firmware which is always signed, but not on the CPU and not BIOS code. So the statement is technically correct - through some _very_ careful choice of words.

weinzierl 11y ago

The money quote from the linked coreboot blog post is: Laptops with libre operating systems have existed for decades. The only real innovators in this area have been Google and GluGlug. Google ships partially free firmware, although insufficiently libre to be able to provide the “respect your privacy” guarantee. GluGlug can make this claim, and it ships laptops with fully libre firmware. The downside of GluGlug is that it’s an aftermarket add-on. GluGlug and Google have been in business far longer than Purism. So, what has Purism brought in that’s new and exciting and libre? Nothing. The content of the post is disputed in the comments by someone who claims to be a "volunteer of Purism project": Purism is actively working on porting coreboot to Librem15 with some coreboot developer(s). @mrnuke is more than welcome to join the effort :) There, that's the truth about Purism.

ploxiln 11y ago
I think the money quote from a comment is Purism’s Librem 15 will ship with an Intel CPU fused to **run unsigned BIOS** code This is apparently the first time a laptop is (almost) available with a recent Intel cpu where this is the case. This is needed for an attempt to port coreboot to be possible. Original claim here: https://puri.sm/posts/pioneering-cpu-efforts-to-liberate-laptop-hardware/ https://puri.sm/posts/pioneering-cpu-efforts-to-liberate-lap...
- pgeorgi 11y ago
  That claim only deals with Haswell since before that, there was no fuse to prevent running unsigned BIOS code (also known as Intel Boot Guard). Since there are Haswell Chromebooks, there are devices on the market that also provide this feature. The limitation for libreboot devices using recent Intel chips is the ME firmware which is always signed, but not on the CPU and not BIOS code. So the statement is technically correct - through some _very_ careful choice of words.