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> Very neat, but it's specs are a little lack-lustre It's kind of the nature of the beast. It's one of the only (or is it the only?) laptops they can do this w
by joshuapants 11y ago
> Very neat, but it's specs are a little lack-lustre
It's kind of the nature of the beast. It's one of the only (or is it the only?) laptops they can do this with, so if you're committed to a FSF-approved machine you're stuck with old hardware.
- tinco 11y agoWhy is that? From the site I see that it's just a modified X200, wouldn't they for example be able to modify a more modern model? Does Intel have special measures to prevent that? Or is it simply reverse engineering that hasn't been achieved yet?
- rosser 11y agoAIUI, it's primarily a matter of the machines for which libreboot support exists. So, for example, the X60 and its tablet version are supported, but the X61(t) (of which I have two in a box somewhere) aren't. This is a terrible bummer for me, because that's still one of my favorite machines I've ever owned.
- wtallis 11y agoNewer chips require more binary blobs. IIRC the graphics chips are the biggest offenders.
- ekianjo 11y agoLibreboot is not supported on newer models.
- throwaway2048 11y agomodern models have the firmware encrypted + signed, so its a great deal harder to modify it, added in with the fact that intel requires several binary blobs to even boot modern processors...
- pgeorgi 11y agoIntel started embedding a processor in the chipset called the Management Engine. In vPro systems it powers the AMT features (remote control, McAfee virus scanner outside the OS control, various other things), but it's around everywhere. The X200 contains the last chipset where this processor was optional - if it comes with no firmware, it simply disables itself. Newer chipsets sometimes feature a recovery/service mode (up to 30 minutes of activity before the device shuts down, with limited capabilities, eg. no power management). Now, this chip wouldn't be so bad, but unfortunately it only runs on firmware signed by Intel. Lack of signature means that the system doesn't run, or only in that service mode. Since that project hasn't managed to cracked RSA2048 keys (and who did?), that firmware precludes using newer Intel chipsets.
- tinco 11y agoIt's been a long time since I've built a computer myself, but back in the day the Intel chipsets weren't the only ones that could boot Intel processors unless I'm mistaken there were always 1 or 2 alternatives. Or is this not the case for laptop systems? And what about AMD, do they do the same thing? http://shop.amd.com/en-us/business/notebook/20DE001RUS http://shop.amd.com/en-us/business/notebook/20DE001RUS They do have laptops with AMD chipsets.
- pgeorgi 11y agoIntel CPUs are tied to specific Intel chipsets these days, with no third party vendors. AMD used to be much better (they have some small firmware for a support function that was signed, but even that was so half-hearted that one coreboot developer managed to recover the key - but didn't publish it). These days they support ARM Trust Zone (with an ARM processor), and that part of the system is all signed (as "Trust" doesn't mean that _you_ can trust it). It's Hollywood, essentially - can't have you crack your movie-playing device to copy their precious bits. And what else would anybody use a computer for, if not for watching blockbuster movies?
- Narishma 11y agoThat hasn't been the case for a long time (a decade?). Nowadays you can only use Intel chipsets, even in desktop systems. I believe it's the same for AMD.
- LukeShu 11y ago> It's one of the only (or is it the only?) laptops One of the only; there are several other models that are supported by Libreboot[0]. Of those, Gluglug used to sell X60, X60s, and (briefly) T60 Thinkpads as well. [0]: http://libreboot.org/docs/hcl/index.html#supported_list http://libreboot.org/docs/hcl/index.html#supported_list
- userbinator 11y agoInterestingly enough there are also two MacBooks there (the early plastic ones), but they're based on very similar hardware to the X60.