
The Minifree Libreboot T400 is free as in freedom - janober
https://techcrunch.com/2017/08/11/the-minifree-libreboot-t400-is-free-as-in-freedom
======
feelin_googley
"No-OS is also possible, besides Trisquel. Mention "no OS" in the textbox on
checkout, and we will ship it with Libreboot but without an OS installed."

Source:
[https://minifree.org/product/libreboot-t400/](https://minifree.org/product/libreboot-t400/)

Been waiting a long time for some PC/laptop vendor to finally have enough
faith in their own pre-installed OS^1 or hardware to sell computers with the
_option_ of no pre-installed OS.

IMHO, this shows respect for the user, e.g., one who uses an OS that no
manufacturer will ever pre-install (c'est moi).

And IMHO it shows that the product being purchased is in fact _hardware_ ,
nothing more; the OS I use is _free_ so this makes perfect sense.

To whomever decided to offer this option: great job!

^1. "faith in their own pre-installed OS" because IMHO a no-OS option means
there is always the risk a user will choose it over a pre-installed OS.
Assuming the pre-installed OS comes with pre-installed crapware, collects user
data, tracks user location, serves ads, restricts software that can run to an
"app store", or some other tactic to generate ongoing revenue, then any user
opting out is a lost opportunity for the seller. Of course if the pre-
installed OS is _truly_ superior to any free alternative that the user could
herself install, then there should be no risk in offering a no-OS option. No
user would ever choose it.

~~~
ams6110
I can't ever recall using the pre-installed OS on any computer I've ever
purchased (not counting smartphones).

~~~
gbraad
I do, to verify the machine is as requested/ordered and works as expected. I
have returned/replaced a machine before that had issues. Because of the OS was
as expected, the manufacturer had no difficulty determining the machine was
faulty.

------
rmmm
It is very cool to see TechCrunch give some publicity to a product and project
like this.

A few thoughts though. When I buy products like this, it's not to "stick it to
the man". I would love major companies to provide freedom respecting hardware
and software, and I would say most of the hackers I know feel that way. We
just don't have many options. We'd have no problems supporting "corporate
interests" that cared about free software and didn't mistreat their customers.
Free software isn't about being anti-corporate, it's about being pro-freedom.

------
rwmj
I built something like this: [https://rwmj.wordpress.com/2016/04/10/libreboot-
on-my-x60s/](https://rwmj.wordpress.com/2016/04/10/libreboot-on-my-x60s/)

I'm glad that a company is stepping up to build these because the situation
with libreboot/coreboot is very confusing. I think the projects forked, plus
the documentation is terrible.

As an 11 year old, 32 bit laptop it's not for everyone, but the X60s is small,
light and rugged — a real classic — the last version that IBM designed before
the Thinkpad brand was acquired by Lenovo. The main problem is sourcing
batteries.

~~~
initself
The main problem is that it runs hot as f*ck on the right palm rest, making it
basically unusable.

------
jackvalentine
I don't say this to be mean, but what about things like hard disk firmware?

------
Fej
I mean... the sentiment is fantastic, and we need more hardware like this.
Desperately. But...these just aren't really usable for its target audience.
The biggest sticking point is the screen resolution. Come on, it's 2017, and
1280x800 just isn't enough.

The other sticking point is the processor. It's unfortunately necessary to use
an ancient one to avoid Intel ME. This comes with a massive performance
bottleneck and increased power consumption.

To build a properly _useful_ free laptop requires a non-x86 processor, as it
stands.

The P8400 is _9 years old._ We cannot rely on decade-old technology for our
computing.

On a side note, did anyone ever buy the KDE Slimbook?

~~~
amiga-workbench
I'm still using an X201 tablet, 1280x800 is largely okay for me. A lot of the
problems come from modern, over designed software UI's with padding out the
wazoo and a shitty information density.

------
clircle
Never thought I would see something like this from TechCrunch. I would never
buy one of these but I'm just glad that word is spreading about these
machines.

------
tunesmith
What are the other machines that are close to free? I know about Librem
Purism, but I seem to remember another thing is being funded that might be
based off of Risc or something.

~~~
librexpr
I don't know about Risc, but you might want to check out the FSF's Respects
Your Freedom certification[0]. The article doesn't mention it, but the
Minifree T400 is itself RYF-certified.

You might also want to check out h-node[1] (also by the FSF). I haven't looked
into it much, but it seems to be a site dedicated to finding hardware that can
be used with completely free software.

[0] [https://fsf.org/ryf](https://fsf.org/ryf)

[1] [https://h-node.org/](https://h-node.org/)

~~~
jancsika
There's also the EOMA68 project:

[https://www.crowdsupply.com/eoma68/micro-
desktop](https://www.crowdsupply.com/eoma68/micro-desktop)

And somebody else who appears to be building a shader compiler for the Mali
400 GPU here:

[https://github.com/yuq/mesa-lima](https://github.com/yuq/mesa-lima)

If both these projects succeed that would be a fully free arm laptop with a
fully free GPU driver. Apparently it will also be possible to print out the
laptop itself using a 3d printer apparently being designed and built by that
same EOMA68 guy to deliver the boxes people already ordered.

Also it looks like the touchpad is just a little square of lcd touchscreen. If
that part of the design is kept theoretically you could play quake inside the
touchpad.

------
bowmessage
Better hope that Intel Core 2 Duo P8400 doesn't run the Intel Management
Engine

~~~
privong
> Better hope that Intel Core 2 Duo P8400 doesn't run the Intel Management
> Engine

This is clearly stated on the product website
([https://minifree.org/product/libreboot-t400/](https://minifree.org/product/libreboot-t400/)):

 _The Libreboot T400 comes without the Intel Management Engine or AMD PSP!_

~~~
userbinator
It's a 7-year-old CPU, which predates ME but should still be quite usable for
a lot of things.

~~~
kogepathic
9 years old: Q3 2008

[http://ark.intel.com/products/35569/Intel-Core2-Duo-
Processo...](http://ark.intel.com/products/35569/Intel-Core2-Duo-
Processor-P8400-3M-Cache-2_26-GHz-1066-MHz-FSB)

