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Leah Rowe is not a Rowebot

I've extended the Libreboot 9020 clearance sale to November 25th; I'm spending the time to polish Libreboot for a new stable release around that time, November 25th.

minifree.org/

I'm Libreboot's founder and lead developer. Sales fund Libreboot. Libreboot (preinstalled) is free/opensource firmware replacing proprietary BIOS/UEFI.

Your choice of Debian Linux, other distro or BSD.

Libreboot 9020 price further reduced; was £218, then 138, now 118. New products to launch by the 25th.

Leah Rowe is not a Rowebot

Tell me, is it the job of the government (whichever country you're in) to parent your children?

bbc.com/news/articles/c4gzd62g

Australia's government seems to think so.

Parenting is the job of *parents*, training youngsters how to emotionally handle the world. Social media is a valuable source of information and contact, one which the Australian government believes must be censored from young people.

I would argue that such a ban is an attack on human rights (the right to read, and to free speech).

Tell me, is it the job of the government (whichever country you're in) to parent your children?

bbc.com/news/articles/c4gzd62g

Australia's government seems to think so.

Parenting is the job of *parents*, training youngsters how to emotionally handle the world. Social media is a valuable source of information and contact, one which the Australian government believes must be censored from young people.

Leah Rowe is not a Rowebot

I say, Australia's Labor Party seems to be a bigger risk of harm towards youths than anything else.

Not that such a ban would actually be enforceable; when you tell young people *not* to do something, they will do it even more.

The young are generally tech-savvy and know how to circumvent internet censorship. The only way to really implement such a ban would perhaps be requiring photo ID to use such sites, but you could use a VPN for instance, accessing it from a country that has no such laws.

Leah Rowe is not a Rowebot

Reminder: all Libreboot machines are currently on a heavy discount, on Minifree:

minifree.org/

I'm the founder and lead developer of the Libreboot project. Sales fund Libreboot. Libreboot (preinstalled) is free/opensource firmware replacing proprietary BIOS/UEFI on supported hardware. I did a release recently, namely Libreboot 20241008.

Your choice of Debian Linux, other distro or a BSD.

I'm raising money for some planned work in November, hence price cut going for increased sales.

Leah Rowe is not a Rowebot

I saw this nice Libreboot installation video that someone did. This person's enthusiasm is admirable and I'm glad that my project was considered useful:

youtube.com/watch?v=HxsQ4j8U_F

The video talks about the Dell Precision T1650 desktop, which Libreboot added some time ago now.

I'm linking it because I really like the meme that the individual put in it at the start and end, which I've made a screenshot of and attached to this post on Mastodon; I've *also* made it my desktop background.

Great job!

I saw this nice Libreboot installation video that someone did. This person's enthusiasm is admirable and I'm glad that my project was considered useful:

youtube.com/watch?v=HxsQ4j8U_F

The video talks about the Dell Precision T1650 desktop, which Libreboot added some time ago now.

I'm linking it because I really like the meme that the individual put in it at the start and end, which I've made a screenshot of and attached to this post on Mastodon; I've *also* made it my desktop background.

Leah Rowe is not a Rowebot

I've been informed that a popular PlayStation emulator, called DuckStation, became proprietary software (was under GPLv3, then PolyForm 1.0.0 Strict, now CC BY-NC-ND 4.0).

This potentially violates the GPL, because of contributors. I've emailed the author, contributors and SFC. See:

vimuser.org/duckstation.html

I've archived the GPL version:

codeberg.org/vimuser/duckstati

Software freedom is an important right that everyone must have.

If you were using DuckStation, please ask the dev to reinstate GPL.

I've been informed that a popular PlayStation emulator, called DuckStation, became proprietary software (was under GPLv3, then PolyForm 1.0.0 Strict, now CC BY-NC-ND 4.0).

This potentially violates the GPL, because of contributors. I've emailed the author, contributors and SFC. See:

vimuser.org/duckstation.html

Show previous comments
Syphist :verifiedtrans:

@libreleah@mas.to they paused invites to their discord LMAO. Gives off cowardly vibes.

Christopher Snowhill

@libreleah Stenzek frequently had to deal with people stealing his work. I'm sure that this license change will solve that problem nicely. /s

Kevin Karhan :verified:

@libreleah pretty shure it's not legal to change from #GPLv3 to #proprietary legally unless all contributors signed off on this AND made a new project woth the same codebase as a hard fork.

- And even then it may be questionable.

Consider hinting that at #SoftwareFreedomConservancy, #BrucePerens and gpl-violations.org ...

Leah Rowe is not a Rowebot

Not so fun fact:

theguardian.com/books/article/

Turns out we're not much better than the US, where many books are being censored from libraries and stores.

To any parents (of school children) who follow me, I ask:

Contact your kid's school; ask what their policy is, and what they're doing to facilitate access to LGBT material.

Banning access to such material doesn't protect anyone. The freedom to be yourself is an important human right, and LGBT youths deserve recognition, especially in education.

Not so fun fact:

theguardian.com/books/article/

Turns out we're not much better than the US, where many books are being censored from libraries and stores.

To any parents (of school children) who follow me, I ask:

Leah Rowe is not a Rowebot

Fun fact: I don't work for free.

Someone ordered my send-in service, sent me a machine to flash and I'm done (Libreboot and Debian installed), but:

* They did not pay! I emailed them and won't send until I'm paid.

* They sent it seemingly straight from ebay, with broken hinge, touchpad, screen and fan - I replaced these, since it costs me nothing.

I fixed it up good. I have great work ethic and work pride, but I ask:

If someone sends me machines to work on, pay me.

Also don't send trash :D

Ray Glittersoft

@libreleah@mas.to Oh the joys of self employment ​:ajsmug:​

Leah Rowe is not a Rowebot

My feelings summarised, regarding recent world events.

invidious.drgns.space/watch?v=

I'm posting this in response to said events and also in preparation for what's to come.

I'm attentive to the news, and I see that certain countries have recently or soon will be flushed down the toilet.

There are also good things happening, but the current mood is:

Everything is a steaming pile of shit. The real beauty (or perhaps horror) is that this post will probably still ring true in ten years time from now.

My feelings summarised, regarding recent world events.

invidious.drgns.space/watch?v=

I'm posting this in response to said events and also in preparation for what's to come.

I'm attentive to the news, and I see that certain countries have recently or soon will be flushed down the toilet.

Leah Rowe is not a Rowebot

Fun fact: fascism is bad.

It's very, very bad and should be avoided at all costs.

At *all* costs.

Leah Rowe is not a Rowebot

Have you had kidney stones recently?

Now the Russians know about it.

Free software would be far less open to such attacks as these:

theguardian.com/society/articl

If you run public infrastructure on proprietary software, you are automatically betraying the trust of the public, because they cannot audit the code and neither can the operators of said infrastructure.

Free software tends to be much higher quality, and less susceptible to attacks such as these.

Don't use Windows machines in hospitals!

Have you had kidney stones recently?

Now the Russians know about it.

Free software would be far less open to such attacks as these:

theguardian.com/society/articl

If you run public infrastructure on proprietary software, you are automatically betraying the trust of the public, because they cannot audit the code and neither can the operators of said infrastructure.

Leah Rowe is not a Rowebot

I'm working on Minifree orders all weekend. I made sure to finish the recent Libreboot audit and do the new stable release so that I have something solid.

The plan for Libreboot now is this:

A bunch more Dell Latitude and Dell OptiPlex machines are viable for entry and will be included in the next testing release due mid-late July 2024.

As part of that release, I'm also updating all of the revisions (coreboot and so on).

ALSO:

Libreboot Build System Audit 6 is already underway, in a branch.

Leah Rowe is not a Rowebot

Libreboot 20240612 released!

libreboot.org/news/libreboot20

It's a *bugfix* release, marked stable.

Highlights:

* Fixed GRUB hanging bug from Libreboot 20240504 on Intel Sandybridge hardware
* Audit 5 changes included: libreboot.org/news/audit5.html
* NVMe SSDs bootable in the GRUB payload (patch by Mate Kukri)
* Better safety features / error handling in lbmk
* Fixed garbled GRUB display on Dell Latitude E6400 with 1440x900 screen (patch by Nicholas Chin)
* Building on i686 fixed (patch by Luke Shumaker)

Libreboot 20240612 released!

libreboot.org/news/libreboot20

It's a *bugfix* release, marked stable.

Highlights:

* Fixed GRUB hanging bug from Libreboot 20240504 on Intel Sandybridge hardware
* Audit 5 changes included: libreboot.org/news/audit5.html
* NVMe SSDs bootable in the GRUB payload (patch by Mate Kukri)
* Better safety features / error handling in lbmk
* Fixed garbled GRUB display on Dell Latitude E6400 with 1440x900 screen (patch by Nicholas Chin)
* Building on...

Lukas Brausch

@libreleah Yeah! Thanks a lot for your great work. 👍 I'm loving it! 😍

Leah Rowe is not a Rowebot

Oh by the way

codeberg.org/mkukri/optiplex-3

Mate Kukri's proof of concept for Dell OptiPlex 3050 Micro. Disables Intel Boot Guard, allowing coreboot.

EDIT: info from Mate himself, about this: mas.to/@mkukri/112507467615650

tl;dr of what he said:

it uses CVE-2017-5705

Intel fixed it in newer MEv11 updates but you can downgrade via physical flash access.

With a vulnerable MEv11 revision you exploit ME in the BUP(bringup) module, overwriting bootguard FPFs in SRAM, overriding the fused bootguard config.

Oh by the way

codeberg.org/mkukri/optiplex-3

Mate Kukri's proof of concept for Dell OptiPlex 3050 Micro. Disables Intel Boot Guard, allowing coreboot.

EDIT: info from Mate himself, about this: mas.to/@mkukri/112507467615650

tl;dr of what he said:

it uses CVE-2017-5705

Evv1L :blobcatlaptop:

@libreleah

> Run './RUNME.sh' to generate an ME image that bypasses BootGuard on the OptiPlex 3050.

Very interesting!

Is this just Dell has some weird/buggy BootGuard implementation or it could be possible on other desktops/laptops?

How this bypass even work? Is it some undocumented IME feature?

Leah Rowe is not a Rowebot

Someone *actually* sent this in for repair, thinking their warranty was still intact.

Fun fact, garbage disposal costs extra. Just look at this fucking thing.

Some people are just crazy. What sane person thinks it's OK to send this to me? I feel dirty just being in the same room with it.

Show previous comments
bl00d

@libreleah wtf, i did use my thinkpad to make holes in the wall and didn’t look bad even close to this :cirno_for_reals:

Ding Dang Trevor Flowers

@libreleah Dang, that's ridiculous. And, I'm guessing, stinky.

Leah Rowe is not a Rowebot

I did this for *me*. Dell OptiPlex 9020 SFF with Libreboot.

i7-4790k (does not throttle!), 32GB RAM. AMD Radeon RX 6400 (Yeston!). NVMe SSD.

***Heavily*** modified. NH-L9x65 cooler. Fans mounted in rear. HDD/ODD cage removed. Rectangle cut out on front; Inner chassis cut so SATA SSD now screws in at the bottom-front (not the HDD cage that I removed), and intake fan at top-front.

I *will* be selling these. I'm doing more testing; on TODO is 3D print a custom side panel with extra ventilation.

Show previous comments
Jessie Nabein :neofox_peek_owo:

@libreleah Will the libreboot compatibility for that CPU series be listed on the hardware page? will this be something we can do ourselves I mean? That's a pretty good CPU for Libreboot support, unless somehow Ryzens are supported.

Esi Jóhannes G.

@libreleah As a fellow 4790k user... this is beautiful. <3

Leah Rowe is not a Rowebot

I lowered the Libreboot 9020 price: base spec was £398, now it's 338. Also: MT variant is now available in the drop-down menu. SFF is ITX/compact form factor, ATX is a full tower.

Available here: minifree.org/product/libreboot

Libreboot preinstalled, replacing proprietary BIOS/UEFI, offering greater security and fast boot speeds. I'm Libreboot's founder and lead developer; sales fund Libreboot. Debian Linux preinstalled, but you can request a different distro or *BSD*, e.g. FreeBSD, OpenBSD, NetBSD.

Leah Rowe is not a Rowebot

Libreboot 20240126 released!

libreboot.org/news/libreboot20

Highlights:

* HP EliteBook 820 G2 added
* HP Compaq Elite 8300 CMT added
* HP EliteBook 8460p added
* ThinkPad X220 eDP added
* Dell Latitude E6530 added
* EFI System Partition support
* Extlinux/syslinux config scanning alongside GRUB configs. More distros should work
* Ditto for installers (more USB distro installers should work)
* New January 2024 coreboot revision
* New December 2023 GRUB revision
* GM45 thinkpads: S3 fix from upstream

Libreboot 20240126 released!

libreboot.org/news/libreboot20

Highlights:

* HP EliteBook 820 G2 added
* HP Compaq Elite 8300 CMT added
* HP EliteBook 8460p added
* ThinkPad X220 eDP added
* Dell Latitude E6530 added
* EFI System Partition support
* Extlinux/syslinux config scanning alongside GRUB configs. More distros should work
* Ditto for installers (more USB distro installers should work)
* New January 2024 coreboot revision
* New December 2023 GRUB revision
* GM45 thinkpads:...

Leah Rowe is not a Rowebot

I also did this a few days ago but forgot to write the news page until today: canoeboot.org/news/canoeboot0.

Leah Rowe is not a Rowebot

The new Libreboot article is now live:

libreboot.org/news/10.html

It is technically 12 December 2023 in the UK; in 3 minutes from this post being published, it will be 13 December 2023.

Libreboot's first ever release was on 12 December 2013, so today has been Libreboot's 10-year anniversary.

I've spent all day writing the article. It explains the history of the Libreboot project, through my eyes.

Thoughts welcome. I'll likely tweak it, despite having published. What's there should be complete.

The new Libreboot article is now live:

libreboot.org/news/10.html

It is technically 12 December 2023 in the UK; in 3 minutes from this post being published, it will be 13 December 2023.

Libreboot's first ever release was on 12 December 2013, so today has been Libreboot's 10-year anniversary.

SamuelJohnson

@libreleah Wow. Quite a write up. 👏

Spoilt by the assertion that joining the EU = domestic and foreign policy being "controlled by other governments", which is untrue and was specifically refuted by the UK Conservative govt in the Brexit white paper on leaving the EU. Jointly agreeing matters of shared interest <> being controlled. Foreign policy isn't an EU competence. Domestic law is and always has been a matter for parliament to choose how and where to share sovereignty.

Dr. Quadragon ❌

@libreleah Flashing can be risky business. Please ensure that you have external flashing equipment.

( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)

Leah Rowe is not a Rowebot

Libreboot just got support for a really nice new laptop (HP EliteBook 2170p):

libreboot.org/news/hp2170p.htm

This is the first of many. I have a lot more HP EliteBooks here that I'm working on (some Dell workstations too).

I'm on a spree this week, adding new mainboards to Libreboot.

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