 Fun fact: ROM images in libreboot with "seabios_grubfirst" in the filename should never ever be used. I've deleted the build option for them, today, in the build system. My reasoning is explained in the commit itself: https://notabug.org/libreboot/lbmk/commit/e1bbdadc9584291cf062660d67128e9f17ab788e (and explained in the documentation) Laptops sold on https://minifree.org/ now come with *Libreboot* pre-installed, replacing insecure proprietary BIOS/UEFI firmware. Osboot recently merged with and became part of Libreboot. Laptops come with Debian Linux, or other distro/BSD (e.g. OpenBSD, FreeBSD) per request. I'm currently working on the osboot/libreboot merger that I alluded to in the last Libreboot release. I'm about 40% done as I write this, and I started today! Osboot is becoming part of Libreboot. The projects are merging and will operate as one, under current osboot policy. Current osboot policy shall be known unofficially as: Pragmatic System Distribution Guidelines or just PSDG for short new libreboot release soon It's done. And it's a 22,000 line diff. I merged everything from libreboot that osboot didn't have, into osboot, and merged *that* back to libreboot. now both projects are in sync. osboot will shut down. and redirect to libreboot. it's now all one project operating as libreboot https://notabug.org/libreboot/lbmk/commit/7af9953463c65fe2f02704e6bce815d830e58d7d https://git.sr.ht/~libreleah/lbmk/commit/7af9953463c65fe2f02704e6bce815d830e58d7d.patch New stock ordered, for the new office. I've decided to cut my prices a bit, at least temporary. Β£20 off, on all laptops sold via https://minifree.org Laptops come with coreboot, which replaces proprietary BIOS/UEFI firmware, plus Debian Linux, or other distro/BSD on request. Laptops on https://minifree.org/ now have 480GB SSDs as the 1st option, instead of 240GB. 480GB SSD prices are lower now, so I'm happy to do this. The laptops come with coreboot, replacing proprietary UEFI firmware. Debian by default but other distro/BSD available on request. I am today announcing a temporary price reduction, for laptops sold via https://minifree.org/ These are secure machines with free/opensource BIOS/UEFI replacement "osboot", based on coreboot: https://osboot.org/ Debian by default but other distro/BSD available on request.
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@libreleah thank you awesome Internet lady, for adding yet another Cool Thing to my upcoming purchases. Lol. Very cool project indeed, canβt believe I hadnβt heard of it before now. Boosted to share. @libreleah Not sure if you got OpenBSD booting on those, but I found success with grub using chainloader +1 for OpenBSD 7.2 -current. (1/2) My new lab is finally set up. I have spent all of this week moving my lab to a bigger room. I will be much more efficient now. Minifree shipments resume today. ThinkPad W541 support, added to osboot. The build system automatically runs me_cleaner, truncating Intel ME to provide roughly 11.8MB for CBFS where coreboot goes. Dual graphics not enabled or accounted for; Intel graphics only. GRUB or SeaBIOS payload. https://notabug.org/osboot/osbmk/commit/7728a9822e7610983d53af071ce39433a2948081 On TODO is to write an actual installation guide. The W541 is a tricky board to flash; I simply couldn't get ISP working at all (no clip). I tried CS high on non-target, HOLD low; very hard to flash. I de-soldered both ICs, flashed in a socket and then re-soldered. *Works fine*. Kiwifarms's .ru domain is down; DDos-Guard dropped them. CloudFlare also downed KF's .net domain. The Tor site is up but if KF is Tor-only, it will no longer be viable long-term. Nazis no longer have an organised way to target trans people on the internet. Today is an good day! This is so very nice. OpenBSD added support (in current) for booting from RAID1C; specifically, they modified the bootloader. OpenBSD could already boot encrypted systems but not encrypted RAID1 (RAID 1C) via softraid. In their next release version, it'll be possible to do this. https://www.undeadly.org/cgi?action=article;sid=20220813110021 Laptop touchpads wear over time. On X230 thinkpads, you can replace just the plastic part that's worn. It could be 3D printed if you want to do that. Warm air at 150C will soften the adhesive, allowing you to separate the plastic from the PCB. I do it all the time. Good as new!  @libreleah Been thinking about 3D printing the whole lower keyboard bezel as one unit and skipping the touchpad, I don't use it. Good to see it's at least semi-practical.
In addition to recent price cuts, today I further decreed: the warranty for all laptops sold is now 5 years, instead of 3. Warranties extended +2 years for people whose 3-year warranty were still valid today. The laptops come with coreboot, which replaces proprietary BIOS/UEFI, and Debian Linux as the default operating system. I sell coreboot, and coreboot accessories. https://minifree.org/ I did one of these recently, for old time's sake. An old customer sent in an X200 for servicing, and upgrades. I replaced the onboard 8MB SPI flash with 16MB (Winbond W25Q128FVSIG). This allows you to easily put a full linux kernel with initramfs in the flash, if you wanted to. I now use the latest nvmutil, to set *random* MAC addresses on every laptop I sell! I sell ThinkPads with coreboot and Debian Linux on my store: https://minifree.org Coreboot replaces proprietary BIOS/UEFI boot firmware giving you more secure control of your boot experience. I wrote nvmutil myself, recently, to replace an older tool that I wrote before. One of its main benefits is that it can set random MAC addresses, hardcoded in the flash. This is the "default" MAC address, for your NIC. The screenshot is on a Debian system, but I'm not running these programs from GNU Coreutils. No, these are ports from OpenBSD. Progress is going smoothly on my upcoming busybox replacement, which I call shbox. I've also imported oksh (portable version of ksh). I'm going to use that as the shell, when I release it. Complete busybox replacement, based on OpenBSD tools. When every tool I need is done, I will release it all on https://shbox.org/ When I release the first version of shbox, there will be two versions of each program: * Straight port, no changes except make it work on linux with glibc or musl. Or FreeBSD * Based on the port, maintain a stripped down version, posix-only when desirable, otherwise with only minimal extensions. The build system will either build each util as a separate binary or, like busybox, a single multi-call binary. This is how I'm designing it. I also still want it to be usable on all the BSD systems. The new Libreboot release is compiling. ETA: 10 July 2022. I've intentionally not made large changes to Libreboot, only fixing bugs based on reports from the last testing release. This is a stable release. I'll publish the link when ready. After this, I have major changes planned. I will make a big new testing release in a few weeks/months. Changes such as: Linux distro in flash based on Alpine, but with a userland based on OpenBSD instead of BusyBox. Also: osboot and Libreboot will merge.  @libreleah That's so cool! I'm full up with machines at the mo but I'm happy to see that you're making this happen. CPU/RAM/SSD upgrades and shipping prices have been reduced, for laptops sold on https://minifree.org These are secure laptops with osboot, based on coreboot, replacing proprietary UEFI firmware. Your choice of *encrypted* Debian, other Linux or OpenBSD/FreeBSD installation.
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I've also lowered the price of the laptops themselves, as of today. For the base specifications, T440p is currently Β£338 and X230 is Β£258. I've budgeted for the next 6 months and concluded that these prices can stay as they are. I don't expect to change them again any time soon. |
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