Libreboot

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Libreboot

Libreboot logo.svg
ThinkPad X60 Series with Libreboot.jpg
The logo shows the Libreboot mascot, a running deer in black on a white background. At the bottom picture you can see two modified ThinkPad X60 laptops that use Libreboot as their firmware.
Basic data

developer The Libreboot project
Publishing year December 2013
Current  version 20160907
( September 7, 2016 )
operating system GNU / Linux
programming language Mainly C and around 1% assembler
category Firmware
License GPLv3
German speaking No
Others Platforms: IA-32 , x64 , ARMv7Template: Infobox software / maintenance / other
https://libreboot.org/

Libreboot is a free software project that has set itself the goal of proprietary BIOS - Firmware , which is found in most computers to replace. The developers attach particular importance to the lightness of the system. It should be able to cope with only the minimum number of tasks that are necessary to a modern 32-bit - or 64-bit - OS run.

motivation

Libreboot was designed to replace the proprietary BIOS. Reasons that speak against the conventional BIOS are the discovered and presumably further back doors and security gaps that are triggered by the Intel Management Engine and the actual BIOS, the high backward compatibility of the conventional BIOS (back to 1978), and the associated performance Losses for modern areas of application, as well as the philosophically justified rejection of software that is not in the source code and which can be modified by anyone, as this restricts the freedom of the user. This also provides the practical disadvantage that back doors and other problems cannot be searched for and fixed by computer scientists.

history

The Libreboot project was started in 2013 as a core boot distribution without the proprietary binary blobs it contains . However, the project itself did not arise directly as a fork , rather it was further developed in parallel with Coreboot - a first publication was also released on December 12, 2013. It also used its current versions again and again and imported patches into the Coreboot project whenever possible. In addition to removing proprietary software, the Libreboot developers helped make Coreboot easier to use by automating the compilation and installation process.

Approved by the Free Software Foundation (FSF for short), the Libreboot project made it possible to create the necessary modifications for a completely free variant for some ThinkPads and MacBooks . According to their own documentation, Libreboot works with any Linux distribution that uses mode settings for graphics, as well as many * BSDs, but Windows is not supported.

Libreboot has been part of the GNU project since May 14, 2016 . In September 2016 the project founder Leah Rowe declared that Libreboot was no longer part of the GNU project. She justified this with the fact that a transgender employee of the FSF had been molested and fired because of her sexual identity. On April 2, 2017, Leah Rowe published a public letter on the official Libreboot website, in which she apologized to the FSF and the GNU project for their wrongdoing and at the same time announced that she would work more intensively with the community in the future to support the Libreboot project move forward.

market

Although systems with Libreboot lead a niche existence, and these can usually only be produced from relatively old hardware by replacing the firmware, there are several providers of so-called Libre-friendly hardware. These manufacturers produce modified hardware with Libreboot from used goods (especially ThinkPads). The FSF certifies models that meet the liberal requirements with the FSF-RYF seal, where RYF stands for Respects your freedom .

Alternatives

The manufacturer Raptor Computing Systems is more likely to serve the high-end market with correspondingly more expensive but modern hardware based on the IBM Power architecture. One advantage of POWER is that, in contrast to the x86_64 architecture, no microcode, no management engine or other proprietary components are required, and unlike the basically free ARM architecture, it is also optimized for the high-performance area.

Systems supported

Libreboot supports the following systems:

Laptops

  • Asus Chromebook C201
  • Lenovo ThinkPad X60 / X60s
  • Lenovo ThinkPad X60 Tablet
  • Lenovo ThinkPad T60 (some exceptions)
  • Lenovo ThinkPad X200
  • Lenovo ThinkPad R400
  • Lenovo ThinkPad T400
  • Lenovo ThinkPad T500
  • Apple MacBook 1.1
  • Apple MacBook 2.1

Desktop mainboards

  • Asus KCMA-D8
  • Intel D510MO
  • Gigabyte GA-G41M-ES2L
  • Intel D945GCLF
  • Apple iMac 5.2 (under development)

Server / workstation mainboards

  • Asus KFSN4-DRE
  • Asus KGPE-D16

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Libreboot project contributors. libreboot.org, accessed December 30, 2017 .
  2. ↑ libreboot.org . (accessed October 24, 2016).
  3. ↑ GNU Libreboot, version 20160907 released . (English, accessed September 8, 2016).
  4. ↑ libreboot's COPYING file. (No longer available online.) In: git.savannah.gnu.org. Formerly in the original ; accessed on June 14, 2016 .  ( Page no longer available , search in web archives )  Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.@1@ 2Template: Dead Link / git.savannah.gnu.org  
  5. ↑ Libreboot. Free Software Foundation, accessed June 13, 2016 .
  6. ↑ Libreboot. Libreboot, accessed June 13, 2016 .
  7. ↑ Libreboot release information (old) ( Memento from June 13, 2016 in the Internet Archive ) - accessed on June 13, 2016
  8. ↑ About the libre boat project. Libreboot, accessed June 13, 2016 .
  9. ^ Replace your proprietary BIOS with Libreboot. Free Software Foundation, August 4, 2014, accessed June 13, 2016 .
  10. ^ The Free Software Foundation's Campaign for Free BIOS. In: fsf.org. Retrieved June 13, 2016 .
  11. ^ Gay, Joshua: Respects Your Freedom hardware product certification. Free Software Foundation, October 9, 2012, accessed February 25, 2015 .
  12. ↑ a b Hardware compatibility list. Libreboot, accessed February 25, 2015 .
  13. ↑ Answers to Frequently Asked Questions about libreboot. Libreboot.org, accessed May 14, 2020 .
  14. ↑ Free Software Foundation criticizes AMD and Intel - Heise , June 13, 2016; see also GNU Libreboot (English) - with "Since 14 May 2016, Libreboot is part of the GNU project." (accessed on June 13, 2016)
  15. ↑ libreboot is not GNU Libreboot anymore. September 16, 2016, accessed on September 19, 2016 .
  16. ↑ Open Letter to the Free Software Community. Libreboot, accessed April 20, 2017 .
  17. ↑ Raptor CS product page, accessed January 1, 2020.
  18. ^ Page of the nonprofit Free Software Foundation (FSF), accessed on January 1, 2020.
  19. ^ Libreboot: List of supported hardware. Retrieved May 19, 2016 .
  20. ↑ Brad Linder: Libreboot ported to Asus Chromebook C201 (free software bootloader). In: Liliputing. Retrieved October 15, 2015 .
  21. ↑ Michael Larabel: Libreboot Now Supports An AMD / ASUS Motherboard. Phoronix, June 28, 2015, accessed July 14, 2015 .