GNU Boot 20230717 Released For Freeing The Firmware On Some Old Hardware

[bearoso]

So now instead of 0 modern consumer devices, they support, um, 0.

I think this is a beggars can't be choosers situation, guys.

[DrYak]

Just to summarize:

• Coreboot: can contain prorietary blobs by the hardware vendor. (Example: Some RAM controllers or GPU need firmware to initialize RAM or display)
• Libreboot: a distribution of Coreboot that by defaults tries to use opensource alternative if those exist, when possible. Pieces of hardware without functionnal opensource firmware or whose opensource alternative is so broken that it can't successfully initialize the hardware: will fall back on the blob provided by the chip vendor.
• GNU boot: a distribution of Coreboot that disables blobs, opensource alternative are mandatory. Pieces of hardware without functional opensource firware will not work.

Thus some motherboards that are supported by Coreboot and Libreboot aren't supported by GNU boot.
Libreboot should be able to support any motherboard supported by Coreboot, but sometime does so by using alternate firmware.

[ZeroPointEnergy]

Extremism is a hell of a drug

Is this free software that is completely optional, forced on no one , and available free of charge to people who have more desire to control their computing so offensive to you that you have to label it as "extremism"? Why?

[justinkb]

Is this free software that is completely optional, forced on no one , and available free of charge to people who have more desire to control their computing so offensive to you that you have to label it as "extremism"? Why?

It's not offensive to me. I label it extremism because they take an extreme position with respect to software freedom. Nothing more, nothing less. In fact, I have respect for idealists, but I don't think getting that extra bit of "control over my computing" is worth having to resort to mostly obsolete hardware supported by such projects as this.

[pgeorgi]

Just to summarize:

• Coreboot: can contain prorietary blobs by the hardware vendor. (Example: Some RAM controllers or GPU need firmware to initialize RAM or display)
• Libreboot: a distribution of Coreboot that by defaults tries to use opensource alternative if those exist, when possible. Pieces of hardware without functionnal opensource firmware or whose opensource alternative is so broken that it can't successfully initialize the hardware: will fall back on the blob provided by the chip vendor.

coreboot is just as interested in getting rid of blobs in the boot path.
The one difference between coreboot and Libreboot really is that the former is developer facing while the latter is user facing. Think "kernel.org" and "Linux distro". And just like Linux distros send their patches back upstream when they're generally useful (and not tweaks to cater to their specialization), so does Libreboot.

To stretch the Linux distro analogy a bit further:

• coreboot.org is kernel.org: sources only, technical discussions
• Libreboot is Debian: binaries, testing, decisions made on what configurations to actually support, more approachable to end users
• GNU Boot is Devuan: based on Libreboot or Debian respectively, but with a twist that is super important to them but sometimes hard to understand for bystanders

[vancha]

There is no *technical* reason to fork libreboot... but feel free to Google why I am quite glad someone has...

Apparently libreboot, contrary to it's name, takes a more pragmatic approach to software freedom. If there is no free solution available for certain chipsets, it uses binary blobs. I guess that is reason enough for free software enthusiasts to fork it.
I made the mistake of assuming a project with libre in the name would be fully free gpl licensed software.

[pgeorgi]

That was the correct assumption a few years ago, but some trans women overtook the project

You misspelled "project founder."

The oldest copy of libreboot.org on web.archive.org is from 2014 and it points to gluglug.org.uk for the sources of the preliminary release for Libreboot for Lenovo X60. Look who was running that "gluglug" org back then: F. Rowe, the former name of Leah Rowe, who is still running Libreboot today.

[blackiwid]

You misspelled "project founder."

I don't know this project in and out and all it's history, but your added context doesn't change much.
They joined the GNU project got at least advertisement probably other help and possible even money, it's like saying a franchise owner of a local mc donalds restaurant quit their contract with mc donalds but keeps the name after that, they could switched back to GlugGlug or take a new different name, this was not her name.

[OneTimeShot]

There are two technical reasons and you don't even have to use Google to find them. You can read the the 2nd sentence for a brief summary of the 2nd paragraph of the article for the first technical reason followed by clicking on the link at the end of the article, maybe scrolling your mouse a click or three, for the 2nd technical reason.



Did you really not make it past the first sentence?

Are you saying that's the technical reason? Deleting the completely optional folder of binary blobs? Ok...

[pgeorgi]

they could switched back to GlugGlug or take a new different name, this was not her name.

Rowe still uses the Libreboot name that she started with.

As for GNU Boot, look at the bottom of the page that Michael linked: "This non-GeNUine website by Leah Rowe of Libreboot, based on Libreboot 20230625, is proposed for re-use by GNU Boot, a fork of Libreboot. They are (as of 17 July 2023) struggling to launch; they use very old Libreboot revisions. A GNU Boot 20230717 release is available. Despite ideological disagreement, this was a fun technical challenge."

So no, GNU Boot hasn't released anything. That page isn't a GNU Boot page, that would be https://savannah.gnu.org/p/gnuboot. The code pushed on the vimuser.org page is "libreboot with the integration of proprietary bits removed", i.e. exactly what the GNU Boot folks originally set out to do.

She isn't trying to take over GNU Boot, she just seems annoyed that the GNU Boot folks talk the talk but don't manage to walk the walk, and returned the courtesy of them originally trying to hijack her project's name with https://libreboot.at/ with this little stunt, without being too serious about it.

Was that a smart idea? Probably not. But GNU Boot manages to look ridiculous all by itself, no help necessary.