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Libreboot

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Libreboot
Original author(s)Leah Rowe
Developer(s)Leah Rowe
Initial release12 December 2013; 11 years ago (2013-12-12)
Preview release20241008 (October 8, 2024; 2 months ago (2024-10-08)) [±][1]
Repositorycodeberg.org/libreboot/lbmk
TypeOpen-source firmware
License
Websitelibreboot.org

Libreboot (briefly known as GNU Libreboot[3][4]) is a free software project based on coreboot, aimed at replacing the proprietary BIOS firmware contained by most computers. Libreboot is a lightweight system designed to perform only the minimum number of tasks necessary to load and run a modern 32-bit or 64-bit operating system.

Characteristics

Libreboot is established as a distribution of coreboot, but with some proprietary binary blobs removed from coreboot.[5] Libreboot makes coreboot easy to use by automating the build and installation processes.[6][7][8][9]

On some devices, Libreboot developers have reverse engineered the firmware from Intel and created a utility to create a free firmware that meets the specifications from Intel.[10]

History

The Libreboot project was started in December 2013.[5] Libreboot is a nonproprietary distribution of coreboot, which excludes nonfree binary blobs. Coreboot began as LinuxBIOS in 1999 at Los Alamos National Labs (LANL), and was renamed "coreboot" in 2008.[11]

Libreboot has been endorsed by the Free Software Foundation, and was an official part of the GNU Project since May 2016. In January 2017, the project's maintainer Leah Rowe pulled Libreboot from the GNU project, after a controversy in which the Free Software Foundation allegedly fired a transgender employee for discriminatory reasons.[12][13]

Supported hardware

This is a dynamic list and may never be able to satisfy particular standards for completeness. You can help by adding missing items with reliable sources.

Computers sold with Libreboot

The second laptop to receive the Free Software Foundation's "Respects your freedom" certification, LibreBoot X200 by Gluglug, runs Libreboot. In 2015, Chris Hoffman of PC World called the computer, a refurbished 2008 ThinkPad X200, "outdated".[18][19]

The Taurinus X200 laptop, also based on the ThinkPad X200, uses Libreboot and is the first retail computer to disable the Intel Management Engine[10]

Technoethical is another company that sells refurbished ThinkPad 200's with Libreboot.[20]

In May 2018, Erik Bärwaldt of linux-magazine.com wrote:

Several small international companies have emerged around free BIOS implementations. These vendors fill the niche of providing computers for users who want a system that is truly all free. They can also offer the benefit of faster boot time with a trimmed down system, and they are in a unique position to avoid the planned obsolescence of the computer industry by maintaining support for older systems that are no longer relevant to the big hardware vendors.

Bärwaldt reviewed a Lenovo ThinkPad T400 notebook, purchased from Minifree and certified by the Free Software Foundation under the "Respects Your Freedom" program, with Trisquel and Libreboot preinstalled. Bärwaldt described Libreboot as having some proprietary binary blobs removed from coreboot, and said the more than eight years old laptop looked "almost as good as new". According to Bärwaldt, the Libreboot BIOS was "significantly" faster, and Trisquel boots "considerably" faster, compared with other systems on "similar hardware". Bärwaldt said there were weaknesses where proprietary blobs and firmware had not yet been replaced with free components.[5]

Reception

According to Kyle Rankin writing for Linux Journal in 2015, Libreboot "greatly simplified and automated" the flashing process, "with a few caveats".[6][7]

Notes

  1. ^ The resulting binary is licensed under the GPLv3

References

  1. ^ "Libreboot - Libreboot news". Libreboot. Retrieved 29 April 2024.
  2. ^ "libreboot's COPYING file". notabug.org. Archived from the original on 9 July 2021. Retrieved 9 July 2021.
  3. ^ "List of GNU software packages on 22 May 2016". GNU project. 22 May 2016. Archived from the original on 22 May 2016. Retrieved 22 August 2016.
  4. ^ "[Libreboot] GNU Libreboot, version 20160818 released". lists.gnu.org. Archived from the original on 18 October 2019. Retrieved 22 August 2021.
  5. ^ a b c Bärwaldt, Erik. "Liberated » Linux Magazine". Linux Magazine. Archived from the original on 22 August 2021. Retrieved 22 August 2021.
  6. ^ a b c Rankin, Kyle (28 September 2015). "Libreboot on an X60, Part I: the Setup". Linux Journal. Archived from the original on 22 August 2021. Retrieved 22 August 2021.
  7. ^ a b c Rankin, Kyle (28 October 2015). "Libreboot on an x60, Part II: the Installation". Linux Journal. Archived from the original on 22 August 2021. Retrieved 22 August 2021.
  8. ^ By (16 December 2016). "Harrowing Story Of Installing Libreboot On ThinkPad". Hackaday. Archived from the original on 7 September 2021. Retrieved 22 August 2021.
  9. ^ By (20 August 2018). "Installing LibreBoot The (Very) Lazy Way". Hackaday. Archived from the original on 24 November 2020. Retrieved 22 August 2021.
  10. ^ a b Vaughan-Nichols, Steven J. "Taurinus X200: Now the most 'Free Software' laptop on the planet". ZDNet. Archived from the original on 26 August 2021. Retrieved 6 September 2021.
  11. ^ Sun, Jiming; Jones, Marc; Reinauer, Stefan; Zimmer, Vincent (2015), Sun, Jiming; Jones, Marc; Reinauer, Stefan; Zimmer, Vincent (eds.), "Building coreboot with Intel FSP", Embedded Firmware Solutions: Development Best Practices for the Internet of Things, Berkeley, CA: Apress, pp. 55–95, doi:10.1007/978-1-4842-0070-4_4, ISBN 978-1-4842-0070-4, retrieved 27 May 2023
  12. ^ Hall, Christine (6 January 2017). "GNU Officially Boots Libreboot". FOSS Force. Retrieved 7 June 2023.
  13. ^ Hall, Christine (16 September 2016). "Libreboot Leaves GNU Claiming Gender Identity Discrimination by FSF". FOSS Force. Retrieved 7 June 2023.
  14. ^ "Minifree Ltd.'s GNU+Linux Computers". Linux Journal. Retrieved 2 May 2023.
  15. ^ Biggs, John (11 August 2017). "The Minifree Libreboot T400 is free as in freedom". TechCrunch. Retrieved 2 May 2023.
  16. ^ a b Benchoff, Brian (28 October 2016). "Apple Sucks Now, Here's A ThinkPad Buyer's Guide". Hackaday. Retrieved 2 May 2023.
  17. ^ "Flash ROMs with a Raspberry Pi". Linux Journal. Retrieved 3 May 2023.
  18. ^ Hoffman, Chris (5 February 2015). "The Free Software Foundation loves this laptop, but you won't". PCWorld. Retrieved 5 June 2023.
  19. ^ Hoffman, Chris (7 August 2015). "Why Linux enthusiasts are arguing over Purism's sleek, idealistic Librem laptops". PCWorld. Retrieved 5 June 2023.
  20. ^ Byfield, Bruce (October 2017). "Free-licensed hardware, Respecting Your Freedom with Refurbished Devices". Linux-Magazine.com.
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