intel ME

This is why we need to stick with old devices or, barring some amazing breakthrough, eventually leave x86 entirely. It's time to evacuate the Titanic: https://jxself.org/titanic.shtml

Please get your lifejacket on. I'll meet you on the boat deck.

May you can run intel ME cleaner and clean the 70% - 80%
of it but you still have some inside.

Or you go old hardware like thinkpad x200 ,T400

With ME present, surely enough that users can't control their computing devices. In contrary, Intel and its allies (e.g. M$) own our devices. They can do whatever they want whereas we are forbidden to defend ourselves at all.

https://www.fsf.org/blogs/sysadmin/the-management-engine-an-attack-on-computer-users-freedom

Be sure to purchase a used device without Boot Guard: no newer than Ivy Bridge, or high-voltage Haswell (not U or Y series).

> even with free software people can't really control their devices.

You know the importance of only having free software on your
computer. The more who knows that the better.

If windows office transfers
data about you to microsoft's servers then if you install
libre office then ms does not get that data.
If windows transfers data about you to ms' servers then
if you install a gnulinux system then ms does not get that
data.
If windows mediaplayer transfers data about you to ms'
servers then if you install vlc ms does not get that data.
All better than ms' software.

If you get a libreboot computer the only matter is the
ec. I think it is unlikely it contains a backdoor.
But you cannot know.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clipper_chip

Nsa cannot accept their computers have back doors. According
to a snowden document intel told nsa how to disable the
me. If you assume snowden got all the documents on the
matter then me is the only back door because it is the only
one mentioned. If people cannot disable the me fully
then you cannot know if there is a back door. But
if people get able to disable the me then you likely get
a computer having no back doors.

To me the narrative has another scale. I think the oppressors'
goal in orwell's novel was not to rule by torture, killing
or prison. Their main goal was to make it unable for people
to have thoughts of opposition. Now you have people who do
not know non fb, non google and non windows. The
surveillance runs in the background and they do not
know another state of circumstances. They do not know the
extend of the surveillance. Who does? It all makes it
difficult to get to stand up against it. It is an
achievement apple manufacturing overpriced
surveillance devices and software, I think they are,
which people want to buy.
You knowing about it is the opposition.
We have more than libreboot computers. We have uboot
compatible arm computers, riscv, raptor talos,
freedombox, gnulinux, solid, maidsafe, tor. It is
all against surveillance.
https://www.wired.com/2015/02/nsa-firmware-hacking/
If more manufactures gets on the market they
could decide to manufacture free software
storage devices.