Linux friendly hardware free of proprietary software

4 réponses [Dernière contribution]
iPwn
Hors ligne
A rejoint: 04/18/2018

hi,

im looking for Linux friendly hardware(desks,laps,phones,etc) free of
proprietary software or compatible with free software(OS,BIOS
firmware,etc) something that is easy to replace stock or something that
cames with free software preinstalled and that i can replace them if i
want to.
i've seen some lists that contain vendors that are Unix/Linux friendly
and also the hardware endorsed by FSF which seem to be Lenovo
thinkpads,etc the thing is it seems most of hardware require external
flashing to replace BIOS,etc and makes the task harder..

my question are,
what are the bests Linux / Unix-like friendly hardware manufacturers?
which hardware is the best to make a computer 100% free (free BIOS and
OS) and that is optimized and behave better under Linux / Unix-like
based OS's?

Thank you.

--
PHACT Phreakers / Hackers / Anarchists / Cyberpunks / Technologists

Magic Banana

I am a member!

I am a translator!

Hors ligne
A rejoint: 07/24/2010

More generally, see http://fsf.org/ryf

All the proposed hardware works out of the box on a 100% free GNU/Linux distribution such as Trisquel. In particular, computers come with a 100% free GNU/Linux distribution installed by default. You do not have to flash anything by yourself.

iPwn
Hors ligne
A rejoint: 04/18/2018

calmstorm,
lcerf,

should i buy new or refurbished?

from list of vendors / store, which one is better?

which brands are considered the best for Unix-like/Linux and why?

there is any low cost option such as buying some cheap MOBO brand and
built a PC piece-by-piece?

any hot deal or good promo/discount out there?

--
PHACT Phreakers / Hackers / Anarchists / Cyberpunks / Technologists

Magic Banana

I am a member!

I am a translator!

Hors ligne
A rejoint: 07/24/2010

All libreboot laptops are refurbished, if that is what you are looking for. https://minifree.org/product/libreboot-x200/ and https://minifree.org/product/libreboot-t400/ are the best deals, today. From the company led by Libreboot's main developer.

A desktop PC built piece by piece has an excellent performance-price ratio... but it will have a proprietary BIOS/UEFI. If you go that way, choose Intel (for the graphical chipset: perfectly supported by Linux-libre, contrary to nVidia and, even worse, AMD GPUs). If you need Wifi, buy a card or a USB adapter from http://libre.thinkpenguin.com (what matters is the chipset... and the constructors sometimes change the chipset of a same model: as a consequence, it is not written on the wrapping!): it is quite expensive but it is guaranteed to perfectly work with Linux-libre. I believe the same holds for Bluetooth.

Besides the graphics, the Wifi and the Bluetooth, there is no compatibility issue to be expected, as far as I know.

pengnuin
Hors ligne
A rejoint: 08/17/2017

As for laptops, I can vouch for the aforementioned and well-known Vikings store. The x200 I bought from them works flawlessly with free software and I am currently running Parabola on it.

If you check out the libreboot website, you will find a few laptops that can be flashed using software only. Those might be worth a look.

When it comes to WiFi USB dongles, I have successfully used unbranded/not very well known ones with the AR9271 and another chipset (that I can't recall the name of right now).
As for bluetooth USB dongles, CSR 4.0 dongles are cheap and readily available. They work perfectly well.

Desktop computers will be a bit harder due to the motherboard. If you were to get a libreboot compatible motherboard, Intel is the right way to go. (Also, I will be jealus xD)