RISC-V Laptop On The Horizon (Dc-roma by Alibaba)

6 réponses [Dernière contribution]
PublicLewdness
Hors ligne
A rejoint: 03/15/2020

So we're one step closer to getting a RISC-V laptop ! That is good news. Meet the Dc-roma by Alibaba.

https://www.alibaba.com/product-detail/DC-ROMA-RISC-V-Development-Laptop_1600610157163.html

I would be lying if I didn't see some glaring red flags though. The fact that it's made by a Chinese company is off putting. I know most electronics are manufactured in China but usually the company you're buying from isn't a Chinese company itself. I am also not a fan of the tiered pricing of the laptop being based around gifts. I also don't like how you can't choose different storage options. I also don't like how the battery capacity isn't listed.

I like that it has a backlit keyboard. I like the size at 14". I like that it has a 1080P screen. I also like that it has 16GB RAM.

Overall I guess you have to start somehwhere, i'd still rather buy this than something with the Intel ME; AMD PSP; ARM Trustzone; or Pluton.

The price itself, $1500 for the basic model, doesn't bother me. If I want a laptop with any kind of privacy or security these days then i'm looking at a similar price point. A T440P with Coreboot is around $1100 CAD if I customize it to my liking. A Librem 14 is $1488 USD if I customize it to my liking. Even a Librebooted T400 is going to cost me $520 USD.

prospero
Hors ligne
A rejoint: 05/20/2022

Wondering what they mean exactly by "Trusted Execution Environment" in: "it also adopts the Trusted Execution Environment (TEE) security certification scheme that meets the GlobalPlatform standard."
https://riscv.org/blog/2022/10/deepcomputing...

EDIT: I believe this is what they mean: Trusted execution environment - Hardware support.

PublicLewdness
Hors ligne
A rejoint: 03/15/2020

"Wondering what they mean exactly by "Trusted Execution Environment" in: "it also adopts the Trusted Execution Environment (TEE) security certification scheme that meets the GlobalPlatform standard."
https://riscv.org/blog/2022/10/deepcomputing...

EDIT: I believe this is what they mean: Trusted execution environment - Hardware support."

Can't say I like the sound of any of that.

Avron

I am a translator!

Hors ligne
A rejoint: 08/18/2020

Will this laptop run with only free software?

> i'd still rather buy this than something with the Intel ME; AMD PSP; ARM Trustzone; or Pluton.

As far as I understand, at last on one SoC (rockpro64) the ARM Trustzone runs free software and you can change it if you want.

PublicLewdness
Hors ligne
A rejoint: 03/15/2020

"As far as I understand, at last on one SoC (rockpro64) the ARM Trustzone runs free software and you can change it if you want."

Do you mean Trustzone is free software ? Do you have a link for the source code ? Also how does one disable it ?

"Will this laptop run with only free software?"

Hard to say. Someone will have to bite the bullet when it comes out to see if it runs the libre kernel. I'd be up for trying. Better questions is what libre distros will run Trisquel ?

prospero
Hors ligne
A rejoint: 05/20/2022

One does not disable TrustZone, one uses it or not:

"By default TrustZone enabled CPUs will boot in the secure world. If you do nothing, you can be oblivious to the fact the CPU is TrustZone capable. Only by setting up a normal world and handing control to it, will TrustZone be used"

https://stackoverflow.com/questions/12334069/handling-arm-trustzones

Avron

I am a translator!

Hors ligne
A rejoint: 08/18/2020

> Do you mean Trustzone is free software ? Do you have a link for the source code ? Also how does one disable it ?

I understand that what runs there is the "ARM trusted firmware". Rockchip provides non-free binaries but they can be replaced by https://github.com/ARM-software/arm-trusted-firmware.

See https://opensource.rock-chips.com/wiki_ATF