Coreboot Ported To MSI PRO Z690-A WiFi
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You can now run Coreboot on the MSI PRO Z690-A WiFi. This is kind of a big deal because if you're someone who needs a desktop; requires a lot of horsepower; can't afford a Talos II; and still want better privacy/security than a board with a closed source BIOS then this fills a real void.
https://www.phoronix.com/scan.php?page=article&item=coreboot-adl-dream&num=1
Even better news is that you will be able to buy a pre Corebooted board for those who aren't comfortable flashing it themselves.
https://3mdeb.com/shop/open-source-hardware/dasharo-compatible-with-msi-pro-z-690a-ddr4-motherboard/
The D16 is still my go to option for desktops but having more options is always a good thing.
Not really an advancement for software freedom since it's full of blobs. Avoid.
"Not really an advancement for software freedom since it's full of blobs. Avoid."
I listed several use cases where it would benefit someone. Those people can now enjoy less blobs than they otherwise would have. Less blobs is better than more blobs. There is a large amount of people that can't afford a Talos II and need more than Libreboot hardware can offer. Lets not forget that Libreboot hardware still has blobs.
I think it's a mistake to think it's only the Talos II or nothing. The Asus KGPE-D16 can generally be found for around US$150 which is much cheaper and still quite capable. Hopefully 32 CPU cores and 256GB of RAM is still sufficient for someone that needs a lot from their computer. And this without having to take steps backward in software freedom by adopting a motherboard from blob city. This MSI PRO Z690-A can't even *boot* without running proprietary software. And that's just the beginning.
"I think it's a mistake to think it's only the Talos II or nothing. The Asus KGPE-D16 can generally be found for around US$150 which is much cheaper and still quite capable. Hopefully 32 CPU cores and 256GB of RAM is still sufficient for someone that needs a lot from their computer. And this without having to take steps backward in software freedom by adopting a motherboard from blob city. This MSI PRO Z690-A can't even *boot* without running proprietary software. And that's just the beginning."
Hardware running Libreboot also has blobs burned in so I can also say that the D16 needs blobs to work as well. You are also making a mistake thinking quanitity of cores and RAM is the be all end all. For instance I got over double the frame rate in Super Tux Kart on a i5-4590 which has four cores than I did on an FX-6100 that has six cores when both were paired with the same GPU. 91 FPS vs 38 FPS is a big difference. A lot of software cares more about the performance per core than it does about the quanitity once you get past four cores.
"You are also making a mistake thinking quanitity of cores and RAM is the be all end all."
I'm aware of the other factors but the D16 remains quite a capable machine, especially when the software freedom issues are factored in.
"Hardware running Libreboot also has blobs burned in so I can also say that the D16 needs blobs to work as well."
Are you really equating the MSI PRO Z690-A to be equivalent to the D16 in terms of software freedom? This seems to be repeating the myth that anything that does anything must have a software in it somewhere. :) Please don't fall in that trap.
Like some arguments have been over the ath9k Mini PCI Express cards have software "burned" in, which is completely not true - There isn't even a processor inside it to run a firmware in the first place: https://web.archive.org/web/20060620051155/http://kerneltrap.org/node/4118
There's no processor. It's all hardware circuits. The work's done on the host, not the device. This pokes holes in the arguments I've seen made that every device has a firmware and, if the kernel isn't uploading it, then the device is running its own copy somehow "burned" in to the device.
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:AT%26T_push_button_telephone_western_electric_model_2500_dmg_black.jpg
It's like: Where's the software in this? :)
There's even a video of someone taking one of those phones apart - https://yewtu.be/watch?v=RWbONnfYyzU
There's no software in there. :)
It seems an interesting worldview. That there's software everywhere; nothing can ever be hardware circuits. Like that telephone.
Or these old computers: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harwell_computer#/media/File:Harwell-dekatron-witch-computer-under-resotoration-2010-03-13.jpg
If, in the past a large computer has been made out of physical circuits and today just because we can now make circuits that are much much smaller than in the days before doesn't necessarily change their underlying nature of being circuitry.
> blob city
I live there. I am currently running a desktop and a laptop without coreboot, let alone osboot or libreboot, because I had never heard of those when I bought the laptop about a decade ago and the desktop was a second-hand donation. Would any corebooted device I could afford not be better freedom-wise than my current setting?
I would need to have the flashing done for me, I cannot simply order a $150 motherboard and flash it. When I look at prices for D16 based machines, what I find is about an order of magniture more expensive. The board itself comes at about $600 (€565) "with coreboot and a Petitboot payload". Am I just not looking at the right place?
The chip on the board sits inside of a socket and is removable. There are people that sell just the chips on places like eBay. Then swap it out yourself. A special tool is needed to remove the chip from the socket.
Oh I see, thanks. I'll be looking in that direction then.
This is very cool @PublicLewdness, and may give rise to more modern boards and processors being available for coreboot in the future. I especially like the comments section for the Phoronix article, where the lead developer dropped in to say that they ARE working toward freeing the system from its dependence on some of the other blobs.
Important to note, this is not the only modern system where coreboot is available. System 76 sells several modern Intel CPU laptops with coreboot. So we do have some choices right now.
I agree with jxself that this effort is not up to the standard yet of the older libre-bootable hardware, in terms of freedom from the necessity of blobs. However, it's good to see that coreboot is not a dead effort, and I hope this will encourage them to work on more modern systems and free them up more and more.
Ideally Intel and some other vendors would re-license their firmware code under a libre license, and eventually it would be just completely routine to have access to all the code for your equipment.
"Important to note, this is not the only modern system where coreboot is available. System 76 sells several modern Intel CPU laptops with coreboot. So we do have some choices right now."
So does Purism and Star Labs. We have choices in laptops but not desktops. The only modern desktops that support Coreboot and can be purchased with Coreboot installed are ones like the Purism Mini which use laptop parts and onboard graphics. This board would allow one to run a desktop CPU and a discrete GPU.
"I agree with jxself that this effort is not up to the standard yet of the older libre-bootable hardware, in terms of freedom from the necessity of blobs. However, it's good to see that coreboot is not a dead effort, and I hope this will encourage them to work on more modern systems and free them up more and more."
The D16 is still a good option but if this board allows some people to get more freedom than they would have with a board using a fully closed BIOS then it's a small win.
"Ideally Intel and some other vendors would re-license their firmware code under a libre license, and eventually it would be just completely routine to have access to all the code for your equipment."
Fantastic idea but one I know will never happen. All that they respect is money so if a whole lot of people started buying Libreboot; Coreboot; and Talos II systems then maybe Intel and AMD would consider it due to lost profit but many people don't know or care enough about privacy to buy those.
> many people don't know or care enough about privacy to buy those
...or simply cannot afford, and unwillingly become the product of proprietary vendors.
I am considering creating a computing club to finance a Talos II. For now I might be able to afford the official hex driver, and possibly a heatsink next Grav'mass.
I have a three year plan to get myself a Talos II. If I save $85 a month and can set aside $1000 each tax refund then I will have $6000 which hopefully will get me close to an entry level 4 core Talos II. Obviously easier said then done as life has a habit of getting in the way. I wish you luck on your computing club.
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