davetrying to figure out the most modern laptop I can get that doesn't require firmware blobs for gpu and wifi. a lot of laptop manufacturers, even ones that cater to linux people, are now shipping with 12th gen intel core cpus which require gpu firmware blobs. most laptops ship with intel wifi cards but it's not a blocker unless there's no way to swap it out with something else.
I imagine it's still common practice for manufacturers to whitelist only intel wifi cards in their boot firmware. this was the case for my thinkpad x220 (RIP best laptop of the 2010s) but fortunately, even before coreboot was an option, there were hacked versions of the proprietary bios with the whitelist removed.
I can't go back to using x220 era hardware. it's just too old. I need a faster cpu, more ram, and ideally better than 1080p screen resolution.
a thinkpad x1 with an intel 10th gen core cpu seemed appealing, but the wifi situation seems bleak. haven't confirmed but it seems to be soldered to the board.
it's very difficult to find definitive answers to this stuff because "open drivers" doesn't mean the firmware is open, but it's clear that intel xe and radeon vega graphics both require firmware blobs, so that rules out the entire mainstream laptop market using intel core or amd ryzen cpus.
pretty close to giving up on this direction. it's a shame, it used to be a lot easier to find something that would mostly work.
I wonder if the librem 14 people have a game plan for this situation. they're stuck on intel core 10th gen and wireless n.
if I resign myself to using stock linux (that has firmware blobs) and not linux-libre, I think the framework laptop and the thinkpad x1 are the most appealing options.
Worble Parker@dthompson let us know what you end up getting, and your review....
I'm out of the loop on new laptops and assume they're all terrible now (same for phones and cars, curious)
@touk things have gotten worse, for sure!
Daniel Lowe@dthompson It'd be awesome if someone put out a blobless WiFi card for the #Framework. That's one upgrade I would insta-buy.
Mate RealistHey guys, did you ever had a look at this? https://mntre.com/media/reform_md/2020-05-08-the-much-more-personal-computer.html
@eutektoid @dl @touk it's a very cool project but 4gb of ram and a gpu limited to opengl 2.1 makes it not practical for me.
@dthompson
Yes, that is indeed a limitation.
Brit@dthompson I'm a long-time thinkpad lover that mostly lives a desktop life now but I've been eyeing a Framework laptop for a bit. Not quite ready to jump but there is a lot I like: https://frame.work/
@kingcons the framework is *close* to being what I want, but they have intel wifi and intel xe graphics that require blobs. I wish I could magically fuse the good parts of the framework, the librem 14, and thinkpad.
Andres MorenoPlease let me know where you land with this question. I have a crappy Asus that is starting to be flaky.
I also want to avoid blobs, contemplating the Guix way.
wakyct@dthompson I can relate, typing this on my x220. You could look into TP screen upgrades. Personally I gave up and went back to a tower case for when I need the horsepower. I think using the TP as a thin client to that could be a decent compromise.
crodges@dthompson This is a question I'd like to answer too. Did you check amd laptops too? Also heard that Thinkpads nowadays are not the same as the days of old, hence stuff like soldered wifi/ram, bad keyboard and low repairability
@crodges I haven't researched laptops with any specific processors, I just revisited some familiar territory: thinkpads, librem, system76, and framework. thinkpads are definitely not built like they used to be. the push to make laptops thinner has destroyed repairability and upgradability.
Ian Denhardt@dthompson I think framework still sells refurbs of their 11th gen intel machines (haven't done the research to check how far back the firmware problem goes).
@zenhack I believe 11th gen is also an issue for the gpu and framework uses intel wifi, though maybe they don't prevent swapping an atheros chip in.
@dthompson That's unfortunate (but re: wifi you can just not buy a wifi card and get one elsewhere, yeah).
Ludovic Courtès@dthompson I’m interested in your findings!