News from the @FreeBSDFoundation

"A frequent request from the #FreeBSD community and fan base is a curated list of laptops validated to run FreeBSD out of the box. To this end, we've recently begun discussions with one of our favorite laptop companies, Framework
Stay tuned!" (Edited out Puter from the bird site)

@frameworkcomputer @FreeBSDFoundation

funny how non-profit organizations like freebsd's endorse venture capitalists like framework's. the "modularity" in the framework is a good step in hardware design, but what good does it do if it's just proprietary and closed hardware? how is it useful when it's centralized like any other manufacturer? oh, and i forgot the proprietary UEFI firmware on the non-chromebook models and non-removable batteries. the MNT Reform is a lot more promising.

@yunori @frameworkcomputer @FreeBSDFoundation

I hope this is a troll comment, if not I need to say this:

Developing libre and open hardwares aren't easy, not only Framework but others like System76 or Pine64 also failed doing so.

Also if one company want to make their hardware, they have to go through various copyright and patent holders which is almost impossible.

Decentralized hardware making doesn't work, it costs too much even with open architectures like RISC-V

@yunori @frameworkcomputer @FreeBSDFoundation

Also I doubt companies which focus on consumer-friendly and more sustainable hardwares (not libre/open though) like Framework or Fairphone have much revenue either, average people don't care much about them, also for them revenue isn't even their main priority so I don' think they're 'venture capitalist'.

Also persuading hardware companies to support free/libre and open source OSes like FreeBSD or GNU/Linux isn't bad though.

@yunori @frameworkcomputer @FreeBSDFoundation
Also MNT Reform isn't that open, given that its processor's ISA is ARM which is proprietary and you must have a license to use the ISAs from ARM (the company) to even make one. So unless MNT Reform can switch to a processors based on a truly free and open variance of RISC-V ISAs only then it's only truly open

@natsume_shokogami

https://mntre.com/modularity.html

check the comparison table for the modules.

Modularity—MNT Research GmbH

The MNT Modularity explained.

@natsume_shokogami

>"Also I doubt companies which focus on consumer-friendly and more sustainable hardwares (not libre/open though) like Framework or Fairphone have much revenue either"

that you can't claim about Framework, as they aren't transparent about their revenues, unlike Fairphone. comparing framework to fairphone is an insult to fairphone, fairphone is actually dedicated to manufacturing *fair* phones, while framework is just another attempt at capitalist green-washing.

(3/3)

@natsume_shokogami

>"Also persuading companies to support free/libre and open source OSes isn't bad"

supporting linux out-of-the-box is almost always a silly joke. most, if not all, of the laptops that exist on this planet can boot up linux just fine. apple's proprietary joke of a laptop, albeit not easy, can boot up linux. and even if there's an issue, there's always a dedicated community maintained distro/repo backed by enthusiasts who reverse engineer the binaries and port it to libre OSs

@yunori
Yes, nearly every laptop can boot Linux with enough efforts, the main problems are if that is really optimal, worth our effort, or if we can afford against legal risks.

Many replacement libre drivers and firmware are there usually have their performance affected because those manufacturers artificially do so (*cough* NVIDIA *cough*), also some of them have been abandoned due to lack of interest of resources or struggling financially.

@yunori Also reverse-engineering requires a lot of expertise and resources, and people have to do a lot of workarounds to avoid facing lawsuits as well (honestly I think our current "intellectual property" laws are crap anyways), and some hardware manufacturers are actually more open when people asking the schematics, source code or documentation of firmwares or drivers, maybe even express wanting to do so; so why dooing the harder approach

@natsume_shokogami

check this out: https://frame.work/fr/en/products/laptop-diy-13-gen-intel?tab=linux

this is not a company that has first-class support for linux in mind. this is one that treats libre software users and activists as second-class citizens. more than 2/3 of the stable linux distros have issues with the framework laptop. if you actually want to see a device that is meant for linux, look at the steamdeck. propietary and all. but it's MEANT for linux.

Choose Framework Laptop 13 DIY Edition (13th Gen Intel® Core™)

Learn more about the DIY Edition of the Framework Laptop 13: the only high-end notebook you can customize and assemble yourself.

Framework
@yunori Well, I don't think Steam Deck isn't meant for OUR Linux, it's just another way for Valve to escape Microsoft wanting to take some of their money.
I don't even think more Linux and BSD distros would run better on Steam Deck than on a Framework laptop.
@yunori
And since Framework the company have been known as having issues at optimizing hardwares and delivering firmware on both Windows and Linux (I have seen several reports of them), and many Linux distros are LTS and don't have the kernel supported for Framework hardware so of course it doesn't work well.

@natsume_shokogami

i have seen people install non-steamos distros on the deck and it works just fine. see: https://github.com/zulumon44/Kali-On-Steam-Deck/blob/main/README.md

i mentioned the steam deck because it was comparable to the framework laptop, when it comes to the philosophy. however, the MNT Reform has first-class linux support and ONLY ships with linux.

Kali-On-Steam-Deck/README.md at main · zulumon44/Kali-On-Steam-Deck

Contribute to zulumon44/Kali-On-Steam-Deck development by creating an account on GitHub.

GitHub
@yunori
I found someone who found issues with their gamepad buttons on Steam Deck without Steam's proprietary drivers so they made one: https://gitlab.com/open-sd/opensd
And I remember that early on when installing other Linux distro on Steam Deck the audio wouldn't work without patches until many months later that Valve hadn't upstream yet so no, Steam Deck still have issues with other distros.
open-sd / OpenSD · GitLab

GitLab.com

GitLab
@natsume_shokogami ok then, bad example from my end. i am not gonna defend a company like steam. that'd be hypocritical. my point still stands though.

@yunori Well, you might think so because Framework is actually trying to convincing largee hardware manufacturers to stop anti-repair tactics throigh revenue and sale count and consumer satisfaction.

And to get the most users, they have to support Windows but Micro$oft has known as trying to make using Linux on Windows devices harder and using anti-competitive tactics.

@natsume_shokogami

it's not just "support windows", it's first-class support for windows. and no, they don't have to support proprietary OSs like windows.

@yunori Those tactics, even if Framework don't want still have to do if they still want to have Windows or risk losing most of their customers and failed their 'missions'.

I feel that Google can and may have done the same to Fairphone as well (Android is both proprietary and even AOSP aren't truly open nor fair competitive).

Manufacturers like System76, Tuxedo, ThinkPenguins, Pine64,... don't even use proprietary OSes in the first place so they are immune to those tactics

@natsume_shokogami again false equivalence. fairphones have first class support for alternative OSs like the /e/OS. no support for windows will not "fail their missions"

@natsume_shokogami

i don't want to reiterate what i already said. framework clearly treats linux users as second-class citizens. the fingerprint reader works fine on windows, but has issues on linux. manufactures like system76 have linux in mind and only ship with linux. framework? not even close. businesses are all about taking risks. if framework is not taking the linux-instead-of-windows risk. then they don't have linux in mind, simple as.

@yunori
I know Fairphone have much better support for alternate AOSP distros and Framework are not and rely on community, but I am pointing out that Fairphone can still have risk being coerced by Google since they still use stock Android with their support by default: https://support.fairphone.com/hc/en-us/articles/9979180437393-Fairphone-OS
@yunori That's the problem of devices running proprietary OSes, not just these devices

@natsume_shokogami

and framework's laptop is definitely not gonna be one that's hard to install Linux or *BSD on. it's got a ubiquitous x86 CPU, it's not introducing any sort of architecture that's obscure to the market. it's not like BSD got "ported to the framework laptop". if i ordered a no-name brand laptop off amazon, linux would work on it. this is why i used the term "venture capitalist", this is just merely a marketing scheme.

@yunori
Ok, it's not fair to compare these two, but give me evidences of Framework's greenwashing please

@natsume_shokogami companies will advertise every good little thing they do for the "community". look at fairphone, how they source their materials, the research behind their devices and most importantly, their transparency regarding all of the aforementioned reasons that lead me to believe that if a there's a chance that it's just a another form of green-washing, it's slim.

framework to the laptop market is like the nothing phone to the smartphone. unfair comparison, but you see my point.

@natsume_shokogami @frameworkcomputer @FreeBSDFoundation

it's obviously not a troll comment, and i fail to see why you would assume so.

>"Developing libre and open hardwares aren't easy"

this is just absolute non-sense, i could literally say the same for any piece of libre and ethical code, this is no excuse. the hardware industry is pretty much controlled by big corpo and it is really hard to liberate manufactured electronics, but framework's design is not looking into that direction

(1/3)

@natsume_shokogami

>"Decentralized hardware making doesn't work

you can't just claim that it doesn't work, end of discussion. the problem with laptops nowadays is the lack of design standards. the "modular gpu" is not a standard, and if framework is the only vendor for this kind of component then we go back to our same problem with older laptops. ones who are fine, but just need a component or two replaced, but that component isn't readily available or too expensive.

(2/3)

@yunori @frameworkcomputer @FreeBSDFoundation

Indeed it's extremely difficult, as it requires rebuild everything of hardware manufacturing, copyright and patent laws,... from the ground up; even though I think it's better to Framework to be more transparent and more cooperative with the community, I think of Framework is more of a saying of engineers against anti-consumer tactics in the industry and a pragmatic approach more than MNT Reform or anything.

@natsume_shokogami

framework never intended to be open or transparent about anything. it's a joke that their account is hosted on "fosstodon". they are treating linux users as second-class citizens.