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.

@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.