On 12/30/2016 09:19 AM, Leah Rowe wrote:
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Hi all,
Minifree has launched a new freedom-friendly computer. Two, in fact.
Desktop/workstation version: https://minifree.org/product/libreboot-d16/
Server version: https://minifree.org/product/libreboot-d16-server/
This is a high-end AMD server platform, being sold in server and extended ATX (desktop/workstation) form factor. It comes with Debian and Libreboot preinstalled.
This is the first modern commercial system available today that can be configured to run entirely free software; first Debian, the OS, and then libreboot, a free/libre BIOS implementation. With Debian and Libreboot, this is a fully free system containing zero binary blobs of any kind.
This has positive implications for security in terms of audability, and therefore privacy in general (no backdoors!). It's also free software friendly, so there are zero binary blobs and zero proprietary software running on it in the OS or BIOS. You have all of the four freedoms over each part of the boot process, which means that you the user are in full control.
For the first time ever, it is possible for companies to use libreboot-enabled hardware.
The problem so far with Libreboot and Minifree is that it only focussed on low-end hardware. The launch of the D16 Server and D16 Desktop changes that. With this hardware you can:
- do actual, serious work e.g. programming or 3D modeling. Software
development nowadays requires powerful computers, because software becomes more complex. The sheer amount of time to build from source can be a problem on its own. The D16 can support up to 16 fast AMD Opteron cores per CPU, and 2 CPUs are possible so 32 cores in total. This is ideal for software development.
- provide professional hosting services for paying clients, and run a
small ISP
- provide servers inside organisations
- play modern games (libre ones)
- etc (anything that requires a fast computer, basically)
Spread the word!
Leah Rowe
Libreboot developer
Use free software. Free as in freedom. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Free_software
Use a free operating system, GNU+Linux. https://libreboot.org/docs/distros/ Or BSD: https://libreboot.org/docs/bsd/
Use a free BIOS. https://libreboot.org/
Support computer user freedom. https://peers.community/
Minifree Ltd, trading as Ministry of Freedom | Registered in England, No. 9361826 | VAT No. GB202190462 Registered Office: 19 Hilton Road, Canvey Island, Essex SS8 9QA, UK | Web: https://minifree.org/
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It supports IOMMU for graphics, which you should note as this is a popular feature these days. (proper support including interrupt remapping and PCI-e ACS, unlike the intel platforms from the same era)
I play the latest games at high settings in a windows VM with 8 cores assigned and 25-30% usage of those 8 cores. The only problem is the lack of pci-e slots, most sites claim 5 when there are only 4 usable at any time (which are all 2.0, x8, x16 x16 and x4) although I suppose that could be solved with a pci-e external expansion system.