Vincent Legoll <vincent.leg...@gmail.com> writes: > Why only speaking of Talos and not about the 3rd option: the blackbird ? > Maybe just concentrate on the vendor, more than on particular models...
I specifically avoided speaking about the Blackbird, only because it's not yet RYF-certified. However, perhaps I'm being too strict about it. I actually own a Blackbird, myself. I chose to buy it instead of the Talos II or Talos II Lite because of its physically smaller form factor and its lower cost. I don't know why it isn't RYF-certified yet, but according to this Phoronix article, they are "pursuing RYF certification" for Blackbird, too: https://www.phoronix.com/scan.php?page=news_item&px=FSF-RYF-Talos-II Raptor Computing Systems claims that the Blackbird is "completely blob free": https://twitter.com/RaptorCompSys/status/1048373354695208960 They also say in that Twitter thread: "We have been putting together our systems from blob-free components only (sans NIC as is known and being actively worked), and this is an area where no low-cost blob-free silicon is available right now." However, the Talos II and Blackbird both use the same NIC, so I guess that wouldn't stop it from meeting the RYF requirements: https://wiki.raptorcs.com/wiki/Talos_II Networking: 2x GbE (Broadcom BCM5719) https://wiki.raptorcs.com/wiki/Blackbird Networking: 3x GbE (Broadcom BCM5719) See also: https://wiki.raptorcs.com/wiki/BCM5719 "As the BCM5719 is the only on-board device on the non-SAS Talos™ II variants to use proprietary firmware, Raptor Computing Systems has started a contest to see who can create a truly libre replacement firmware[1]. Anyone with the appropriate skill set is encouraged to take up the challenge, and contributions to this page as the device is analyzed in detail are welcomed. While the BCM5719 does, at least for now, execute proprietary firmware it is prevented from corrupting the operating system and/or other protected memory regions via the system IOMMU[2]." Thinking about this more, I think we should mention Blackbird in our blog post as a more affordable option. Let's explain that it doesn't yet have RYF certification, but the platform is very similar to the Talos II, and Raptor Computing Systems is currently pursuing RYF certification for it, too. -- Chris
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