Re: [Trisquel-users] Searching for a good deal on a Libreboot-able Laptop

2018-04-18 Thread calmstorm
That would make sense. For such basic use 2gb should be fine. 


Re: [Trisquel-users] Searching for a good deal on a Libreboot-able Laptop

2018-04-17 Thread Mason Hock
> Absolutely agree 100% Librem is not free hardware.

AFAIK no laptop consists of completely free hardware. Libreboot is a free BIOS. 
Having a free BIOS is important but does not make all of the hardware in the 
laptop free. However, the OP says they want "as free as possible" at this time, 
which is why librebooted ThinkPads and EOMA68 are an option and Librem isn't.

> I am curious why Tehnoetic's tct doesn't have that in his avatar.

tct?

> gnome 3 in my opinion sucks.
> 
> And for those who don't know, I am not saying due to its
> requirements. It is more because it is clunky and overcomplicated.

By requirements do you mean systemd? I recall you saying once that systemd is a 
dependency of GNOME 3, which doesn't make sense to me since it is included in 
GuixSD, which uses GNU Shepherd as its init systemd.

I don't like GNOME 3 either, though. It seems like it is designed for use on a 
tablet, and I think it would work very well for that. The fact that everything 
can be accessed by pressing Super would be very helpful for a device with one 
button. It's not necessarily the best design for desktop use though. One good 
thing about it is that it seems to be intuitive to Mac users, which makes it 
easier for them to migrate to GNU/Linux. Unfortunately, it does not work well 
with the free driver for their Macbook's GPU. One of my friends ended up 
installing the proprietary Nvidia driver to make the DE more usable. I wish 
there were a "software rendering" version of GNOME like there is for Cinnamon. 


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Re: [Trisquel-users] Searching for a good deal on a Libreboot-able Laptop

2018-04-17 Thread Mason Hock
> To be honest you probably
> only need 4gb of ram unless your a developer/power user.

OP wants to edit TeX files and browse the web. Even 2GB should be plenty.


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Re: [Trisquel-users] Searching for a good deal on a Libreboot-able Laptop

2018-04-17 Thread calmstorm
I would look at the prices on minifree. To be honest you probably only need  
4gb of ram unless your a developer/power user.


4 will work fine for virtualization if needed. otherwise it should be more  
than enough.


ps, 32 bit is a bad idea I wholeheartedly agree. :/


Re: [Trisquel-users] Searching for a good deal on a Libreboot-able Laptop

2018-04-17 Thread plokoon_morro
All of the laptops listed are 32-bit. I think that i will keep searching and  
keep saving a bit for a 64-bit to avoid some future issues updating software.  
Maybe someday i order an X200 from Minifree, hope i get a good price. For the  
EOMA68 i prefer to build my own hybrid laptop case out of wood, 3D printers  
are rare in my country, so the computer card or maybe the Micro Desktop  
Housing would be enough. Thanks for your time.


Re: [Trisquel-users] Searching for a good deal on a Libreboot-able Laptop

2018-04-17 Thread plokoon_morro
Agree, if i had the money i would definitely buy a Minifree X200, or an X220.  
I don't need too much "processing power".


About the eoma68 issue, i sincerely hope that one help stimulate some similar  
projects. For example, in my country it's very hard to find old Thinkpads  
(despite beign manufactured in here) the vast mayority of them go straight up  
"recycled". The thing is that those laptops are not a renovable resource and  
with time the chances of finding one decrease exponentially. That's why is  
critical to find new hardware,convince manufacturers or keep porting  
Libreboot to different laptops (I know that it's a lot of effort and i don't  
take what has been done so far for granted).


Re: [Trisquel-users] Searching for a good deal on a Libreboot-able Laptop

2018-04-17 Thread plokoon_morro
Those laptops are very expensive to me, gonna search about buying things with  
bitcoin since i don't know nothing about it. Thanks for answering.


Re: [Trisquel-users] Searching for a good deal on a Libreboot-able Laptop

2018-04-17 Thread calmstorm

Absolutely agree 100% Librem is not free hardware.

I am curious why Tehnoetic's tct doesn't have that in his avatar.

Odd yes?

Anyways, x200 is better if librebooted although, gnome 3 in my opinion sucks.

And for those who don't know, I am not saying due to its requirements. It is  
more because it is clunky and overcomplicated.


I prefer simple xfce4 its stable, works well and is lightweight.

Minifree is a good one and so is Vikings. Just pick what suits your location  
better. ;)


Re: [Trisquel-users] Searching for a good deal on a Libreboot-able Laptop

2018-04-17 Thread Mason Hock
If you want to flash libreboot yourself, the X60 will be easiest as libreboot 
can be flashed internally. If you have the knowledge, equipment, and desire to 
flash libreboot externally, the X200 and T400 are options and have better specs 
than the X60.

There are both 32-bit and 64-bit X60's, so I would ask the merchants which they 
are selling. I have a 64-bit X60 running Trisquel 8, and it is it more than 
sufficient for the uses you describe. The only thing it's unsuitable for is 
demanding 3D games. A heavy DE like GNOME 3 might not run very smoothly either. 
Apart from that, I've run into no limitations. I never run out of my 2GB RAM.

If you want to just buy a laptop that has already been librebooted, there are 
several vendors who sell X200's. Since money is a factor, I recommend Minifree, 
as they are the least expensive I know of. https://minifree.org/

EOMA68 is a great project to support if you can, and it is just as free as a 
librebooted laptop. However, unless you are content with either buying the 
computer card to use with your own monitor/keyboard/etc or are able/willing to 
print and/or assemble the laptop housing yourself, it will be expensive.

gd_scania mentions the Purism Librem. The Librem is freer than many laptops, 
but less free than librebooted laptops or the EOMA68 laptop. Purism's marketing 
may seem to imply that the Librem has a free BIOS, but it does not. It uses 
Coreboot, which has proprietary blobs. It is also overpriced, around $1500. The 
specications are better than those of EOMA68 or a librebooted X200, but the 
only reason people think they need those specs is because they use unecessarily 
bloated software. See Wirth's Law: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wirth%27s_law

 


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Re: [Trisquel-users] Searching for a good deal on a Libreboot-able Laptop

2018-04-17 Thread calmstorm
X60s is the best option I believe. Usually the s version of X60 or X200,  
etc... has more battery life. That's my personal opinion.


Re: [Trisquel-users] Searching for a good deal on a Libreboot-able Laptop

2018-04-16 Thread hd-scania
The best is to order a Purism’s ‘Librem’ laptop using Bitcoins, which  
credits cards are always shitty nonfree. :)


[Trisquel-users] Searching for a good deal on a Libreboot-able Laptop

2018-04-16 Thread plokoon_morro

Hello, thanks for your time.
I want to get a laptop that can be as free as possible. Want to get a laptop  
with Libreboot. I don't have a lot of money, so i thought i would search for  
a Thinkpad X60-X60s or T60. I prefer an X60-X60s model because it's gonna be  
used as a library companion, going to write a lot, and read various digital  
books. I believe that these laptops are 32-bit's. So:

1.- The machine could handle Emacs with LaTeX and very light browsing ?
2.- Can i install Trisquel or Parabola and use some 64-bit software ?

And finally, searching on my country internet merchants i found some possible  
laptops:

*X60 $72
-2GB RAM
-80 HDD
(Don't have real pictures)
*X60s $82
-1GB RAM
-80 HDD
(In the pictures looks in good shape)
*X60s $75
-2GB RAM
-120 HDD
(Looks like 3 keys have lost details on it's symbols)
*X60s $104
-4GB RAM (Only 3 available)
-160GB HDD
-Allegedly New Battery
(Looks ok, except for one little scratch near one display hinge)

Do you think that any of these could be a good deal ?
I'm inclining in favor of the X60's $104 one, or the X60 $72


There are some Macbook's 1,1 and 2,1 but in my country having the fruit icon  
makes a computer an status symbol, so the cheapest one used it's at $140. The  
cheapest Asus Chromebook C201 it's at $260 and it's way too far from my  
budget. However even if i had the money i still prefer a Thinkpad.


So, what do you think ? Do i wait for something else ? Do i get another thing  
? Is the EOMA68 an option ?