> There are applications where performances are essential.

For sure, which is what I meant by "in general." However, I talk to many
ordinary desktop users who base their decisions not on the requirements
of specific applications but on "old=bad, new=good" and purchase laptops
with 16 GB that they then use for basic web browsing and document
editing. I think this attitude might be a result of Wirth's Law, as
newer versions of Windows and macOS are quite resource intensive. I
recently put Trisquel on a friend's Macbook. Running macOS, he was
sitting at using around 6 of his 8 GB and was constantly running out of
disk space. Since using Trisquel, he rarely uses more than 2 GB and has
plenty of disk space. 

> I only suggested Libretrend to be more honest, acknowledging
> here and on their website that Coreboot is not 100% free software.

Technoethical is a good model for how to distribute software/hardware with
freedom issues in a transparent and responsible way. For example, this
page[1] states the freedom issues with the phone very visibly and leaves
the customer to decide whether or not they are acceptable. It would be
difficult for someone to accidentally buy the phone without realizing
that it has a non-free modem and bootloader.

> If
> Libretrend can fight against that problem (trying to convince manufacturers
> or dedicating part of the benefits to pay a developer to reverse-engineer),
> that would be even better...

ThinkPenguin sells laptops with a proprietary BIOS (alongside other more
freedom-respecting products), but they put some of that money toward
advancing the cause of free software. I believe that they sponsor
EOMA68. Meeting the needs of users who have to compromise on freedom for
now while contributing toward a long-term solution is a great approach.

[1] https://tehnoetic.com/tet-n2

Attachment: signature.asc
Description: PGP signature

Reply via email to