After five years of development, the release of the Libreboot distribution 20210522 is presented. This is the second release in the GNU project and is currently categorized as "testing", as it requires additional stabilization and testing. Libreboot develops a completely free fork from the CoreBoot project, providing a binary-free replacement for proprietary UEFI and BIOS firmware responsible for initializing the CPU, memory, peripherals, and other hardware components.
Libreboot aims to create a system environment that completely dispenses with proprietary software, not only at the level of the operating system, but also the firmware that provides booting. Libreboot not only cleans up CoreBoot from non-free components, but also complements it with tools to make it easier for end users to use, forming a distribution kit that can be used by any user without special skills.
Of the already well-tested devices on which Libreboot can be used without problems, laptops based on Intel GM45 chips (ThinkPad X200, T400), X4X platforms (Gigabyte GA-G41M-ES2L), ASUS KCMA-D8, ASUS KGPE-D16 and Intel i945 (ThinkPad X60/T60, Macbook 1/2). Additional testing is required for ASUS KFSN4-DRE, Intel D510MO, Intel D945GCLF and Acer G43T-AM3 boards.
In the new release:
- Added support for PCs and laptops: Intel G43T-AM3, Acer G43T-AM3, Lenovo ThinkPad R500, Lenovo ThinkPad X301.
- Supported Desktop Motherboards:
- Gigabyte GA-G41M-ES2L
- Intel D510MO and D410PT
- Intel D945GCLF
- Apple iMac 5/2
- Acer G43T-AM3
- Supported motherboards for servers and workstations (AMD)
- ASUS KCMA-D8
- ASUS KGPE-D16
- ASUS KFSN4-DRE
- Supported laptops (Intel):
- Lenovo ThinkPad X200
- Lenovo ThinkPad R400
- Lenovo ThinkPad T400
- Lenovo ThinkPad T500
- Lenovo ThinkPad W500
- Lenovo ThinkPad R500
- Lenovo ThinkPad X301
- Apple MacBook1 and MacBook2
- Ended support for ASUS Chromebook C201.
- Improved lbmk build system. After the last release, an attempt was made to completely rewrite the build system, but it was unsuccessful and led to a long halt in the formation of new releases. Last year, the rewrite plan was canceled and work began on improving the old build system and solving major architectural problems. The results were embodied in a separate osboot project, which is used as the basis for lbmk. The new variant solves old shortcomings, is much more customizable and more modular. Significantly simplified the process of adding new coreboot boards. Working with GRUB and SeaBIOS payload handlers has been moved to a separate command. Tianocore support added for UEFI.
- Added support for the new code provided by the Coreboot project for initializing the graphics subsystem, which was moved to a separate libgfxinit module and rewritten from C to Ada. This module is used to initialize the video subsystem in boards based on Intel GM45 (ThinkPad X200, T400, T500, W500, R400, R500, T400S, X200S, X200T, X301) and Intel X4X (Gigabyte GA-G41M-ES2L, Acer G43T-AMT3) chips , Intel DG43GT).
Source: opennet.ru