We replaced "Columbia", the last of the FSF-run machines that did not have a freeBIOS. Our current standard is the ASUS KGPE-D16. We install either a version of Coreboot that is built to avoid nonfree blobs or a 100% free software replacement called Libreboot, which is easy to install. We expect them to be fast enough for us for many more years to come. They are very cost effective. We are trying to support the newer and more powerful Talos II as well as the Blackbird board that uses IBM POWER9 CPUs. "PowerPC 64-bit little endian" is the name of the POWER9 CPUs architecture. Free software and hardware designs are included in the Raptor motherboards. This type of migration has challenges. The main operating system we use, Trisquel, didn't previously run on pp64el, so we need to address that first. In order to lend the computer to the maintainers of Trisquel for as long as was necessary, we set up a Raptor POWER9 computer with no free parts of Debian. Trisquel 11 will support POWER9. The dmidecode told me that the program fit within a single megabyte. When a user's software freedom is at stake, it's usually because of the complexity of the software. Sometimes newer nonfreeBIOSes have grown into operating systems with large programs. There isn't a fully-freeBIOS for x86 Intel andAMD. The key blocking factor is that the intel management engine is required in the bios The private keys used to sign the nonfree firmware will only be used by the two companies that control them. We applaud the many people who don't use that nonfree software. Coreboot or Osboot is still a step up from the Freedom Ladder for the software freedom of your system. Freedom is a long road. The free software movement can be inspired by our dedication.
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