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How better to work on Open Source projects than to use a Libre computing device? But that's a hard goal to accomplish. If you're using a desktop computer, Libre software is easily achievable, though keeping your entire software stack free of closed source binary blobs might require a little extra work. But if you want a laptop, your options are few indeed. Lucky for us, there may be another device in the mix soon, because [Lukas Hartmann] has just about finalized the MNT Reform.
Since we started eagerly watching the Reform a couple years ago the hardware world has kept turning, and the Reform has improved accordingly. The i.MX6 series CPU is looking a little peaky now that it's approaching end of life, and the device has switched to a considerably more capable – but no less free – i.MX8M paired with 4 GB of DDR4 on a SODIMM-shaped System-On-Module. This particular SOM is notable because the manufacturer freely provides the module schematics, making it easy to upgrade or replace in the future. The screen has been bumped up to a 12.5″ 1080p panel and steps have been taken to make sure it can be driven without blobs in the graphics pipeline.
What has Soylentils' experience with open hardware been?
(Score: 2) by Reziac on Thursday January 23 2020, @05:42AM
I've told this story before, but it's silly enough to tell again... Win2K required a Pentium and (IIRC) 64mb RAM. Well, that's what it said on the tin. I had a 486 DX4-100 with 8mb RAM that I used as a HD tester, and one day I hooked the wrong HD to it... and found myself watching Win2K boot up. Took about five minutes to reach the desktop, but after that was perfectly usable, and only a little sluggish (including Office2k). And that was with no swapfile. I was amazed.
I knew a programmer who ran Win95 on a 16MHz 386 with 16mb RAM. He said it took 15 minutes to boot up, but was tolerable after that. (Not my definition of 'tolerable'!!)
And there is no Alkibiades to come back and save us from ourselves.