Re: [libreplanet-discuss] Reverse Engineering

[Esteban Enrique]

On Sat, Feb 06, 2016 at 10:01:13AM +0100, Fabio Pesari wrote:
> On 02/06/2016 06:50 AM, Koz Ross wrote:
> > 
> > With respect to Libreboot, no amount of reverse engineering will help -
> > the Intel ME is cryptographically signed, and no replacement we make
> > will ever run, full stop, unless Intel gives us the signing keys. While
> > I admire your desire to help, it's important to understand what *can*
> > and *can't* be helped - and this particular thing *can't* be helped.
> 
> That's why I say we should build our computers from hardware components
> with libre designs.
> 
> I think reverse engineering can be a waste of time, if what it achieves
> is being able to run free software on a single outdated, underpowered
> and out-of-production device after many months of research.
> 
> That's my main criticism of Libreboot. Instead of freeing old boards,
> the community should focus on building its own. Yes, that's expensive
> and needs experts and it's more about hardware than software, but there
> is no "Free Hardware Foundation" and the free software community should
> be able to fund its own research just like corporations do.
> 
> Reverse engineering in the future will only become harder, thanks to
> cryptography and DRM, and more and more people won't be able to switch
> to a free GNU/Linux distro simply because they'd have to throw out their
> machines.
> 
> I see no reason to be at the mercy of hardware manufactures and/or be
> stuck on old devices, especially because recommending old devices to
> newcomers will reinforce the stereotype that free software is dated and
> clunky compared to shiny Windows 10, which works on all new computers
> out-of-the-box.

I see what you are saying, and I would totally be willing to purchase a
freedom-purposed machine, but for my mother or father or sibling or
friend who isn't tech savvy and has spent $1500 on a MacBook Pro, I
would like to tell him that I can use his present machine to get
GNU/Linux.

IMHO it makes this whole community exponentially less accessible, but
unfortunately it looks like that is what this will come to. Reverse
engineering does seem to be difficult and with little fruit, from what I
hear.

I know the goal isn't to cater to the general population but to promote
freedom, but making freedom accessible seems to be an important issue
for me at least.