[libreplanet-discuss] GNU Libreboot, version 20160902 released

[Leah Rowe]

GNU Libreboot 20160902

This is a bugfix release, based on 20160818. It contains no new board
changes. The previous 20160818 release had build errors in the _src
archive, and the _util archive was only source code.

Get it from https://libreboot.org/download/

Changes compared to 20160818:
* Fixed bug where ./build module coreboot always returned non-zero status
* Fixed missing symlink of crossgcc when building from _src (thanks
Arthur Heymans)
* Fixed building with the depthcharge payload (ASUS C201)
* Proper ChangeLog now, instead of pasted git log
* Util archive is now binaries again (source code is in the _src archive)
* Documentation is now in HTML format

GNU Libreboot 20160818

This is a brand GNU release. Libreboot joined the GNU project on 14
May 2016. This 18 August 2016 release is the first GNU release of
libreboot.

NEW BOARDS ADDED:
* ASUS Chromebook C201 (ARM laptop) (thanks to Paul Kocialkowski)
* Gigabyte GA-G41M-ES2L motherboard (desktop) (thanks to Damien Zammit)
* Intel D510MO motherboard (desktop) (thanks to Damien Zammit)
* ASUS KCMA-D8 motherboard (desktop) (thanks to Timothy Pearson)
* ASUS KFSN4-DRE motherboard (server) (thanks to Timothy Pearson)
* ASUS KGPE-D16 motherboard (server) (thanks to Timothy Pearson)
For details development history on these boards, refer to the git log
and documentation.

For boards previously supported, many fixes from upstream have been
merged.

Other changes (compared to libreboot 20150518), for libreboot in
general or for previously supported systems:
(this is a summary. For more detailed change list, refer to the git log)

256MiB VRAM allocated on GM45 (X200, T400, T500, R400) instead of
32MiB. This is an improvement over both Lenovo BIOS and Libreboot
20150518, allowing video decoding at 1080p to be smoother. (thanks
Arthur Heymans)
To clarify, GM45 video performance in libreboot 20160818 is better
than on the original BIOS and the previous libreboot release.

64MiB VRAM on i945 (X60, T60, MacBook2,1) now supported in
coreboot-libre, and used by default (in the previous release, it was
8MiB allocated). Thanks to Arthur Heymans.

Higher battery life on GM45 (X200, T400, T500, R400) due to higher
cstates now being supported (thanks Arthur Heymans). C4 power states
also supported.

Higher battery life on i945 (X60, T60, MacBook2,1) due to better CPU
C-state settings. (Deep C4, Dynamicl L2 shrinking, C2E).

Text mode on GM45 (X200, T400, T500, R400) now works, making it
possible to use MemTest86+ comfortably. (thanks to Nick High from
coreboot)

Dual channel LVDS displays on GM45 (T400, T500) are now automatically
detected in coreboot-libre. (thanks Vladimir Serbinenko from coreboot)

Partial fix in coreboot-libre for GRUB display on GM45, for dual
channel LVDS higher resolution LCD panels (T400, T500). (thanks Arthur
Heymans)

Massively improved GRUB configuration, making it easier to boot more
encrypted systems automatically, and generally a more useful menu for
booting the system (thanks go to Klemens Nanni of the autoboot project).
Libreboot now uses the grub.cfg provided by the installed GNU/Linux
distribution automatically, if present, switching to that
configuration. This is done across many partitions, where libreboot
actively searches for a configuration file
(also on LVM volumes and encrypted volumes). This should make
libreboot more easy to use for non-technical users, without having to
modify the GRUB configuration used in libreboot.

Utilities archives is now source only. You will need to compile the
packages in there (build scripts included, and a script for installing
build dependencies in Trisquel 7). (binary utility archives are
planned again in the next release, when the new build system is merged)

SeaGRUB is now the default payload on all x86 boards. (SeaBIOS
configured to load a compressed GRUB payload from CBFS immediately,
without providing an interface in SeaBIOS. This way, GRUB is still
used but now BIOS services are available, so you get the best of both
worlds). Thanks go to Timothy Pearson of coreboot for this idea.

crossgcc is now downloaded and built as a separate module to
coreboot-libre, with a universal revision used to build all boards.

Individual boards now have their own coreboot revision and patches,
independently of each other board. This makes maintenance easier.

Updated all utilities, and modules (coreboot, GRUB, etc) to newer
versions, with various bugfixes and improvements upstream.

RTC century byte issue now fixed on GM45 in coreboot-libre, so the
date should now be correctly displayed when running the latest linux
kernel, instead of seeing 1970-01-01 when you boot (thanks to
Alexander Couzens from coreboot)

Build system now uses multiple CPU cores when building, speeding up
building for some people. Manually specifying how many cores are
needed is also possible, for those using the build system in a chroot
environment. (thanks go to Timothy Pearson from coreboot)

In the build system (git repository), https:// is now used when
cloning coreboot. http:// is used as a fallback for GRUB, if git:// fail
s.

New payload, the depthcharge bootloader (free bootloader maintained by
Google) for use on the ASUS Chromebook C201. (thanks go to Paul
Kocialkowski)

Various fixes to the ich9gen utility (e.g. flash component density is
now set correctly in the descriptor, gbe-less descriptors now supported)

The official documentation included in the release in provided in
texinfo format, instead of HTML; this was one of the requirements for
joining GNU. (the other requirement is a new build system, to comply
with GNU standards, e.g. Makefiles, and common Makefile entries
present in all GNU software. As of Libreboot 20160818, this new build
system is not yet merged, but will be in the release afterwards)
ChangeLog and NEWS files are included in the release, to comply with
GNU standards (they are dumps of the git-log output)

-- 
Leah Rowe

Libreboot developer

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Use a free operating system, GNU/Linux.
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Use a free BIOS.
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