[ltp] Can you trust your firmware?

[Marc Lagies]

Theodore Tso wrote:
> Well, how about such a crucial component as the CPU?  That's right,
> the CPU, whether it is AMD or Intel, also has huge amounts of
> microcode, and sometimes it is buggy (for example, Intel's Pentium
> FDIV bug), and it's all proprietary code as well.  
[...]
 > Oh, and don't forget the hard drive; that's filled with proprietary
 > firmware for which you won't get source code, either.  And the
 > graphics chips, and the wireless ethernet modules, and so on, and so
 > on....

Thanks for pointing this out. I wasn't aware of how proprietary today's 
computer systems are, even if we use open source software.


> If your goal is
> that you **must** have a system where there is no propiretary firmware
> at all, you'll need to go back to MIT's 6.004 class from about a
> decade ago, when students were taught how to build a computer using
> nothing more than prototyping breadboard, 74XX TTL integrated
> circuits, and wire.  (The class did provide modules for the RS-232
> interface, memory, and a simple ALU, so it wasn't *all* 74XX logic
> chips, but it was close, and there definitely wouldn't have been any
> microcode except in the 8250 serial UART.)

There is no **must** but if I had the choice, I would go for the system 
with as much as possible non proprietary components. Well, at least I 
would consider this aspect in my buying decision.


> It is highly unlikely that you would ever be able to create or find an
> open BIOS for a laptop, because there is so much about the laptop
> which is highly hardware specific, and which most laptop manufacturers
> consider highly proprietary --- if for no other reason than because
> the chipset vendors that they make their laptops and which have all
> sorts of fancy power management is considered proprietary by the
> chipset vendors.  Then there is the proprietary secrets about how to
> initialize the ATI or Nvidia chipsets, etc.

On the other hand there is a ever-growing market for ethical & healthy & 
trustful goods, e.g. open source software & organic food & fair trade 
goods (with a *wink). I think it's a question of demand. And thanks to 
the open source movement it will become more and more odd to buy a pig 
in a poke.


> Yes, that means you are at the mercy of Dell or Lenovo or HP if there
> is a bug in the BIOS; just as you are at the mercy of Intel or AMD if
> there is a microcode bug in their processor chip.  

This is a disappointing truth for the moment.


 > If that is
 > unacceptable to you, I'm afraid you'll probably have to build your own
 > laptop/computer/processor from scratch....
 >
 > 							- Ted

And this sounds like the fun part. It seems the party has already been 
started: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Open_source_hardware

Regards,
Marc

P.S. Maybe we're lucky and a generous philanthropist is reading the list 
who just seeks a project to make history... why not the first truly open 
source microcomputer system. C'mon, I know you are here!!! ;-)