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+<p>In the past I've mentioned both ARM and even the ARM-based laptop
+currently in development, the MNT Reform. Since they do not use any kind
+of microcode for system instructions, it is a very appealing alternative
+to x86 architectures (be it Intel or AMD). No more malware running in
+the background possibly reading your memory and sending it off to
+Intel/AMD headquarters. What's more, these boards tend to be cheaper and
+consume less energy than x86.</p>
+
+<p>Even so, something that is problematic about ARM is that many of the
+boards are for more <i>restrictive devices</i>. What I mean by this is
+that generally the smaller the device, the more restrictive it is. We
+start with workstations where you can easily replace practically any
+piece of it with another; from something as general as the GPU to
+something as essential as the CPU itself. But as the device gets
+smaller, it becomes less modular. It then becomes impossible to replace
+certain parts. In the case of ARM boards this is a very common problem,
+as generally they are made for embedded devices, mobile phones, and more
+recently netbooks and servers. As such, it is common with these boards
+for the components to be directly attached and impossible to
+replace. Although, luckily ARM seems to be catching up in this regard as
+companies start considering using ARM for different use-cases, such as
+personal computers, servers, and even super-computers.</p>
+
+<p>None of this, however, detracts from the fact that some of the most
+free options we have today are ARM-based, when it comes to software
+freedom. And it may even begin to make complete software freedom more
+accessible to folk since these options can be cheap, and yet powerful. A
+good example of this would be the computer from which I am currently
+writing this post, an ASUS C201P. It's a really cheap chromebook with
+4 GiB of RAM and a four core CPU. It uses a rockchip board underneath,
+and one can <a href="https://libreboot.org/docs/install/c201.html"
+target="_blank" >easily flash libreboot on it</a>. It's even possible to
+make use of graphics acceleration without non-free Mali drivers by using
+Panfrost - which comes included in the latest kernel versions, since 5.2
+I believe. The only components you won't be able to use because of their
+non-free firmware/drivers would be the webcam and the WiFi card.</p>
+
+<p>Overall, it would seem that ARM continues to make complete user
+control over their software more and more accessible. And as their
+production diversifies we will likely see boards that allow us to
+customize more components, such as the <a
+href="http://macchiatobin.net/" target="_blank" >Marvell
+MACCHIATObin</a>. It will be exciting to see what ARM has in store for
+us and the free software movement.</p>
+