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