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[Freedombox-discuss] Interest in Another Hardware Option?



[Jeremy Thien]
> We already have the boards designed and running Linux (not Debian).
>
> I am open to suggestions on how to make this a really good option. For
> example, maybe it would be interesting to buy as just a processor card
> that could be customized by other hardware hackers.

The board sound interesting as a FreedomBox. to become a really great
option for the FreedomBox system, it need to boot using the official
kernel and boot loaders, to ensure it can work using only free
software. When you say it is running Linux, does this mean you have
submitted all the required patches towards Linus and the official Linux
kernel?  For example, is the driver for the hardware crypto engine
already in the kernel?  If not, please do.  With that in place, Debian
support is a lot closer.  The key part is making the source code changes
you have done to boot loaders, kernel and other parts of the system
available for everyone under an acceptable license, thus making it
possible to get the board working using free software.  It is an
advantage if the system work without having to load proprietary binary
blobs (aka firmware) into the hardware to get it to work.

With that in place, I would suggest offering the board to key kernel and
Debian developers and let them play with it.  This tend to lead to good
support for boards.  People like Martin Michlayr, Ben Hutchings and
Matthew Garrett might be a good fit for this, but there are others.  You
can find their names reading Debian Planet, and look for report on
getting Debian to run for the first time on a new board or controller.
And to get FreedomBox support, it might be wise to give it to one of the
active FreedomBox developers. :)

Btw, what is the power consumtion for this computer?  What kind of power
supply is it using?  How much power can the USB ports supply?

-- 
Happy hacking
Petter Reinholdtsen



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