This current iteration of the Librem Mini doesn’t mention a hardware kill switch. Could we see it added to a future revision for those of us that add the wi-fi module?
1 Like
Short answer no.
It’s the on CPU die GPU.
The answer is no unless you replace CPU, but then there is high chance that you need to replace MB since CPU pin and Intel have tendency to change between version.
If you’re really interested you could try something like this:
By attempting to make use of the M.2 slot’s PCIe lanes for a graphics card. It might not be recognized by the mini this way though.
An alternative if the USB 3.1 supports it would be to use that port for an external graphics card.
Congrats to Purism for reaching the goal already. 
Does anyone know if it has been mentioned where this is being manufactured?
Some redditters figured out that the Librem Mini’s OEM is probably Eglobal Technology Co., which has a factory in Shenzhen, China.
2 Likes
Great job in that thread. The ethical thing they are talking about is the same way that fairphone talks about it. They try to pay fair prices for labor and parts.
Purism has never claimed to be that kind of ethical. They are ethical with regard to your digital privacy, security, and freedom. Where Fairphone, for example, does not focus on these elements at all. I think the person you are talking with doesn’t understand this and is putting words in Purism’s mouth.
2 Likes
Congratulations to Purism on reaching the goal. I’m a big fan of what and how they do. I’ve been thinking of buying a new laptop or now the mini. However, it usually comes down to price vs features and I decide to wait until next product upgrade.
As for the new Librem Mini, it looks nice and all, BUT … If I spec it similar to Mac Mini, they are nearly same prices. But Mac Mini has faster RAM, GPU, CPU and more cores. And likely I/O too, though I’m not sure. But don’t forget Mac Mini is already 2 years old. I know, it’s not free and safe etc. But we know Apple charges extra for their products, yet Librem is similar price and worse HW (even though it hasn’t launched yet). If only Librem was cheaper or more performant and up-to-date.
Well, I guess I’ll wait again to see the final product and feedback from users. Good luck and all the best! And kudos 
Unfortunately, Purism operates at such a small scale, so it has to charge a high markup per unit to cover its development and administration costs. Doing a Coreboot port takes time and using 100% free software often means selecting older hardware, so Purism is often behind the latest tech curve.
Apple probably sells something like 5 million Mac Mini’s per year, whereas Purism will do well to sell a couple thousand. That scale makes Apple’s development costs per unit very low compared to Purism’s development costs.
Many computer sellers (like Dell and HP) don’t do software development, and they outsource most hardware development to ODM’s like Quanta, Compal, Wistron, Pegatron, Clevo etc., so they can charge low prices with razor-thin margins. Large companies with big orders can negotiate the best prices with the electronic assemblers and the ODMs.
As a buyer, I’m torn between wanting freedom and privacy and wanting low prices. I wrote an blog post on this dilemma that might interest you: https://amosbbatto.wordpress.com/2017/11/07/price-ethical-hardware/
7 Likes
time for a 2020 update Senpai !
I haven’t read your blog post just yet but one other reason I think that should be mentioned, is that Purism represents things in the tech industry that very few others do. They are making hardware that is user repairable.
They do not make their products to have a shelf life or planned obsolescence.
This is something that needs to be championed today. That is why I purchase Purism products. I don’t agree with the whole FOSS mentality, but I support most of what Purism is trying to do. That Freedom aspect of their ideology means I don’t have to agree with FOSS to benefit as a customer with their products.
1 Like
There are somethings I don’t agree with in the FOSS mentality either. But, I am glad Purism was launched and growing with these ethical standards built in, especially - and including - user serviceable parts. That has been a key issue with me regarding the new Apple Laptops and computers, parts are not user serviceable/removable.
I am now considering to buy the Librem Mini when it is on regular sale next year.The specs look like it has more power at slightly lower cost. I would pre-order one now, but It will take me a few months to save up for it; after previous priorities are taken care of.
I already have the (hopefully) perfect monitor that can be used with it, since it has an HDMI connection and should be plug and play. I need to finish college first this year, before switching my focus to getting the Librem Mini.
From poking around “AlternativeTo.net” for software recommendations and also the Purism Creative Directors’ choice of software, I have the full list saved in a bookmark folder on my Firefox browser when I am ready to make the switch and get everything ready for production use in my future business.
Thanks for the information and the link. Much appreciated!
Your welcome! I chose those software options that have current active developers and development. I am going to use the Librem Mini for multimedia production for my future business.
Enjoy, and pick wisely. @zero
why has the librem mini chosen to use intel for its cpu? I was just about to buy one but seeing as its intel I wont be doing that.
We can disable the Intel ME unlike the AMD PSP. Also AMD GPUs require proprietary firmware.
1 Like
but they do work without massaging anything if you use GNU/Linux distributions that run a newer (19+) MESA graphics driver stack version that comes pre-bundled with the non-libre-linux-kernel by default …
however no matter what it is if you install .iso image files from shady sources there’s a high chance you’ll get burned.
at least verify the .iso image file BEFORE you atempt to burn it onto your medium of choice … i say this seeing as there are torrent files around that don’t offer the files needed to verify the source … and don’t even link to the source (at least put a text file in there with a link to make it easier for people to move towards the destination)
here’s an explanation for people who haven’t heard about this yet but are looking to learn what it is and how to do it > https://www.debian.org/CD/verify
If your alternative is AMD then this has been discussed quite a few times before.
https://forums.puri.sm/t/should-the-next-librem-be-amd-based/3010
If your alternative is RISC-V, follow the links at
https://forums.puri.sm/t/riscv-and-sifive-and-stuff/9170
(anyway, not at the required level of performance at the current time, not even close)
If your alternative is POWER,
Maybe you had a more creative alternative in mind that has not already been discussed. (and which you would like to share with us)
My summary answers:
- every choice is a compromise in practice
- Intel is the least bad option at the moment
- the CPU itself is only one aspect - you also need a chipset ecosystem that is as open as possible
- better the devil you know …
Verify the .iso before you even burn it onto a CD / write it onto a USB flash drive. No matter where you download from (could be shady as), verify the hash of the downloaded file against the hash value provided by the official web site.
There is no point verifying the hash of a torrent-downloaded file against a hash value that is itself torrent-downloaded. (Yes, technically, the official web site may provide signed hash values which it would then be safe to torrent-download.) Anyway, there is no reason not to get the hash value from the official web site, whether signed or not.
1 Like
thank you for correcting me ! i edited my post since i tought about that but didn’t write correctly … my bad !
fedora provides a PGP signed SHA256 checksum directly inside with the torrent file > https://torrent.fedoraproject.org/torrents/Fedora-Workstation-Live-x86_64-32.torrent
i’m always surprised at how small their iso image is … at least for the official-ws-vannila-gnome one
1 Like
But specifically are you in a position to say that they haven’t endeavored to do as they say? Or are you just making the leap from seeing the oem version to assuming the worst?
I’d like evidence either way.