I’m in Australia too, in locked-down Melbourne. It’s just a
matter of getting the right power-cord. The mains connector on
the Librem13 brick is one of the standard 3-pin connectors. I
picked up one from my local second-hand computer shop. In fact the
owner gave me two for free because they’re always accumulating.
Small gripe: When I ordered my Librem13 I got a spare power
adapter. Having no choice but US or EU, I selected one of each. But
I specifically added a comment that if they couldn’t send AU
cords, it would be better to send none at all — it’d just be a
waste, and I could source my own. But they still sent the two
power cords, which I’ve added to my collection of useless power
cords.
Maybe Purism (are you listening?) could provide on their order
page an explicit option for no power cord at all. That would be
less wasteful, not only for folks in AU, but also SG, HK, ZH,
etc.
Alternatively, you could deliberately order the wrong cable for your country but use it with a plug adapter. Sure, that’s a bit clunky but maybe a random customer can more readily get hold of a plug adapter than a cable with a local plug and the appropriate three-pin socket at the other end.
In some sense it would be helpful if the AC/DC adapter were available with an IEC 60320 C13/C14 connector, as an alternative to the connector that it does have - and, as you suggest, the customer would order without the power cable.
Hmmm… When I look on https://shop.puri.sm/shop/librem-14/ it just has power-adapter choice, with only US, UK, EU options. No mention of separate power-cord.
This is what I do all the time as I live in Germany atm. I could understand wanting a non adapter needing plug though. I am eventually going to be back in the US so the plugs are not so crucial for me.
@Kyle_Rankin - any chance we can know the duration of the pre-order campaign? I just received my Librem Mini yesterday and need a bit more time with the O/S and hardware to determine if I also want to invest in the laptop form factor in this environment.
@temurphy68
The Librem 14 Launch FAQ that Kyle posted earlier in this thread contains some information. There isn’t a predetermined end time yet, but once it has been determined, they will post a warning a few days before.
From the FAQ:
Q: How long will the sale continue? Are there coupon codes?
A: We haven’t set an official date yet, but will make an announcement on social media and on this site at least a few days before the sale ends. The discount is automatically applied at the shop while the sale is active, no coupon codes are necessary.
Very pleased with how the new Librem laptop is developing (here’s hoping the new hinge will stand up to torture) .
One more request though, is it possible for Purism to test & use only RAM modules on the Librem 14 that are resistant to rowhammer attacks, it is unfortunate that some published academic papers (like this one https://download.vusec.net/papers/trrespass_sp20.pdf -TRRespass: Exploiting the Many Sides of Target Row Refresh) have not also published the models of the modules that are actually rowhammer resistant (although they have detailed how each module has fared & provided some details about the modules themselves except for the brand & model).
The importance of a rowhammer resistant module cannot be overestimated, rowhammer attacks would practically break many of the measures taken to make a Librem laptop secure.
I would certainly prefer to get my so-dimms from Purism instead of buying from Amazon if Purism tests & uses rowhammer resistant so-dimms, I don’t mind paying extra for security, this is after all the raison d’etre of Purism, working to make computing more secure down to the hardware level, the reason people like me choose to buy Purism.
Perhaps the only viable approach … use RAM modules that the manufacturer specifies as supporting hardware mitigation and trust the manufacturer. You can test, at significant cost in time, but then … what do you do if it fails testing?
Rowhammer is mostly a privilege escalation attack, which means that for an end-user device, the opportunities for exploit are more limited, generally only via sandboxed browser code, and it may be possible to mitigate within the Javascript engine.
Mitigating browser-based rowhammer attacks by disabling JavaScript & WebAssembly entirely feels a bit like living in plastic bubble (or covid lockdown); using only open-source software can at times feel a bit restrictive, a browser just feels like a place that should offer some reprieve once in a while.
Besides, implementing some convoluted software strategy & restricting user experience to mitigate what is practically a hardware bug (…not again…) is not what they would normally refer to as a long-term strategy. What is worse is not opting for one when there is already one available (or some currently working version of it). The good thing is, this doesn’t require Purism to change their hardware design.
All the modules tested in the paper (https://download.vusec.net/papers/trrespass_sp20.pdf 2 -TRRespass: Exploiting the Many Sides of Target Row Refresh) have some in-dram trr mechanism, unfortunately the mechanisms in the 13 out of the 42 that was tested was not quite up to the mark, but even more unfortunate is they didn’t disclose the models that passed, it would have been very helpful if they did.
I do certainly hope Purism takes it on board Kieran , that would be a win for all of us .
@Kyle_Rankin when doing the physical stress testing, can you include holding the laptop with one hand (left or right side, in the empty space where there’s no keyboard or mousepad)?
The current Librem laptops have a great deal of flex, to the point where it can activate the mousepad or keyboard, and potentially even break internal components. Hopefully the L14’s beefier chassis will be better able to handle these scenarios, but if there could be explicit testing for it that would go a long way towards making the Librem feel like a high quality device.
I believe someone already brought this up… But as Intel has just announced/started releasing their new Tiger Lake Processors and according to their internal specification there is a “sizable” increase in performance, is there any chance of getting a Tiger Lake CPU in the Librem 14? If not right away, an option for people who per-ordered the 14 to wait for one to be put in. Or would that more likely be a Librem 14 V2?
It may also “bee” that there are some privacy issue with the new chips, or something else… But I was just wondering.
More likely for a v2 as to change now would push back the L14 by a few months. Plus you’ll notice they never compared Tiger Lake to their own previous CPUs. Sounds powerful but as always…
Plus, waiting for the greatest means waiting forever. After Tiger Lake there will be Alder Lake and after Alder Lake there will be some other body of water, and after that …
, that would be a win for all of us 
.
