RYF certification L5

[prolog]

@user1

Well how products are described in each’s product page says otherwise. Read them. Just feels eh. They say neutralized ME and all so you are all good but really they define neutralized in a weird way. They should link or show info at https://puri.sm/learn/software-freedom-in-perspective/ in their product page because that would be more truthful.
https://puri.sm/wp-content/uploads/2014/11/purism-software-breakdown-201411171.png
Also, they shouldn’t do that image of trying to make it seem like the computer is nearly entirely safe by showing a huge area of what runs on the computer to be liberated when the core components of how the computer works in the first place and runs first is proprietary and not under their control.

I think you have some valid points there. I also think that most anthropological achievements have not been created suddenly but have been evolutionary developed . In other words they were made step by step, generation by generation.

The development of the L5 looks to me like Purism is taking multiple stairs at once. That is way harder. The risk of failure is higher. So that one big step is harder, larger and longer than an ordinary step but compared to multiple ordinary steps it may still be faster.

Also sometimes a coming development can be anticipated. Knowledge has come to a certain level so that the development of X is the next logical step. It’s lying in the air. It is just not 100% sure that it really can be achieved until someone proofs. We see that in history of science and engineering when there are people competing with each other to do this next step (sometimes unknowingly of each other). Examples are decoding of Egyptian hieroglyphics, discovery of Neptune, built of jet turbine engine and first aircraft flight (Weisshaupt vs Br. Wright). All fascinating stories.

Now there is also a next step lying in the air. The development of free or at least open chips. I am no specialist but that’s the impression I got when reading tech news. Now there are news about upcoming RISC V HW. It seems that development is getting forward and maybe accelerates.

So I see Purism work still as a trade off, while pushing the boundary really forward. I don’t know if there are really 100% chips out there. With such another trade of could be made. Maybe 100% free but maybe with the disadvantage of low performance. Keep in mind that today even websites consume relative many resources. Also we would have to find someone who produces such systems of built them on our own.

So I still hope that the journey will go on to push the boundary even further with 100% free firmware, microcode and chip architectures but that will probably come step by step and we have to be patient. What Purism is doing so far is already pretty much and prety hard anf they deserve every help they can get.