501
Big Tech is turning you into a digital tenant, but there is a way to evict them (www.neowin.net)
submitted 4 months ago by to c/technology@lemmy.world
145 comments fedilink hide all child comments
 

The shift to SaaS and Windows 11 updates means you no longer own your software. Here is how free software tools can help you reclaim control.

you are viewing a single comment's thread
view the rest of the comments
[–] 10 points 4 months ago* (6 children)

One could argue that the personal computer has been dead since the introduction of the Intel Management Engine which is an internet-connected spy chip inside every computer with full access to all hardware that you cannot observe, modify, block, or disable.

  • permalink
  • fedilink
  • source
  • parent
  • hideshow 6 child comments
    •
  • [–] 0 points 4 months ago (5 children)

    Imagine if an exploit was found for the IME. They'd have to recall all Intel PCs

  • permalink
  • fedilink
  • source
  • parent
  • hideshow 5 child comments
    •
  • [–] 7 points 4 months ago (3 children)

    A Raspberry Pi 5 feels every bit as capable as an Intel PC from 2005 - do we need anything more?

  • permalink
  • fedilink
  • source
  • parent
  • hideshow 3 child comments
    •
  • [–] 1 point 4 months ago (2 children)

    You also don’t know all of the traces etched into the proprietary ARM chip in your pi. There are magic API calls to low level hardware which remain for “debugging” in all the major processor tapes outs today.

  • permalink
  • fedilink
  • source
  • parent
  • hideshow 2 child comments
    •
  • [–] 3 points 4 months ago*

    You also don’t know all of the traces etched into the proprietary ARM chip in your pi.

    Great point.

    It is now possible to get a Raspberry Pi equivalent with a processor from Rokchip.

    Rokchip's sources are at: https://github.com/rockchip-linux

    I find that most stuff from LibreComputer is as open as possible, today.

    The Renegade is a pretty good place to start exploring. With Armbian loaded, it's a serviceable personal PC for $35.

    The catch is that pre-built Raspberry Pi images won't work for it - because the CPU chip requires different drivers. So it's not a drop-in replacement for various Raspberry Pi recipes. I've built some of those recipes from source code on it, and they work fine, of course.

  • permalink
  • fedilink
  • source
  • parent