this post was submitted on 24 Jun 2025
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Yeah I understand that. And as I noted with the exception of firmware which almost universally requires running very out of date hardware I do the same. I'd like to get there with my phone but I haven't managed it yet. I have written off firmware being FOSS because as mentioned. You almost always need very old hardware for that outside of embedded devices. And if you go down the firmware rabbit hole you probably have to draw the line somewhere. Platform firmware is the one everyone focuses on but what about GPU or NIC firmware? What about microcode or firmware embedded in the IME or PSP? Yes you can sometimes neuter the IME but that doesn't apply to all CPUs. It's just an unwinnable rabbit hole without going to a fully open computing platform.
Yes - agreed on a points.
I think what the blogger of trying is to use OSS wherever it's possible. There are clearly parts which are not, but there are OSS BIOS alternatives to proprietary ones, OSS firmwares for some devices, OSS phones, OSS routers, and so on. By "maximizing" they just meant doing everything that was possible. Using an OSS-only operating system and software is the bare minimum and - as you said - is something many of us do: that's the easy part. Going the next step and replacing your phone, tablet, BIOS, and everywhere it's possible to use OSS is the "maximizing" part.