nostr:nprofile1qy2hwumn8ghj7un9d3shjtnyd968gmewwp6kyqpq05gxtz00vfxzdela6xrhyvtqxmaxqz65d9hws3d56e72trqgcmvsxk52hs Core boot source is out there, no? openWRT is open source. So that criteria seems sa...
@nprofile1q...
When you flash coreboot you aren't replacing the entire 'bios' or all the code that makes it up factoring in the various components. Libreboot is a fork or was a fork prior that ripped out the non-free components from coreboot, but it would only run on 15+ year old machines.
openWRT is "open source", but that does not mean there is a complete set of source code. Near all routers have various proprietary components they depend on and so while the core of openWRT has source code for it it's not completely "open" in any practical sense. Example of issues with this include being stuck on outdated kernel versions. Even if there is say a new version of OpenWRT for a given router it may still be reliant on an outdated and insecure kernel. If the module is compiled against a particular release of an older kernel and does not work with a newer kernel OpenWRT firmware for the router may be stuck. Similar things can happen with routers where you have a complete set of source code as well in so far as OpenWRT is including crappy patches to 'get the router to work', but of which the code quality so piss poor upstream projects like the mainline kernel won't accept them. In time these "OpenWRT routers" lose support or become insecure as a consequence (as do non-openwrt routers based on openwrt code from manufacturers). The loss of support comes because those patches go unmaintained and when they stop working OpenWRT just drops support for these routers.
There are exceptions, but actually getting hardware that is properly supported throughout the chain is difficult. There are some SoCs from Rockchip, Atheros (ie Qualcomm), and Allwinner where a complete set of code is available patches have been accepted into mainline kernel though.
When you flash coreboot you aren't replacing the entire 'bios' or all the code that makes it up factoring in the various components. Libreboot is a fork or was a fork prior that ripped out the non-free components from coreboot, but it would only run on 15+ year old machines.
openWRT is "open source", but that does not mean there is a complete set of source code. Near all routers have various proprietary components they depend on and so while the core of openWRT has source code for it it's not completely "open" in any practical sense. Example of issues with this include being stuck on outdated kernel versions. Even if there is say a new version of OpenWRT for a given router it may still be reliant on an outdated and insecure kernel. If the module is compiled against a particular release of an older kernel and does not work with a newer kernel OpenWRT firmware for the router may be stuck. Similar things can happen with routers where you have a complete set of source code as well in so far as OpenWRT is including crappy patches to 'get the router to work', but of which the code quality so piss poor upstream projects like the mainline kernel won't accept them. In time these "OpenWRT routers" lose support or become insecure as a consequence (as do non-openwrt routers based on openwrt code from manufacturers). The loss of support comes because those patches go unmaintained and when they stop working OpenWRT just drops support for these routers.
There are exceptions, but actually getting hardware that is properly supported throughout the chain is difficult. There are some SoCs from Rockchip, Atheros (ie Qualcomm), and Allwinner where a complete set of code is available patches have been accepted into mainline kernel though.