I am looking to build an alternative laptop to AMD/Intel. I want to limit how much I support them and protect my privacy.
I have thought about getting the Framework Laptop 13 chasis with expansion cards and use RISC V for the main board.
Debian is in the lead for the OS.
Are there any other alternatives that could be recommended that may be even better?
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What if it were AMD/Intel but with FOSS firmware? rms uses a ThinkPad x200 with GNU Boot.
Otherwise I don’t know how mature RISC V laptops are if they even exist.
In China they have the Kaihong BotBook which runs OpenHarmony (Apache v2 license) and has an ARM processor. I don’t know if importing let alone using an open source OS more obscure than GNU+Linux is an option for you.
You’ll still be running into frequent issues if you go with R-V, so be warned.
That being said, the Framework R-V board only comes for the 13" format, so you can buy a cheap Framework 13 refurb from their store (fully warranted and everything), and swap the board out for the R-V for $200.
There are other R-V laptops out there, but I think the build quality is nowhere near the Framework, AND if you feel like it sucks, just swap that board back with the one it shipped with.
Your best bet is to probably look into a snapdragon laptop. Based on everything I have heard, RISC V is going to be rough going. Some folks have also converted raspberry pis into laptops, but I imagine the build quality will be much more janky than an OEM laptop.
Also, depending on your philosophic outlook, would buying a used laptop count? You are not really supporting the CPU maker or laptop OEM, as you are using hardware which was already sold, and reducing e-waste in the world.
Lastly, I am trying to understand the meaning behind “protect my privacy.” Is there something less private about an AMD or Intel CPU, even if you have Linux installed on it, or is that covered by the Linux part?
“Protect my privacy” is really my overall philosophy with ANYTHING tech-related. It’s more being extra cautious/paranoid than anything else. The hardware itself supposedly doesn’t track you, but I still don’t 100% trust either side of the duopoly. Better safe than sorry. 😅
That’s fair, but come to think of it, the architecture of the CPU doesn’t really say anything about privacy. Someone can build an RISC-V chip but sneak in telemetry, or you can build yourself a x86_64 CPU and be 100% no telemetry. It’s about the manufacturer, not the architecture.
I don’t think you can ever be 100% sure that the CPU you’re running on is telemetry-free unless you have those kick-ass X-ray machines and examine it yourself. Building your trust on top of something else you deem trustworthy though, is practical. Billions of people are running Intel/AMD off-the-shelf CPUs, and there are perhaps millions specialists in them, what is the chance that a backdoor remains hidden?
The same goes for software. How do you know Linux kernel, OpenSSL, Wayland is trustworthy? Because many people use them, and it’s unlikely a backdoor is there. Think about the sheer amount of software the CPU runs. Don’t you think we shall have a greater concern there?
Hopefully this calms your paranoia about hardware a bit.
That is fair enough. Have there been any findings that CPUs are sending telemetry of some kind, or is it more the idea of there possibly being some back door for governments to use?
I guess for me personally, my threat model for privacy is more towards foiling corporate data harvesting wherever possible, but I have resigned myself to the realization that making a computer nation-state-proof is borderline impossible without unreasonable levels of effort, especially for a normal computer user like myself.
If I wasnt worried about price to performance then I would get that Spacemit k3 riscv laptop. It’ll have an NVME. Should be fine for non heavy tasks. If you are a software developer, it’d probably be good for most tasks. I remember back when all the old Linux elite software developers complained about desktop environments using too much memory on their 512MB memory laptops that are perfectly good software people love to use
You can always just use an m series mac if you don’t want to support Intel or amd.
It all depends on how you define big tech.
The framework risc v board, for example, uses the StarFive JH-7110 which is manufactured by tsmc. Doesn’t get much bigger than that!
Apple is even worse than AMD and Intel, wtf? And they won’t be able to run Debian on it with fill hardware support. Bro, that like suggesting somebody to cut out their heart when they’re complaining about a leg wound.
It depends on what they want. The op and title are pretty vague and general, so I offered a very easy solution that could meet their needs.
Apple has a bigger market cap than amd, intel, and tsmc combined lol.
That’s exactly what I mean. It all depends on what makes a company big tech.
If it’s just having lots of money or capital then it’s really hard to divest oneself because of the phenomenal heights of industry required to make chips. Like, on some level you gotta accept that no one’s doing 14nm lithography in a shed out behind their house (people who do home lithography are in the micrometer range last I looked).
