@ignaloidas @wolf480pl >locking people with proprietary firmware in is better than at least leaving a possibility of loading free firmware. But that's what RYF does.
Firmware is microprocessor instructions stored on socketed ROM chips - you can't electronically reprogram it, but you can just swap the chip - hence the firmness,

If you (or the manufacturer) can electronically change it, it's software, if you (and the manufacturer) cannot change it, it's hardware.


Please actually read the criteria before commenting; https://ryf.fsf.org/about/criteria (clearly the most important part is "Cooperation with FSF and GNU public relations").

The RYF doesn't require implementing digital handcuffs - it requires you not attack the user with proprietary software.

The exception allows putting proprietary software in the EEPROM of a peripheral device for secondary processors and a skilled enough user certainly can change that (and such does get replaced far more often than hotloaded proprietary software).

>It's impossible to make a computer these days that complies with RYF without also making it fully open hardware.
It is very possible to make a modern computer that complies with RYF that has proprietary hardware, you just need to avoid garbage chipsets.

A lot of so called "open hardware" doesn't work without lots of proprietary software.

>RYF doesn't just restrict loading of the firmware on each boot, it restricts modification of firmware at all
In demonstrated practice a developer skilled enough to replace proprietary software is skilled enough to reprogram an EEPROM, thus such "modification restriction" doesn't occur in practice.

>Pinephone is not RYF compliant not because it needs to load modem firmware each boot, but because it can change the modem firmware.
The pinephone is not RYF compliant because of how the Wifi+Bluetooth chipset doesn't work without hotloaded proprietary software, that is recommended to the user, same as nonfree autofocus software and I believe there are further issues.

The pinephone SoC doesn't load any modem software on boot - that comes installed on EEPROM in the usb modem, which would pass RYF if it wasn't for how that modem software is malicious.

>Building hardware that FSF sees as good is building hardware that restricts your ability to modify it.
The GNUbootable thinkpads actually have schematics available, which actually allows you to modify such hardware.

RYF doesn't do anything to restrict anyone from building hardware that runs 100% free software - it rather encourages doing so.